General Car Conversation
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,434
Likes: 3,660
From: California
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 17,798
Likes: 1,680
From: Ohio
My morning commute was pretty uninteresting until someone in a Camry TRD pulled besides me at the light. I saw him previously zig zagging around other cars, so I said why not. Pulled on him at the light and saw him try to catch up. At the next light was complete proof that having too much power (what is it, 301 hp?) in a FWD platform without at least an LSD is pretty silly as he was having trouble getting going with the combo tire spin, torque steer and the nannies kicking in. Left him way behind and after hitting 60 I slowed back down. He eventually shot past me going over 70, and I was back to my boring morning commute.
I will say the TRD Camry is a nice looking Camry, Especially this one in bright red, but I would rather just spend a little more and get an IS350. If I were to buy another Camry, it would probably just be an XSE V6 in grey or silver
I will say the TRD Camry is a nice looking Camry, Especially this one in bright red, but I would rather just spend a little more and get an IS350. If I were to buy another Camry, it would probably just be an XSE V6 in grey or silver
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,385
Likes: 187
From: US
I'd wager it's because base to base the 2.0 in the Mercedes has to work harder, and the X5 40i with the B58 I6 is about as good as an I6 out there for both performance and efficiency (even more so in the M340i). Officially by the numbers the BMW wins in the city and the Mercedes on the highway. More impressive is the BMW is 200lbs heavier and is within 2 mpg. In real world though you could definitely get mid to high 20's on the highway especially in Eco Mode.
GLE 350
2.0T I4
255hp
19/27
4608lbs
X5 40i
3.0T I6
335hp
21/25
4828lbs
GLE 350
2.0T I4
255hp
19/27
4608lbs
X5 40i
3.0T I6
335hp
21/25
4828lbs
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,434
Likes: 3,660
From: California
Honda put a lot of work into preventing torque steer...one change like going to smaller tires and the torque steer is back. Because the 20" tires are harsh, a friend of mine went to 18" to get a more comfortable ride and torque steer was now present, but he didn't really care because he doesn't take the car on the track
Lead Lap
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,585
Likes: 24
From: Washington
Yeah a fair comparison should be between 450 and 40i because they both have 48v system and similar engine size. The published numbers seem to go hand in hand. Real life numbers on the other hand seem off. I've seen MB drivers reported lower numbers on both 350 and 450. I personally get much higher than published on my 40i. Mixed driving in Comfort is usually 24-25. Pure freeway would put out at least 28. I don't like ECO because it reduces AC output. Lol. I just notice MB has one more gear. Could this be why GLE is a nicer/smoother for distance travelling?
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 17,798
Likes: 1,680
From: Ohio
Honda put a lot of work into preventing torque steer...one change like going to smaller tires and the torque steer is back. Because the 20" tires are harsh, a friend of mine went to 18" to get a more comfortable ride and torque steer was now present, but he didn't really care because he doesn't take the car on the track
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,434
Likes: 3,660
From: California
When the 10th gen Type R came out I read an article on how Honda specifically setup the type R to prevent or at least mitigate it, which has to do with the steering axis scrub radius. an integral part of the design is the 20' tires. Go to a smaller tire size, you throw the design off. When I drove it, it wasn't noticeable but probably doing a launch on a dragstrip would be more noticeable
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 35,276
Likes: 305
From: ON/NY
IMO, the Camry is arguably a better daily, even as a TRD, but then again, I've heard the suspension is a little firm. I agree though, it sounds appealing and looks not-bad as well. I'm glad they didn't go off the deep end with the styling.
I hate to say it, but the V-6 Camry has better power-to-weight than an IS, assuming the stated figures reflect reality.
But power isn't everything, as you saw. FWD means it's traction-limited. My RWD IS 350 has absolutely no wheelspin on decent pavement in a straight line. Though, I would say 265-width rear tires might be overkill...
I hate to say it, but the V-6 Camry has better power-to-weight than an IS, assuming the stated figures reflect reality.
But power isn't everything, as you saw. FWD means it's traction-limited. My RWD IS 350 has absolutely no wheelspin on decent pavement in a straight line. Though, I would say 265-width rear tires might be overkill...
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 17,798
Likes: 1,680
From: Ohio
When the 10th gen Type R came out I read an article on how Honda specifically setup the type R to prevent or at least mitigate it, which has to do with the steering axis scrub radius. an integral part of the design is the 20' tires. Go to a smaller tire size, you throw the design off. When I drove it, it wasn't noticeable but probably doing a launch on a dragstrip would be more noticeable
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 31,944
Likes: 2,737
From: North Carolina
4. Help new members understand how the forum works. When a new poster finds their way into the thread with a question that is better suited for its own topic in Car Chat or in a model specific thread, please help them by replying to their comment with a link to where they should post their question to get the most comprehensive responses, and report the post so moderators can review and potentially move their post to the right spot.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,434
Likes: 3,660
From: California
Interesting, well I was never the type to really like cars like that since it's trying to force a lot out of something that at the end of the day is just an econobox. It's not really any faster than my daily but you have to live with driving a civic day to day, plus a manual is a pain in traffic and requires more skill if you are trying to just go full type A lol!
Last edited by AMIRZA786; Jul 28, 2022 at 12:52 PM.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 31,944
Likes: 2,737
From: North Carolina
General Car Conversation thread guidelines (please read before posting)
The goal of this General Car Conversation thread is to provide an ongoing natural conversation about car related topics that ebbs and flows. The thread was requested by Club Lexus members to create a ‘general’ chat space for car related topics & tangents which allows continual conversation and will help keep other car chat threads on their more discrete and specific topics.
Posters should remember the following guidelines for posting in this thread:
2. Significant vehicle related posts should be posted as a new thread in the Car Chat forum. This includes industry news topics, new model releases, questions about car comparisons, vehicle reviews and other general topics that are likely to spawn a comprehensive and enjoyable on topic discussion. Use your judgement here, if you think something would make a good thread, create a new thread vs posting in here.
Please remember that the existence of this thread is predicated upon our ability to keep it clean and fun for everyone.
The goal of this General Car Conversation thread is to provide an ongoing natural conversation about car related topics that ebbs and flows. The thread was requested by Club Lexus members to create a ‘general’ chat space for car related topics & tangents which allows continual conversation and will help keep other car chat threads on their more discrete and specific topics.
Posters should remember the following guidelines for posting in this thread:
2. Significant vehicle related posts should be posted as a new thread in the Car Chat forum. This includes industry news topics, new model releases, questions about car comparisons, vehicle reviews and other general topics that are likely to spawn a comprehensive and enjoyable on topic discussion. Use your judgement here, if you think something would make a good thread, create a new thread vs posting in here.
Please remember that the existence of this thread is predicated upon our ability to keep it clean and fun for everyone.
