Our Camry LE Wagon started up as quietly as a sewing machine and remained rattle-free throughout our drive. On the highway, it accelerated quickly and smoothly to 70 mph with a peppy, throaty sound. Once up to speed, the our test wagon was comfortable and handled responsively when merging into traffic. The cruise-control buttons were on the steering wheel itself, so we didn't have to worry about quickly locating a lever to activate this feature.The LE Wagon offered a sporty, high-performance drive compared with the heavy handling of some other wagons. Shifting in and out of gear was simple, and the lever was ergonomically designed to feel good in our driver's hand. (Keep in mind that the LE Wagon won't shift into drive unless the brake is on.)
Control was never a problem, whether we were driving on ice or packed snow, or when we tried a 360-degree turn at 45 mph. We were even able to swing a U-turn on a normal-width side street. Braking on an icy road from 20 mph, we found the ABS worked as advertised but made a loud grating sound.
When going up a steep hill or pulling a load, we slipped out of overdrive, floored it and quickly reached 45 mph at 6,000 rpms.