1998 Toyota Camry Review - Not My First Pick, But The Best One! 

I can't believe you found a Camry that doesn't have a dented bumper. Very rare find!

Anyone else actually like the interior despite it being boring? It’s starting to feel classic now and it carry’s the warmth from its generation and the 90s

The simplicity of this generation is quite charming. My friend's Dad had a similar Camry fully loaded with leather seats and it was comfy to drive in and classy looking. The gauges are also very easy on the eyes.

This is my favorite generation of Camry, I just love the way they look.

I bought a '98 in '98 and drove it for two years. Then I drove BMWs until last march when my 2008 5 series died. I now drive a 2001 2.2 LE with 110,000 miles and couldn't be happier. Thanks for shooting this car 😊

When I moved from Australia to America in 2002, I used the Toyota Camry as a measuring post to work out how large vehicles in America were compared to Australia. It is probably the only vehicle that was equally ubiquitous in both countries and next to a Suburban or a even a regular F-150 they looked positively tiny despite being the exact same size in both countries.

I have a 1999 Camry. Bought it new in November of 1998. It is the best car I’ve ever owned. 396,000 miles and purrs like a happy tiger.

My mom had two of those. The headlights looked a bit better in 2000 and later when Toyota switched to a multi-reflector design. The 2.2 was a torquey motor, though. As another commenter wrote, it was fast enough not to be a hazard and slow enough not to get you into trouble. The suspension tuning reminded me a lot of my grandmother’s old LTD Crown Victoria.

The ultimate high school car. Cheap, reliable, cheap to fix, efficient, not fast enough to get into danger but not slow enough to be a hazard. It's been the best-selling car for decades because it just works. The gold/tan is iconic Camry transportation appliance. The late 90s/early 00s was peak Toyota. We don't have Squirt soda out East. I don't understand tinting the front windows or windshield. Why would you make it harder to see out of your car on purpose? Just wear sunglasses if it's bright, that way you can take them off when it gets dark. Don't do stuff you don't want people to see if it's for privacy or don't drive a car you don't want to be seen in. Crack a window if it's hot.

When the Toyota Camry was redesigned for the 1997 model year, it became the #1 selling car, beating the Ford Taurus whose 1996 redesign wasn't liked due to its weird oval design despite Toyota's boring design.

I love and still own my 2005 Camry. I bought it used and it's almost 19 years old with well north of 200,000 miles & is an absolute tank of a car. Toronto, Canada

I love this generation Camry. I worked at a Toyota dealership when these were new. Very few things ever went wrong with them. I have never heard anyone else mention this before but I always thought these looked like a dumbed down version of and Alfa Romeo 164 which is a gorgeous car.

me and my wife have a 2000 Camry and it has a v6 its a 4 door been Bullitt proof since February 2013 and then it was at 153k now at 198k and still runs like a clock love these cars thanks Toyota :) the v6 makes 196hp and about 200lb feet of torque and i use it often and it rocks:)

I used to have a 1998 Camry LE in that same color over 10 years ago. It had 250,000 miles and was stupendous. Unfortunately, a tree fell in a storm and smashed into the roof. I still kinda miss that car.

I grew up in this car and I still keep it running. Love it and will keep it forever

99 Camry V6 here! It can survive on modern roads better than some modern cars. Never selling mine, and I'm gonna get through college with it just fine. Only thing I'm worried about is the rust... as always.

I wish Toyota made cars like these again: focused on simplicity and comfort rather than trying to be sporty.

My mom had one pretty similar to this, I’m so glad to finally have a good review of one that isn’t a racecar

I have a 5 speed manual 2000 Camry and it is great. Never want to get rid of it.

This was my first car!!! My 98 XLE V6 Is hands down the best first car I could’ve asked for. I had driven my mom’s SUV to work, But when I bought my lil Camry from my sister, it was a game changer. Leather seats, power seats and sunroof. It needed some work done but nothing out of the ordinary tbh. New EGR valve at one point, new vapor Canister needed at another. Basic emissions stuff you know? But this car has ran so smooth, and has never left me stranded (although that rough idle from the bad EGR valve kinda scared me a bit 😅). I’m gonna be super emotional when it’s time to get a new car. But that’s gonna be so long from now, 187,000 miles on that car and still going strong! Wouldn’t have it any other way. Mine is also in decent condition cosmetically. Few scratches and paint scuffs on the front and rear from previous owners but hey, still nice and shiny everywhere else!

Someone made a video of the Toyota Camry with the late Tina Turner's The Best. Toyota Camry is simply the best, better then all the rest

I got a 2002 accord which is the same generation as these Camrys and I think just about all Japanese cars at this time were amazing. I have 110k miles and it drives like it’s brand new. Runs perfect every day and it’s actually kinda fun to drive. 21+ years old and everything is original and works.

In Puerto Rico you see them everytime! especially the 4 cyl ones, is one of the best Toyotas ever made, reliable and comfortable at his best👌🏽btw, big fan of your channel😎💪🏽

had a 98 Camry and a 98 Avalon.. always kept an eye out for the Camry in a v6 manual.

Try the v6 is a different story, great review as always 😎

While these have definitely disappeared a little over the years, I still a ton of 3rd and 4th Gen Camrys where I live in Illinois compared to other cars of there age. If you need reliable transportation you can’t go wrong with a Camry. Got a 2013 as my first car back in September, and not a single problem besides an oil leak when I got it so far.

I had a 98 about 6 years ago. 5 speed, hand roll windows, and cold ac. Traded it at 265k miles because of the terribly faded paint. Wish I hadn't. One of the best ever.

I had a 98 Camry CE V6 5spd... With the TRD supercharger, smaller pulley for 8psi, injectors, fuel pump, flywheel, hd clutch, LSD, full exhaust, coilovers, and 16x8 BBS basketweave wheels... And it was this same color. Sleeper. 😁

I had one of these. It was great. Drove it for years.

I had a 98 back in 2008 with the 5 speed manual. Great car! I remember when the model came back in 97. I really liked the slick rear lights and I still do

I love my '99 V6. New owner loves it too. I miss that car.

Looks like the upgraded the headlights to LED lights as there wasn't LED lights in 1998

Your analogies are so great!

Back in 2018 I was still living in Venezuela and I was looking for an older and comfortable car for roadtrips (I used to travel from my town to the city in road known for violent carjacking in those years). So I was looking around this gen of Camry and I had two options (a pristine condition facelift 2000 Camry 2.2 with 69.000 km or a pristine condition 1997 Camry 3.0 V6 with 98.000 km) and I ended getting the 1997 because the owner of the 2000 regretted selling the car. Dude, I loved that thing because of the smooth ride, comfiness and I felt like you said, in a time capsule and thinking about everything that happened in those cars and the historic events of the world and my country, the music back then, etc. When we decided to move to America we sold our way newer SUVs first and we left the Camry for the last, I was so sad of letting go my boring but loved old-new looking fully loaded Camry. Now I live in Wisconsin and I see some of this around but they're beat up, rusted and I can't find a pristine one like the one I had, and not even the XLE V6 is as loaded as the Euro Spec made in Japan that I had.

This review rebuilt my love that i had for this generation of the camry

When I was a kid, we used to borrow this gen Camry from a family friend to go on road trips.

I still drive 1995 V6 camry (3rd gen). It's got 450k km and a few oil leaks here and there but still rolls. It's one of the most comfy cars I've ever driven. Personally I prefer 3rd gen looks over 4th gen because 3rd gen design felt consistent while 4th one had rounded front and boxy rear.

Reminds me of my aunt’s 1997 Gold LE with silver package, standard hubcaps, cloth interior and no spoiler. Loved that thing unlike my dad’s (black LE, gold package, spoiler but same hubcaps and interior). She got rear ended in the mid 00s and ended up getting a Honda Odyssey.😢 This model will always be in my heart and admired because it looks so beautiful especially in gold and driving in the rain!! You are right, of all the events these 25 years, you can imagine how it was being in it (car). I’m 27 these were one of my childhood cars specifically infant days which I’ve seen very often later on in the years!! Last, great video, got me in full of nostalgia!!

this generation of camry and es300 are my favorite ive seen some nice jdm builds with this gen of camry

I love your video!!!! My mom left me her 1997 camry and I'm fixing it up to be show room condition. I'm in the process of painting it right now. 😮

Everyone seems to review every camry, accept the 3rd and 4th gen camry. Glad this one is getting some light shined on it!. Just sold my 98 camry XLE 4 Cylinder. Was a great car and got great mpgs. Overall, just simply good cars. Seems like this camry is an XLE but with the 4 cylinder, leather , xle rims , electric seats with SRS side airbags but no sunroof!. Mine was XLE as well with rims , 4 cylinder, electric seats as well as the side airbags , factory security system although cloth interior and no sunroof.

My mom had one , she bought in Dec 1997, I was almost 15 that time , I still can forget that day , it was a cold windy day , and I just came from my math private lesson , I still remember the smell , and how smooth that car was , it was one of the best cars we have ever had , we went to see the titanic movie with that brand new baby .

My grandmother bought one of these when they were new and I grew up in the backseat of it, happy to say that I’m still driving it today after all these years. Only 151,000 on the odometer as well

finally a review of this xv20 since I'm considering getting one but still waiting to see if there will be a wagon version in the market , thanks Zack

Man these cars I got good memories my dad had one it went a longgggggg time I just loved the way older Camrys looked there’s a reason it’s still americas best selling sedan and I wish I had one! 🤪

I bet those seats are more comfortable than the ones in my 2015 Toyota Camry.

Had a dark green 1998 XLE with sunroof and a V6! It was so much more fun to drive than a 2.2 4 cylinder. Thanks for the review.

Awesome Video Mr. Cars!

Owned an '88, a '98 and an '04, love how this gen strikes the best balance between ride and handling. The later ones' ride tend to be on the soft side.

Best car ever made.

I grew up with this generation of the Camry. I am a early 2000s kid and these were all over the place and they had the best ride out of any car I have ever ridden.

I’m still driving a ‘99 (5S-FE) with 334K. Cold AC, still running great! Same color too, Cashmere Beige Metallic.

Great work Zach

Nice Review! Bro still has the plastic peel on the radio screen!!!😂🤦‍♂️

The only generations of the Camry left for you are the 1st and 3rd generation. I'm not a fan of the 3rd generation though, I still think this 4th generation was much better. Also, there was a wagon of the 4th generation sold in Asian markets (Japan in particular), and they look really good.

Do a video on the 3rd gen sedan, they have the Lexus bubble styling to them.

I honestly love my Camry. I have a v6 version and I think it’s one of the most luxurious Camrys they made that year with the leather seats and wood interior. My car only has 66k miles on it.

Oh how I miss my camry this model here was my very first toyota buy and I'm hooked.. also she sat in a field for years and started and drove first try and would've lasted way longer if my mechanic didn't choose to do coke sadly only had her for a year until another mechanic screwed her up worse me being broke had to scrap the car. Will definitely buy another once I find one worth buying. Honestly one of the best cars I ever had and the only car I installed a aftermarket system in because of the trunk space.. please toyota gods send another camry my way I'm in need lmao

I rock this same color and gen of camry It's a 1999 LE with the 3.0L v6 paired with a 5 speed manual. bought it for $800 in 2016 and It's nuts to think that something like this was even possible.. for 800 dollars I've had a reliable car for 6-7 years. tires, brake pads, oil changes and a couple fuses here and there. some whipers and a couple headlights recently.. the amount of work I could do to it is a ton but... It was $800 7 years ago... Its saved me an insane amount of money.

The greatest car everrrrrrrrr builtttttttttt ..

I am in illinois and have a 99 V6 manual camry, I actually was thinking of submitting it for a review, then this came out hahaha

I fucking love old cars in very good condition, mostly stock. Nice video Zack!

In Australia we had the equivalent of the XLE V6 called the Vienta Grande. Hope you can find an equivalent one. Biggest regret in getting rid of our XV20 V6.

I live in Thailand, so no rust problems but faded paint is after 25 years of hot sun. To be honest, leather is an unwanted option, 30 minutes of hot sun and it's melting the skin on your legs! However there are lots of these cars around and although the second hand car market is strangely expensive, the recent increases in fuel costs and the large engine capacity has pushed these down in price. Generally speaking annual mileages here tend to be lower than the UK, where I'm from, so it's not too difficult to find "house cars", the term used to describe a woman's school run and shopping car, in good condition with low miles for not too much money. We have two cars so don't need anything else, but I'm considering buying one of these or a same generation Corolla (Corona, Soluna, or Vios), because spares are plentiful, they just keep going and given the type of driving I mostly do now, I'm more interested in having a nice place to be than how flat it is through the bends.

You should find a v6 5 speed to review. Maybe one with a factory TRD supercharger too

I had a 99 which is identical. Had many good times. Got in 2005 for $4k at about 60k miles and sold in 2011 for $3k with 103k mikes.

The good old days when cars had glass, and creamy colored interiors (instead of nasty all-black and hard plastics!)

Oh man "hearing aid tan" got me off guard ngl 😂

Just found out about your channel great content. Thoseb90s toyotas camry are almost bulletproof if well maintained

We recently retired our XV20, a 99 XLE V6 with 200k. Original family from new to death. We got every ounce of life out of that car. After the third accident rebuild, suspension clank, brakes were shot, struts were shot, and every single body panel had significant damage, Carmax bought it for a thousand bucks. The engine was still running smoothly and the V6 never gave us any problems... ever. I cannot remember one instance where the Camry broke down or left us stranded. I think the engine probably had another 100k in it even as neglected as it was.

My family has an 01 Camry, it’s been sitting in our driveway with a spun bearing for the 2nd time, 2nd engine only lasted 2-3k miles before it spun a bearing

My grandma has a Toyota Camry LE 1998 and it is really a great car. Shes had it since 2001 and everything is just really great about her good car. Id give it 5 out of 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have myself the '99 camry LE 2.2L w/manual gear. It's soon at 280K Km (don't know in miles) Has the same paint color, but with more rust on the standard locations. It's a great daily driver car here in Norway. Tho, people ask why i have an car form the 90's as a daily commuter. In my own opinion it's more fun to drive the camry than the 06 VW Passat 2.0 TDI wagon that i had before. Gasoline over diesel XD

All of mine have been V6 cars. I love my 96, but my favorite car ever was a 97 XLE.

Hearing aid tan. My favorite color.

I still have my 1998 Canry but LE. Not leather seat. 296K miles and it still runs strong

I had a 2000 LE, v6 with a manual transmission. Total sleeper. I loved that car. Sadly she got reposessed in 09.

I have this car! I was 16 in 2000 but 14 in 1998. Great car, love it till you know.. 😛. ❤

I have a 2000 Camry and love it!

You heard it here first.. I MIGHT be buying one of these.

I have a 2000 Lexus ES300, it was definitely neglected but it still goes along like new

I had a 99 just like this. Mist states had 133 horsepower but if it was a California emissions compliant car like mine, it was 130 horsepower. They are objectively too slow for the weight. I once took mine to Mt. Washington in New Hampshire with my mother and sister and it lost so much power by the time we got to the top that I had to floor it to get the car moving up the last little climb into the parking lot.

Interesting to see the base engine on a car with leather and alloy wheels

Do a review on the v6 camrys

Had Silver One 1997 And Have Now 1999 Black One ( Now In Carage Waiting Crank Chaft From U.S. 1997-2000 Camry Rules! 👍🙂👍

I bought my daughter a 1999 Toyota Camry with 61,000 miles on it. It's super smooth... Love it so much I want to take it from her

One of the best cars!

I always liked the rectangular thin tail lights. I don't know why auto makers are scared to go back and reuse old designs. For some reason everything has to look sporty and sharp with swoopy body lines, even the slowest non sporty cars. Keep the futuristic designs for your high end models and make the eco-boxes look like this again.

Man I really love those cyclops Style tail lights

very random but any idea on what percentage it's tinted to?

Beautiful car an absolutely workhorse !! for sure

mine has the same door sidings super easier to clean than cloth

did the cargo space can fit 2 baggage size 28 inch ???

There is a reason these cars litter high school and college parking lots - availability and reliability.

Beautiful car 😍🏆 ❤ From Bangladesh 🇧🇩

I have a 1998 Toyota Camry C, with 345,000miles still drive very smoothly I bought it in 2000 I love it and guess what everything in the car is the original, all the car needs is regular maintenance thank you Toyota!

What year is that Toyota Celica coupe at 1:50?

These have not yet diapeared from the roads of Campbelltown N.S.W Australia there are plenty around oops all over Australia l went holidays to Nanbucca Heads N.S.W Australia and l saw plenty if tgem driving around and another fact some of these were made in Australia and Australia used to build sone very reliable cars including the Ford Falcon and Holden Comodore and there are still plenty of them on the road l do prefer the 4 cylinder the only reason to change the spark plugs open the bonnet and there they are but on the V6 to change the three rear spark plugs the intake plenum has to be removed but that's a matter of choice and these are tge most reliable cars built and they have been around for 25 years and my Toyota Hilux is still running and it is 26 years old

I currently have a 1998 Camry with only 66k miles! 😎 It should last a while! 🤣

My 1994 Toyota Camry station wagon has been my daily driver for almost 6 years... I should probably just keep it cuz it won't die and how many Ford Tauruses and Chevy cars from that era do you see on the road still driving and looking good??