The best no-nonsense cabin this side of the Taj Intercontinental!

Even if the style, poise, road manners and the performance hasn’t got you as yet (must be something wrong there methinks!) surely the Camry’s interior will help make a believer out of the most jaded. The cabin of the Camry is the place to be the other side of the excellent but pricey E-class Mercedes-Benz. Thanks to the longish 2720mm wheelbase and the punched-out roof, the Camry has acres of living room with some of the best seats in the business to seat four occupants. I don’t mean this lightly because in the course of our 1100km plus evaluation trial the Camry kept yours truly and Aspi Bhathena at ease, whether one was in the driver’s seat, the front passenger’s seat or in the plush rear bench. The seats up front are great with phenomenal support all round and many other car makers would do well to emulate Toyota in this regard. Having said that, the driving position was spot on with just a few adjustments but thanks to the electronic adjustments and also the steering wheel rake adjustment, getting into the best driving position for most will be a breeze.

The Camry is big, thankfully big for its immediate competition. The door swing wide open and the optimised hip points mean that occupants can slide into, and out of their seats in super comfort. The space at both front and rear is impressive and leather upholstery as on our test car, will be standard fitment. Our test car came with a moon roof and rain deflectors which are optional items. Central console houses brilliant Pioneer tape deck and audio system plus one of the finest climate control systems. Instrument panel houses two large dial units for the rev counter and speedo with temperature and fuel guages built in. Large thick-rimmed steering wheel has controls for clock and multi-functional display neatly arranged between its centre spokes on the left while the boot is big enough to camp in! Fit and finish are typically Toyota - perfect in all respects.

But the most important fact even before getting into the car concerns the doors which swing wide open to allow unhindered access along with the superbly thought out hip points which allow you to just slide onto the seats without doing a contortionist’s act. Space at the rear is in fact one of the defining features of the cabin and a majority of Camry owners will revel in the leg, elbow and headroom.

The dashboard is huge and flowing the way it needs to be but thankfully devoid of any jazz and glitz. Instead there is an air of class which pervades with outstanding ergonomic thought on display, be it in the steering wheel, switchgear stalks or the air con controls on the centre console or the pedals-seat-steering wheel relationship. The instrument panel comprises a speedo cum rev counter plus fuel gauge along with various telltales while there is a very thoughtful multi-function display above the super sounding Pioneer audio system with logic control deck. The interior and its ergonomics are hard to fault, again the superlatives trickle through!