Camry & Solara LoungeDiscussion area for every generation of Toyota's family car, the Toyota Camry. Lexus ES250/300 owners welcome! Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance and more.
I was searching LE (I4) for my new car. But, after couple of test drives, I did not like LE (for poor braking performance, little noisier engine than SE, and loosened suspension/handling).
But, SE (I4) solved the above problems. Its brake feels tight (same as my current LE V6...Rear Disc) and handling tight with sporty suspension (I am not the guy looking for "true" sporty car, but I felt LE significantly lean at the corner first time ever, even if I drove 2000 LE V6 over 5 years. Then, I realize how well SE can resolve the issue). Also, interestingly, even if both LE and SE I4 uses the same engine, I found SE engine is more quiet and smooth than LE (I sampled 3 brand new 05 LE and 1 new 06 SE).
With sunroof (as standard), better interior/suspension without sacrificing comfortable ride (not that much bumpy on SE...same comfortability as LE to me), I think SE would be a good choice for me.
I want to hear your comments on this. Especially, I would appreciate if there is anything LE do better or I might lose by choosing SE, please let me know.
Another thing I am little bit worried: SE produces far less than LE or XLE (or even standard). SE is not Camry's popular trim. Camry is not famous for its sporty feeling, either. So, I am thinking how easy (how well) the resale (value) of SE will go. If anyone give me any help on it, I would appreciate it.
P.S., with alloy wheel on SE, can I save little more gas over LE? Or, it would just compensate the heavier weight (more gas) of SE (3219 LB, over 3164 LB on LE)?
I been driving my 2003 Camry LE for 2 years now, and i agree its braking power is not as good as the SE, And the car can become unstable going around corners at certain speeds. But i like the I4 Camry LE for its better Fuel Economy.
I do wish i had a Manual version. But as far as i know only SE's have that now.
since the cars are basically the same in terms of engine and power, you should get the one that feels more right to you. i chose an LE over an XLE actually but thats a different story.
in terms of resale value, it might help to get an SE. since it's not a car produced in as high numbers as the LE for instance, resale value will be better. not significantly higher, but it'll get ya a solid 500 bucks more probabbly. in resale value, the quality is also important. if you keep your SE running well with maintenance, than it will have better value than a poorly maintained SE. Also, a well maintained LE will run you more in resale than a poorly maintained SE.
so yeah...i hope that makes sense to you.
__________________ "live in the moment, forget the past and ignore the future"
Quote:
Originally Posted by white3ch0c0late
Yes, Alex is the resident woman-problems guy here at TN... take his advice...
'95 i4 camry sedan -> wrecked june of 2006 by a girl who couldn't drive
'95 v6 camry coupe (dropped, rimmed, front end converted, tinted and debadged) -> current
With alloys, you will be using more gas than an LE because of the weight. As far as cornering, the only reason that the SE is better than an LE is because the SE comes with a stock strut brace and a better rear sway bar. A strut and sway bar upgrade on an LE will cost you like $200 and cornering will feel the same (even better if you get the TRD sway bar).
As far as resale of the SE, its the same as any other Camry trim. If you buy an SE for $25k, compared to an XLE at $25k, and they both have the same amount of miles, after the same amount of years, with no accidents or any kind of damage at all, the value will be the same (depending on what the buyer is looking for as well).
As for the engine being quieter, I think maybe thats just in your mind. They're the exact same engine, and the cars are built pretty much the same give or take a few parts here and there. But none of them have to do with sound dampening..
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
With alloys, you will be using more gas than an LE because of the weight
That means there is no (or even adverse) effect of alloy wheels on gas? I thought alloy wheel is lighter than steel wheel cover. But, with alloy, SE is still heavier than LE. Is it worth to choose alloys as an option? What other pros (or cons) I can think with alloy wheels?
Also, how much more gas in SE, compared to LE, if anyone can compare the two? I don't think it would be big but the main motivation to trade my current 00 LE V6 was poor gas mileage (especially in the city, only 12-14 mpg).
The difference in gas is so small, that you'll never notice it.
Alloys are actually heavier than the steel, from my understanding. On top of that, stock alloys are BIGGER in diameter than the steel wheels, and the larger the diameter of the wheel, the more revs necessary to turn the wheel, thus using more gas. Also, with alloys, you generally have a wider tire (ie. I had 205 width on my steel wheels, but when I got rims, I got 215 tires), which also uses more gas.
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
I haven't weighed the rims, but if you look at EPA estimates for the LE and the SE, they are the exact same. So if there is any difference in gas comsumption it is less than .5 mpg, in other words not significant enough to even measure.
The difference in weight is 55lbs
Personally I chose the SE over the LE. I think resale will be fine, the SE has more equipment so therefore it should cost more.
I just liked the feel of the SE, but if you were really worried about handling you could buy the LE and put better springs/struts in it
I always THOUGHT that alloy rims were lighter, but honestly I don't know for a fact.
The LE comes with P205/65TR15 size tires
The SE comes with P215/60VR16 size tires
(data taken from edmunds)
IMO the slightly larger tire can help the dry pavement handling. The larger tires most likely weigh more.
Alloy rims looks better, that is the real deal why people want them. They are more of a pain to care for and if your wife "curbs" the car it costs more to repair
What I was saying above is that you can buy the LE and replace the struts and springs to make it handle more like the SE (IMO you would get more resale out of the SE)
The difference in gas is so small, that you'll never notice it.
Alloys are actually heavier than the steel, from my understanding. On top of that, stock alloys are BIGGER in diameter than the steel wheels, and the larger the diameter of the wheel, the more revs necessary to turn the wheel, thus using more gas. Also, with alloys, you generally have a wider tire (ie. I had 205 width on my steel wheels, but when I got rims, I got 215 tires), which also uses more gas.
if you increase the diameter of the wheel, the rubber gets smaller though.
no matter the size of the rim, be it 14 or 19, the rolling diameter is the same.
__________________ "live in the moment, forget the past and ignore the future"
Quote:
Originally Posted by white3ch0c0late
Yes, Alex is the resident woman-problems guy here at TN... take his advice...
'95 i4 camry sedan -> wrecked june of 2006 by a girl who couldn't drive
'95 v6 camry coupe (dropped, rimmed, front end converted, tinted and debadged) -> current
if you increase the diameter of the wheel, the rubber gets smaller though.
no matter the size of the rim, be it 14 or 19, the rolling diameter is the same.
I know this... but what I meant was, the rim itself is bigger, and thus, the entire wheel is heavier... and that being said, more revs are required to turn the heavier wheel.
__________________ 2009 Audi TT 2.0T --- THE BEAST! 2002 LE 4Cyl --- Gone, but not forgotten. 06/28/09
Glaring blue HID bulbs are NOT classy, and don't make your car look nice, no matter what that kid in the Civic told you.
Last edited by white3ch0c0late; 09-05-2005 at 10:53 PM.
Your info says you're from Chicago. I dont know what kind of cars people drive up there but I am from the Washington, DC-area and I can tell you that there are more people driving SE's around here than anything. The new Gen 5.5 SE's seem to be the most popular trim but I'm sure the LE is leading the SE but only marginally. SE's are EVERYWHERE around Maryland and DC. Even the Gen 5 SE's were very popular. But then again, the DC-area is a very wealthy metropolitan area so people dont hesistate to spend more for an SE. And even the 2005/2006 XLE's are selling like hotcakes around here. Toyota products in general are the preferred car of choice in this area. You drive around a mall parking lot and on every row out of 50 cars there will probably be about 5-8 Camry's.
Your info says you're from Chicago. I dont know what kind of cars people drive up there but I am from the Washington, DC-area and I can tell you that there are more people driving SE's around here than anything. The new Gen 5.5 SE's seem to be the most popular trim but I'm sure the LE is leading the SE but only marginally. SE's are EVERYWHERE around Maryland and DC. Even the Gen 5 SE's were very popular. But then again, the DC-area is a very wealthy metropolitan area so people dont hesistate to spend more for an SE. And even the 2005/2006 XLE's are selling like hotcakes around here. Toyota products in general are the preferred car of choice in this area. You drive around a mall parking lot and on every row out of 50 cars there will probably be about 5-8 Camry's.
Where I live in MA, there is more LE's on the road than any other camry. I see at least 2 Gen5 Camry LE's an Hour or more when im driving one time i was on the highway and somehow 6 Gen5 Camry's meet up and we were in some kind of formation it was awsome! but only 1 of them were SE.
So i think your right, different areas have different versions of camrys. I rarely see a XLE ever.
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they just look so damn sexy with the spoiler / black emblems / kit
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