63 hours in a Camry XSE V6
I’ve always liked the saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” But truth is, even when you’re not having fun, time still flies by! It’s been a year since I started my cross country road trip from New York City to Los Angeles (and back). A trip that took me 37 days, placed 14k miles on an odometer of a 2014.5 Camry SE and had me adventure across 28 different states. You can see all the pics your heart desires by checking out the #CamryTour hashtag on Instagram.
All those moments, memories and more are filed away in what I hope is a large section of my brain ‘cause not a day goes by that I don’t reflect on that trip. So when my “real” job had me visiting California this past week, I knew to ask Toyota USA for another Camry during my time there. I figured it would be a perfect way to commemorate CamryTour, a whole year later. I can tell you now, it was the best decision to do so.
Toyota agreed and had ready a 2015 Camry XSE V6. I’ve never driven a V6 Camry, hard to believe, right? But let me tell you, WHOA. I picked up the Camry from the Press Car fleet at Toyota’s HQ in Torrance, CA around 6pm and drove roughly 35 miles into Monrovia, CA (where my hotel was). The acceleration is addicting. It felt great, handled well and could really MOVE without any drama. Step on the gas and Vrooooooom, you’re OFF! I’ve had BSM (Blind Spot Monitoring) on other Toyota models before but the LDA (Lane Departure Alert) was new to me. It was a tad annoying on my initial trip so I deactivated it...but I did turn it back on the next day and left it on. Once you’re used to it, you’ll learn to love it. One of my favorite features was the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). Essentially “radar” and wow, it works amazingly well. On the freeways of California, I really enjoyed using it, especially with conference calls over Bluetooth. The Automatic High Beam (AHB) is really slick. Every time it activated, I needed it. One night coming into the hotel parking lot, it was dark and I saw two or three folks grabbing luggage out of the back of their car and I thought for a moment the AHB would activate and make it seem as if I was flashing the light at them, but it didn’t do that at all. I haven’t read the specs, but I’m guessing it’s tied into the speedometer.
So I’ll tell you the safety feature that really saved me was the Pre-Collision System (PCS). Using millimeter-wave radar to detect the risk of a rear-end collision with a preceding vehicle, the system warns the driver via sound and display alerts to prompt braking when a risk is detected. In the 63 hours of me driving this Camry XSE, the system alerted me 3 times. It’s a super effective safety feature and one that I’m glad was on this model. It works and works well.
When it comes to the exterior styling of this new 2015 Camry, I wasn’t totally loving it at launch. While I thought it looked good, I was still fond of the 2012-2014.5 Camry body style. Spending time behind the wheel, I’ve come around. This new Camry certainly lives up to the “BOLD” branding that all the advertising has been sharing.
One of my work appointments had me visiting the town of Thousand Oaks, California. I decided to get off the freeway and explore a little instead of driving straight into town. With that, I found some sweet roads filled with blind hills and curvy corners...eventually leading me to the King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, California.
After my work appointment, I headed north and connected with the Pacific Coast Highway. I wanted to venture north into Santa Barbara but I’ll have to save that for another time (can’t wait to share that one with you). Near Oxnard, I stopped at the Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, CA Missile Park. At this park, they have lots of missiles (naturally) and 2 fighter planes including an F14 Tomcat (hello Top Gun) and this Phantom (pictured below). As a kid, I loved these two fighter jets (and still do).
My California trip wasn’t all freeways and back roads, I also got to hang out in Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Fancy homes and palm trees, not a bad street in Beverly Hills, that’s for sure. Fun fact, I tried to track down the original 90210 house and it’s not even located in Beverly Hills, it’s out in Sierra Madre. LOL!
Dat Gucci life on Rodeo Drive. Faaaaaancy.
I really enjoyed driving this Camry. If it were mine, I’d have it in Super White, rock a Yakima roof rack, lower it a little and put some Vossen CVT Gloss Graphite wheels...oh and you know, tint the windows...and maybe throw a sweet exhaust on there too. What do you think?
If you’ve been following me for awhile now, you know I like my coffee. Ok, ok, LOVE my coffee! Haha. And even more, I love to explore local coffee shops whenever possible. So while in Hollywood, I hit up Coffee Commissary and tried their “Cubano.” Essentially a latte (espresso and steamed milk) with cinammon sugar. It was amazing and I can’t wait to go back for another.
Also, while in town, I met up with Lois (@duchessoflexus on Instagram) and we went to The Habit. I’ve never been before...I found it to be a pretty tasty burger especially with that Mocha milkshake! Warning, food coma is possible!
After dinner, we decided to visit the Griffith Observatory. From here, you can see the glorious sprawl of Los Angeles and Downtown LA. Oh and in case you’re wondering, yes, the sound of an IS-F behind you in a tunnel is amazing! Ah-MAZING!
Isn’t Los Angeles beautiful? Wish I had my 55-200mm lens with me. Darn.
So here we are, hour 63...
Returning the keys on Thursday was tough to do. Having this Camry reminded me of so many people and sights from the cross country trip... I wanted to relive the adventure all over again. I briefly contemplated not returning the car and driving back to St. Louis, but grand theft auto probably wouldn’t help me with another Press Car loaner. Haha! Til my next adventure, a sincere thanks for being here and following.