bellett.net

Well, the poor Santa Fe clobbered another Kanga, so its into the pannel beaters for repairs. So the very generous AAMI have again provided a free rental car. This time its a Camry, because thats what the agent had. Unfortunately not a hybrid, as that is what we also considered when we bought Nic. (Santa) Yeah, its not the current model, 2 years old with 52000ks up.
So whats it like?
Well, firstly I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I have to give my thoughts because...... well, I don't have a Bellett story at the minute.
Its a perfectly acceptable car, quiet, sufficiently powerful, and really roomy. Stereo is good too. And economical, 7l/100ks on the trip to Sydney. Thats as good as the Santa Fe! (Though its smaller and lighter and has 2 less seats.)
But. Who put those low profile tyres on there? The ride is choppy, even harsh even on the blacktop. On the potholes its horrible. I guess we are spoilt by the Santa Fe, particularly for traction. Push the throttle and it goes, but the Camry spins one wheel in the wet, and on muddy dirt (we have had fantastic rain!) Its slewy and not easy to keep straight. I suppose we need more than one diff.
And theres no lumbar support (!) in the drivers seat. I had to put a rolled up jumper behind my back. And its pretty hard too. And the cruise control over runs down hills, so its not as good as a Corolla.
To be fair, the tyres are just about baldy, and it hasnt had a service for 22000ks acording to the logbook, so I will be returning it for something else. Maybe an X trail?

Sorry if I sound like a sook, its ok, really, just not a horse for this course.
And I am grateful.

All good fun,
cheers, Matt.

Your a harsh man Farmer. Be gentle, it's only a "Toy" ota.

Always good to read your car reviews Farmer,and hopefully no one hurt except Kanga
''don't have a Bellett story at the minute"
Well there's got to be a story in the GT in the back ground
where,when,how,and when Gerry

@Gunna. Yeah, I'm mean! At $26,490 its a lot of car for the money, and I am comparing it to a car that was $42k odd when new. It is a perfectly acceptable car for the blacktop, which would be greatly improved with prpoer wheels and tyres. It doesnt need the 17s.
But I wouldnt swap it for the old Santa.

@Gerry. Yeah mate no damage to Tracy. Left a hole in the Nic though, and thankfully the airbags didn't deploy, though the light stayed on afterwards, so a sensor or wiring is damaged.
The GT question is one oft asked. Rhys reckons if I hadn't spent time or money on other cars and trucks I would have it on the road. Maybe.
It is getting moved into the shed in the next week, so a step closer. But the Elf is first, then there is a half done sedan to complete. Its a good thing I'm still young! At least I won't be boared in retirement.

Cheers, Matt.

Perhaps those wheels and tyres are part of the pakage that came with the spoiler and the crappy and daggy side decals. Remember the TV adds for them. It was supposed to be something naughty or something? Meh still just a camry and just like every other freaking camry or corolla that is privately owned, you will get stuck behind it on a single lane road doing ten kilometers per hour under the speed limit and every time you near the overtaking lane the for some unknown reason remember they are driving and find the accelerator pedal until the over taking lane ends and they slow back down again.

Ouch! Thats harsh nephew. But I do know what you mean.
And yeah, its a worn out trick the wheels and stickers 'specials'.

Hey, perhaps that perception is why I got road raged in Sydney for the first time in like, ever. I dared to stop for a pedestrian while turning into a parking lot. Apparently I should have mulched the old dude because there wasn't a crossing. Last time I checked that was an offence though. The horn behind blew a lot, so I moved over to let him past as he was obviously in a hurry. He pulled alongside to say some swear words and wave his hands about. (He looked a bit like Kyrgious) I waved him on, but he wasn't in so much of a hurry as he needed to swear some more. So I told him to have a good day and smiled, but it didn't seem to make him any happier, poor bloke. Perhaps he had an issue with his crappy daewoo hatchy thing.

All good fun,
Cheers, Matt.