2003 Toyota Camry SE

Attempting to fix something that ain't broke is always a risky proposition. When you're talking about messing with the best-selling Toyota Camry, the prospect of unwarranted tinkering takes on far greater gravity. In recasting its ultra-successful, 5th-generation Camry for the 2002 model year, Toyota confronted multiple—and often contradictory—goals. Aside from mere practical considerations, the engineering team led by Kosaku Yamada was charged with imparting a new sense of style and emotion to the mix—no small feat in a market segment that's notoriously conservative in its de facto automotive tastes. We've recently sampled the 2003 Camry in all of its flavors. While concentrating on the sporty SE variant, our extended seat time in all versions led to one overriding conclusion on the undertaking: It worked. Big time.

The SE version adds visual punch courtesy of a blackout sport grille and headlight masking, rear spoiler and a chrome exhaust tip.

The gestation process of the 5th-generation Camry was unlike any before. Toyota describes it as much more "horizontal," in effect relying on new simultaneous engineering approaches to streamline the design and assembly procedures while trimming costs in both of those key areas. Complementing that aspect of the program, Toyota's best-selling sedan also arrived in '02 with the highest percentage of domestic content in any Camry ever produced—about 85 percent initially—rising to near totality by the end of its life cycle. One other change of note was the shuffling of the overall lineup, which jettisoned the entry-level CE model in favor of an even better-appointed and value-priced LE; a new, sport-oriented SE; and the luxo-packaged XLE.


For 2003, all Camrys come standard with remote keyless entry. Optional power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals are available on automatic-transmission-fitted Camrys only. Stepping up to the LXE gets you a 6-disc CD changer and fog lamps. Continuing for 2003, the SE version boasts visual punch courtesy of a blackout sport grille and headlight masking, rear spoiler and a chrome exhaust tip. At the core of all Camry sedans is a light yet strong unibody that employs a host of high-tech tricks to gain stiffness, enhance occupant protection and trim NVH levels.

Toyota endowed all Camrys with a healthy array of standards, headed by air conditioning, power windows, locks and mirrors, cruise control and a 60/40 folding rear seat back.

Toyota endowed all three versions of the 5th-generation Camry with a healthy array of standards, headed by air conditioning, power windows/locks/mirrors, cruise control, a 60/40 folding rear seat back and Gen III "depowered" airbags. Key options: side-curtain bags, Vehicle Skid Control and leather upholstery (on V-6s only), navigation system, and sunroof. Each Camry trim level also boasts its own signature interior look. In the case of the SE, that includes special fabric seat coverings, brushed-chrome dash trim, titanium-color sport gauges and a three-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel.


Chassis design continues on a familiar Camry path, utilizing a coil-spring strut at each corner. However, numerous tweaks to the 5th-generation model allow more suspension travel at both ends while delivering a smoother, better-controlled ride and lower NVH levels. Choosing SE spec also brings underpinnings that are substantially tauter, the stiffer spring/shock combo being augmented by a front strut bar, higher-effort power steering and 215/60VR16 all-season tires in place of the standard 205/65TR15 rubber. That overall combination does tend to transfer a bit more aural and tactile input back through the passenger compartment than on any other Camry variant. But it only takes one spirited romp down a twisty 2-lane backroad to confirm that the SE represents a tradeoff well worth considering by anyone who has the slightest enthusiast leanings. Still well short of BMW M3 territory, the SE moves palpably beyond the LE and XLE with respect to sheer handling prowess.