92 whichcar.com.au/wheels
E REALLY shouldn’t
take it personally.
Sliding sales of
medium to large cars
may have pulled the
manufacturing rug out
from under the Aussie-
made Mitsubishi 380, Ford
Falcon, Toyota Camry and
Holden Commodore over the
last decade, but it’s a global
phenomenon affecting every
developed market in the world.
Facing a juggernaut of SUV
aspiration, car sales are faltering- especially mainstream medium
types – in a dramatic fashion. Ford sold 56,172 Mondeos
across Europe last year, supported by more than 200,000
sales of the identical Fusion in the US, yet even that
combined total isn’t a patch on its 322,716 European
sales from 20 years earlier. Or enough to prevent the
Blue Oval from gradually phasing out much of its
passenger-car line, in lieu of expansion with EVs, SUVs,
and trucks.
The new-gen Opel/Vauxhall Insignia (nee Holden ZB
Commodore/Calais) snagged 72,347 sales in Europe last
year – slightly less than the old model a year earlier, and
a world away from the 384,885 Vectras flogged by GM in
1997 – while Toyota’s impressive new-generation Camry
was beaten by the RAV4 in the US for the first time in
2017, which cracked 407,594 sales.
Hyundai’s once-strong Sonata is suffering a similar
fate in the face of booming Tucson and Santa Fe
popularity, while even Kia’s striking, left-field Stinger is
yet to make the impact its passionate design team were
quietly hoping for. Six months in, just over 6000 have
been sold in the US, while its Australian tally sits at
1185, or just over half its European total. That’s chicken
feed in mainstream circles.
It’s entirely possible, then, that the mid-size crew of
the future will become the new niche – one that mixes
the agility, weight, and efficiency advantages of a proper
car with newfound sparkle and style (think Peugeot’s
imminent frameless-doored 508 coupe-sedan). But where
does that leave the current crop? Trading on former
glories or deserving of a rosier future?
You know there’s something in the water when even
Toyota pulls out all stops creating its next Camry
generation. Model cycle eight inherits Toyota’s promising
new TNGA platform and brings with it a level of Lexus-
style craftsmanship and refinement that has been
alien to Camry for at least 20 years. Lowest-common-
denominator engineering is out; benchmark-challenging
ability is in, even though the gen-eight Camry was
designed and engineered for Americans.
Miraculously, it feels high-end Japanese and that’s an
achievement. Especially our $40,990 SL Hybrid test car,
with its ventilated perforated-leather seats, organically
formed soft-touch dashboard, and even the intriguing
depth of its multi-hued Steel Blonde paint colour. In
some lights, it could be mushroom. In others, almost
mauve. That may sound about as hip as denture repair
but it really enhances the Camry’s handsome shape. For
once, a multitude of creases and swage lines genuinely
contribute to the greater good, styling-wise, though that
doesn’t apply to Camry’s mouthguard-like grille insert,
or its bizarre Alice Cooper-esque rear bumper slits.
The identically priced Holden Calais, in comparison,
feels deeply Germanic. Unlike the almost sumptuous
Camry SL, the Calais nameplate is no longer reflective
of a plush, cosseting trim level. Instead, we’re talking
soberly monochromatic colours, firmly padded charcoalWORDSNATHAN PONCHARDPHOTOS
ALASTAIR BROOK