2002 Toyota Camry SE V-6

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" versus "You snooze, you lose." Which road do you take when it comes to updating the best-selling car in America? There's a lot at stake: Do you play it safe and conservative in order to retain your current customers (well over 400,000 of them last year)? Or do you take some chances and change your image in hopes of casting an even wider net? Toyota's management, product development, and design teams took both routes and arrived at what'll probably be a popular destination.

First order of business: an all-new more up-to-date platform. The third- and fourth-generation Camry's underpinnings had reached their 10th birthday. Longer, wider, and taller than the car it replaces, this fifth-generation sedan rides atop a 2-in.-longer wheelbase that provides a significant 1.5 in. more rear legroom.

The more visible result is the Camry's newer aggressive styling. It's a decidedly bolder statement than the tepid look of the '97-'01 models, with a clear Toyota-esque family resemblance: the tall beltline of the Echo, Prius, and Avalon, plus a spot-on rendition of the sloping creased hood and raked headlamps of the '02 Lexus ES 300 (which shares this new platform). Toyota hopes this buff shape will generate more buyer excitement for the Camry, beyond that of a conservative family-sedan, which is merely a practical choice.

Interestingly enough, the biggest news under the hood isn't about an all-new V-6 engine, but rather the standard inline-four. Seventy-five percent of Camry customers choose the base engine, which for '02 is lighter and more powerful. The all-new 2.4L I-4 weighs over 50 lb less than the engine it replaces, and horsepower and torque are up 15 and 10 percent, respectively, to 157 hp at 5600 rpm and 162 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.