Camry 97 vs Cefiro 97

**cs_nognog** · April 15th, 2012 01:12 AM

I'm strangely attracted as to how boring the late 90s Camry is. Plus the fact that I hardly see any of it on the road, I see the old Cefiros everywhere. I think the Cefiro is more advanced in terms of technology, but I feel that the more "high tech" it is, the more expensive it is when something breaks down. Hmm, I think I should try to test drive both...

**clairenceh** · August 16th, 2012 07:59 PM

Ganito una naming sasakyan. May dalawang cefiro kami pero ngayon nakatambak na lang. Pinapatakbo ng mama ko to ng 200+ sa sctex dati. Ang bilis! Pero lakas sa gas.

**Egan101** · August 17th, 2012 09:28 AM

I would go with the Cefiro but I would be looking at the later model A32's (98-2002) instead. The early model A33's (2003-2005 Cefiro) can also be had at a good price nowadays. If you are hesitant to get a 6-cylinder car, you might as well consider a 6th gen Accord (98-02).

**basti08** · August 17th, 2012 11:13 AM

Nice choice of cars.

Back in 1997, I would get a Cefiro in an instant. It has better engine than the Camry and almost all of the other midsizers (*ahem Galant VR 2.5L V6 ;) ) bigger and upscaled marketed interior and cabin space, offers more refinement and has more road presence than the 1997 Camry. But seeing how this particular model (1997 Cefiro) go in the 2ndhand market; most are pretty badly beaten up, selling in 'as-is' basis, some needs 'some repairs' etc. It is surprising that it's quite hard to find a Cefiro in an immaculate condition. There are some but the ratio is fairly low compared to the beaten up units, even considering the FACT that the Cefiro along with the Opel Vectra has become the best selling mid sizers during that time (Vectra suffers similar fate). On the contrary, the rather rarer Camry seems to have landed on a lot more careful owners, a lot of 1997 units you can find for sale on the net are mostly fresh, some even 'pormado' to a subtle, decent way.

Still, either of the cars has its own charms. By the age of the car you are considering, the more important thing is to get the better maintained unit. If you insist on those two model, my tips are the slightly updated versions of the two.

Camry GXE

Which had 15" mags (vs 14" of the 1997 model), all leather upholstery, early gen optitrons, 4 wheel disc brakes (vs disc drums of the 1997) and ABS (yes the 1997 doesn't have ABS but does have dual airbags) and slightly revised looks.

Cefiro Elite (Yulon)

Which had revised styling to make it look closer to Infiniti Q45, even ups the ante with sunroof, power seats, rear passenger shades and other upgraded small bits and pieces.