day, August 7, 1992 — North Shore News - 23 a eee wavs NEWS photos Noi! Lucente THE TOYOTA Camry Wagon offers available seven-passenger seating with a third, rear-facing seat. Based on the Camry sedan, the wagon is available with a 130-hcrsepower 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine or a 185-horsepower V6 engine. Toyota Camry Wagon Seven-passenger wagon could be alternative to mini-van INTRODUCED an all-new Camry sedan last fail, but the station wagon model just arrived recently. TOYOTA The new Camry Wagon is bas- ed on the sedan, using the same powertrain options, wheelbase, and styling from the front bumper to the rear docss. The wagon is about four centimetres Jonger than the sedan, with most of that extra jength at the rear. The bulky rear-end is tall and wide with a one-piece rear hat- chback that opens upwards to reveal a very large opening to facilitate easy loading. There is no separate glass hatch, however. The Camry Wagon will seat up to seven peuple (with an optional rear-facing third seat}, and its cargo area is surprisingly cav- ernous. With the rear seat folded flat and the sptit rear seats folded forward, the Camry Wagon has up to 2,117 litres of cargo space. That's enough room to fit a standard sofa or bookcase. The extra passenger and cargo capacity of the Camry Wagon makes it a potential eiternative to a mini- yan. Some compromises in interior layout were made to install the third rear seat, however. The full-size spare tire has been taken out of its storage cavity in the floor to provide space for rear passengers’ legs, and this space can be used as extra storage area when not in use. However, a smalier, temporary spare tire is now mounted on the rear side wall, and does take up some space in the main cargo area. The optional third rear seat package includes two lap and shoulder belts and a child-proof rear haich to prevent young ones from accidentally opening the rear hatch door. Price us tested $25,893 Base price $14,628 Type seven-passenger, door station wagon Layout transverse engine/front-wheel drive Engine 2.2-litre four-cylinder, DOHC, '6 valves, tevin balance shafts, electronic fuel injection Horsepower 130 @ 5,400 rpm Torque 145 Ib-ft @ 4,400 rpm four- front As with the sedan, the Camry Wagon has front-wheel drive and is available with either a 130- horsepower 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine or a 185-horsepower V6 engine. Both of these are sophisticated dual overhead cam units with four valves per cyl- inder, electronic multi-port fuel injection, and dual balance shafts to cancel out engine vibrations. Base models come with a five- speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic, but LE (both four- and six-cylinder) models are availabie only with an automatic transmission. My test vehicle was an LE with the 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine. See Wagon's page 28 Gre Wilson x TEST DRIVE ————— Transmission five-speed automatic, O/D on/off switch, Power/Normal modes Curb weight 1,440 kg/3,175 Ibs Wheelbase 2,620 mnm/103.1 in. Length 4.810 mm/189.4 in. Width 1,770 mm/69,7 in, Height 1,430 mm/S6.3 in. Tires Dunlop P195/70R-14 all-scason radials Cargo capacity 986 fitres/34.8 cu.ft. (rear seat up) Fuel economy City 11.3 L100 km, 25 mpg; Hwy 8.0 L/100 km, 35 mpeg Warranty Complete 3 yrs/ 60,000 km Powertrain 5 yrs/ 100,000 km Inguire about the Camry Wagon at Jim Pattison Toyota, 1765 Marine Dr., North Van.