Toyota's Solara is more than a two-door Camry

srobertson

On Oct. 31, I had two things on my mind: Halloween and this week's test car, a Toyota Camry Solara.

Soskin Toyota provided the vehicle, painted in Absolute Red, just in time for a Halloween cruise, so I pointed the sleek 220-horsepower four-seater toward the rolling hills north of here. But within minutes I noticed something spooky about this vehicle, which I will tell you about in a minute.

Toyota, with sights set on becoming the world's largest automaker, builds reliable, efficient automobiles. The Camry sedan, often the best-selling model in the U.S., is hard to beat for comfort, resale value and quality. But, according to many automotive journalists, it's not exactly the most exciting automobile on the road. So, Toyota also builds a sleeked-up, powered-up, two-door version, but instead of just calling it the "Camry two door," they gave it a catchy name of it's own: Solara.

Initial impression

The rear end of the 2004 Solara is exciting part. It's the prettiest part of the car! Styling cues are borrowed from the snazzy Lexus SC430, which Toyota also builds. The front end is not much different than the standard Camry. The Solara I drove, the color of a lipstick from the 1950s, reminds me of Marilyn Monroe's pout: sensual, appealing, ready to get you into trouble. First bit of advice: buy this car if you want to be noticed. People will gawk.

Slide into the Solara and you'll be impressed first with the luxury and comfort, second by the roominess. Most people buy a two-door coupe for the sporty image it conveys. The feeling of elegance surprised me. Maybe it's the dark band of wood trim that runs around the cabin. Perhaps it's the brushed chrome panels and accents. The soft, supportive, perforated leather seats seem to say, "Welcome aboard." Glance around and you'll wonder how they made a coupe seem so spacious. It could be that the abundance of glass gives it an "airy" feeling. Sitting in the back seat, I silently thanked the engineers for giving me a good view of the outdoors and ample legroom. But my head touched the roof, and I'm only 5 feet, 11 inches tall. Another inch of headroom would have been welcomed.

Driving the Solara

In typical Toyota fashion, the engine is as smooth as your grandmother's sewing machine. And Toyota's new five-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission was a pleasure to use. It can be left in fully automatic mode or the gears can be selected manually in sports car fashion. The extra gear improves the performance and adds to the versatility. Downshifts when passing are smoother, and in normal city driving, the closely spaced shifts are less intrusive. The Solara rides on the same platform as the Camry, but its front-wheel drive underpinnings have been re-tuned for a sportier ride. I've ridden in sports sedans that have the ride of a gravel truck, but somehow Solara's engineers managed to keep the ride compliant.

Now for the spooky part. Driving a Solara takes some getting used to. Remember the last time you pulled onto the interstate? You accelerated onto the entrance ramp, checked your mirrors for approaching traffic from behind and watched for traffic in front of you. You instinctively adjusted your speed to blend with the traffic and road conditions. Your eyes and ears told you how fast you were going, and then you glanced at the speedometer to verify your speed. Well, that won't work in a Solara. Your ears will be fooled. When they say, "Hey we're doing about 70 mph," you'll actually be doing around 90! This car is so quiet and smooth, it's downright spooky! Remember the voice command feature I wrote about in the Honda Accord a couple of weeks ago? This car needs a voice that says, "Slow down! Slow down!"

My 2004 Solara SLE V6 coupe listed for $27,914 and was very well equipped with side curtain airbags, skid control, anti-lock brakes, a rear spoiler, perforated leather, moon roof and most of the typical luxury accouterments we have come to expect. Both men and women I showed it to were very impressed. "It's fast, it's sleek, it's sexy, what's not to love?" was a typical comment.

In conclusion, the Solara is both a pleasure to look at and to drive. The ride is uncommonly compliant for a sporty car. If you like the way a Camry drives, you'll like a Solara. You get stand-out-from-the-crowd sporty looks without a harsh, jarring ride. And although it doesn't have the kind of horsepower to keep it in front of some other sport coupes in its price range, it's no slouch either. Just keep an eye on the speedometer, because this car can be driven very quickly when the Halloween spirit moves you.

Steve Robertson of Robertson's Creative Photography is a car enthusiast and former staff writer/photographer for the Southeast Missourian.