Until Toyota’s world turned upside down and its cars not stopping due to brake defects, the Camry was the best-selling mid-size sedan in the US. Even after all this, the Camry is still a close second with the Honda Accord and is likely to sell more than 300,000 units in 2010 – although Toyota is providing more incentives to consumers.

It’s somewhat of a mystery why the Camry outsold cars like the Honda Accord, except on the back of its once-sterling reputation for quality and reliability. Now that Ford has reworked its Fusion to good effect and that there are new and improved Hyundai Sonatas and Mazda 6s on the market, there’s more and more competition.

That’s despite a number of changes that Toyota made to the 2010 models. Externally, the car gains a new grille and front bumper, larger projector headlamps, redesigned taillights, and an enlarged lower front air intake. It’s still as beautiful as an anteater, though, and looks downright dowdy alongside the boldly styled new Sonata.

More significantly, the 2010 four-cylinder models get a bigger, 2.5-liter engine in place of the previous 2.4-liter. Like the four-cylinder, the 2.5-liter has variable valve timing. The base engine now produces 169 hp and 167 lb-ft of torque, up from 158 hp and 161 lb-ft. Sportier SE models get a power boost over the base engine, which wasn’t the case before: horsepower is now 179 and torque is 171. The automatic and manual transmissions are both six speed. In addition, stability and traction control as standard features and standard on all Camrys.

The sportier SE grade has aluminum 17-inch wheels fitted with 215/55 tires, up from the base car’s 215/60 15 tires; a blacked-out grill, a set of fog lamps, chrome dual exhaust tips, and ground effects. Inside, it’s distinguished by a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, blue gauge lighting, and aluminum pedals and sill plates. There’s also a sport suspension to go along with the more powerful engine. The base price of an automatic SE is $23,970, which was swollen to $28,530 on our tester with things like keyless entry and start, a fine navigation system, and a power sunroof. And no, that price doesn’t include leather seats.

The interior is roomy, with an excellent back seat that offers as much room as anything in its class. Typical for a Toyota, the controls are well laid out and easy to operate. Against that, the fit and finish is merely good rather than class-leading, and the materials are surpassed by those in the Sonata, for sure, and even by the revamped Fusion, which is somewhat shocking.

The reason that Camry sales are in trouble isn’t just that it has suffered from some major quality issues. It’s that Toyota has so long been selling their cars on its reputation of quality and durability that it has taken its eye off the ball with its products. Even this, the supposedly engaging member of the Camry family, didn’t entice us. In the meantime, the likes of Chevrolet, Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, and Ford have improved the quality of their vehicles while providing other reasons for purchase them, such as more elegantly designed interior and exterior styling, better perceived interior quality, and more fun to drive.

Author Bio: The engine is the most essential part of a car. We gather prices on engine prices across the web and makes it easier for customers shopping for motors or engines. We make it easy and cheap to find a rebuilt or new replacement engine. We carry a large variety of Toyota Engines to fit the Camry, Corolla, Celica, and more.

Category: Automotive
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