They got bought by the French and started to have French engineers instead of Japanese, plus they used JATCO CVT transmissions (to be fair they increased fuel economy and were cheap to put in) but those turned out to fail at a very high rate, leading to Nissan having a reputation for bad reliability. Around the 2000s they were much more respected than now
@@texan903 most are decent and safe choices IF you do the maintenance. Those jatco cvts can be fragile and most don’t know some have fluid change intervals plus it’s not made easy. “Lifetime” fluid means lifetime of the part. Apparently around 100-120,000 miles for a jatco cvt without maintenance. I recently had a Kicks as a rental. Was actually kinda nice and fun.
@@air-headedaviator1805 same. The Altimas are usually off the road due to neglect and abuse by the owners. The Hondas are all worn out and gone or ended up being owned and wrecked by complete idiots. The Taurus probably had a failed transmission and the Camry is still the most common seen out of these.
@@Krzrrazrrokr this generation Taurus didn't have all those transmissions issues like the older ones. Don't be biased, the Honda, Nissan and Toyota have worse transmissions when their equipped with the V6. Be real.
The only Camry's of this vintage I still see on the road across the country are the four cylinder Camry's. Those V6 Camry's are high maintenance just like the Lexus ES and their transmission issues were worse than anything but the Honda's/Acura's equipped with V6 engines. The again most that were sold were four cylinders.
Taurus? Most are dust in the wind when they rotted away 5 years ago. Nissan? Most of them were rotten before they were sold and many more broke down and rotted away. Toyota Camry? You’ll still find many of these around 23 years later, many still run and drive like they did when they were new. In a state with no salt on the roads? Absolutely you’ll find them Honda Accord? Much like it’s Toyota competition you’ll find many of the same attributes apply to the accord. The accord’s party piece? You could find V6 models with a standard transmission which made the car fun to drive. Plus like the Toyota you’ll still find them running and driving 20 plus years later
@@Skyisthelimit4me Toyota transmissions were quite stout especially since they struck a deal for GM transmissions. It's why the Geo Prisim was a badge engineered Corolla.
@@jasjinderdhesi3221 This is referring to the transmissions in the cars mentioned in the test. Besides you can't compare the durability of a transmission designed for a weak four cylinder in a light weight small car to one designed for V6 torque in a much much heavier midsized car turning much larger heavier wheels and tires. Also that's not why they struck a deal. It's not like they had Chevy versions of the Camry or what not. Everybody had a deal like that to make a good small car it's nothing new or special. Suzuki swift geo metro. Chrysler and Mitsubishi concoctions. Mitsubishi and Hyundai concoctions. Ford and Mazda concoctions etc. Did u know the escort tracer were based on the Mazda 323/protege? They are lol
If you would told someone back In 2002 ,20 years in the future the taurus would no longer exist , and altimas are notoriously unreliable, they would probably laugh at you
I have a 2003 Camry XLE. It's got every option but the V6 and nav. It's been in my family since new. 215k miles and the farthest the engine's been apart is having the valve cover seal replaced last year. Still on the original transmission too. Sunroof doesn't leak. The 6 disc in-dash CD changer just stopped working but I use a tape adapter for music from my cell phone most of the time anyway. Aside from the stereo, all the the electronics work save for a light on the seat heater switch. I love it.
My parents have an 05 LE with a bit with over 250,000 miles on it. The only real issues it's had are the HVAC lights not working and maybe something small with the engine. Excellent car.
I was born in 1999 , these are the cars I grew up with and later learned to drive on. It’s awesome to see what they were like when they were new. Most of the examples I know are clapped out.
I had this gen of Taurus up until last month lol decided it was time for an upgrade, but that thing was built proof -- still see tons of this gen on the road
@@87Aquarian it's just a commercial my friend, stupid bullshit cheap japanees3 cars... They got only 1 type of good cars- rally legends like impreza evo and so on. Honda maybe. The rest is cheap bullshit. What is reliable? Cheap leather interior?
@@alexanderlubinets1134 Your comment has no factual basis other than your personal bias. Your hate can't change reality and the reality is that Toyota is in fact the most reliable manufacturer in the world.
I still see a lot of this Taurus but strangely not its closely related ovoid predecessor. Ford must have figured out the transmission issues by this time.
In my town the most common of these is the accord, then probably the altima. The Camry and Taurus I feel were the most likely to go bad. Though all of these cars have Achilles heels, for the accord is its transmission and timing belt, Altima is the auto transmission and engine oil leaks/ oil starvation, Camry is the infamous oil sludge issues and transmission, the ford idk don’t really know much about it cause I never really cared.
The Toyota sludge buildup issue was only on the 2.7 V6, not the 4 cylinder engines. Toyota also never had nearly the automatic transmission issues that the accord did.
@@87Aquarian Toyota’s sludge issues were not exclusive to the 2.7l v6. The 3.0l v6 which was in the Camry was also known to sludge and so was many of their 4 cylinders of various displacements. The sludge issues were prone to many of Toyotas. The cause of the sludge has mainly been contributed to the flawed design of the baffles within the valve covers. It’s also been attributed to clogged pcv valves, improper maintenance, and the newly recommended oil change interval suggested by Toyota at the time (5k-7k miles as opposed to the traditional 3k).
@@abysstoid1503 And yet they just keep on driving lol. The most reliable car brand for over 2 decades now. This generation accord was definitely the least reliable of the 4 as they were guaranteed to detonate their automatic transmission under 100K miles, same for Acura. The altima had head gasket issues and auto trans issues, so did the Taurus. Even with sludge the Camry keeps on driving well past 200K miles with no major breakdowns. Toyota is factually the most reliable of these 4 cars, sorry if you hate that, but you cant change it with claims of sludge lolol. And you are correct, the 2.7 V6 with sludge issues... the 3.0 was the only V6 effected and the 2.2 was the only 4 cylinder engine effected by the sludge issue... not many as you claimed lol.
My mom has a 2000 Sienna (V6 was standard and that first generation was based on the Camry). A quarter of a million miles in, it's still her daily. That entire powertrain is indestructible.
Eventhough I still see alot of Camry's from this generation. I see a lot of newer Altima's , I don't see a lot of 2000s Generation of Accords, plenty of Civics though. And almost in every small town or suburbs I still do run into the 2000s Taurus and its cousin the Mercury Sable. Some beat-up and others Driveway Kept 😄
I see the Camrys the most in 2023 not many 6th 98-02 gen accords I see a bunch of 7th gen 03-07 accords though. Hardly ever see a Taurus or older Altima. I owned a 2002 Camry absolutely loved that car what killed it was a accident car had 300,000 miles on the original motor trans and other major components. The 02-06 Camry was the last gen they went all out on quality. Mine still looked like a brand new car inside and outside. The only downfall they had was with the 2.4 4cyl it could suffer from heavy oil consumption If the car wasn’t maintained properly by the owner.
In these exact specifications, I’d take Camry SE V6, Altima 3.5 V6, Accord V6, and Taurus SEL in that order. Surprised to see accord in third place, but that Camry is just so sweet.
@@alhassanzayyanu5712 But this is a 2002MY comparison. That's how things where back then. Some magazines released comparisons when the 2003 Accord went on sale, I remember I had an issue from C&D where the 2003 Accord beat them all. But they all were base 4 cyl versions.
Now, with 20 years of hindsight, Camry is the king. Very reliable. Honda had issues with transmissions in their v6 models. Altima had engine issues (overheating, blown cylinder heads, etc.) and very shabby build quality. Taurus is actually pretty dependable, but only with its lower spec Vulcan engine. It is not very exciting but it will get you there. Duratec on the other hand...
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If I were a buyer back then the Altima would be my choice hands down. Styling is the most cohesive and attractive of the bunch by far, and that V6 with manual trans puts the nail in the coffin for the others.
Always hated that Honda never gave the sedan the fun configuration and reserved v6 manual only for the coupes. That only changed when they ditched the coupe for the 10th gen
@@Skyisthelimit4me the 4 cyl had some issues back then but the VQ35 V6 was dead reliable. The VQ35 engine can easily get 300K with regular maintenance. And it didn't have timing belts like the Accord and Camry. I suspect many Accords were junked after their timing belts snapped because they were interference engines. And their transmissions were unreliable back then when paired with the V6. Maybe that's why I only see 4 cyl Accords from that era. The Altima's got the wost interior quality though. Too many hard plastics that crack over time
@@engineer_alv Yeah I can certainly vouch for the VQ V6 in the Nissan Altima - They were damn quick AND reliable. Solid transmissions as well. Interior quality definitely seemed like they copied a page from GM during this era though lol. This generation Camry was just as reliable as its predecessors but totally uninteresting with no fun factor. The Ford Taurus was equally as boring and slow as the Camry but fairly reliable if equipped with the standard Vulcan 3.0L V6, transmissions were improved this generation too. This generation Honda Accord was very unbecoming of Honda in terms of quality when equipped with the V6 engines like you said, those automatic transmissions were awful and cost a small fortune when they inevitably needed to be rebuilt/replaced prematurely.
If this was what the Altima was up against in 2002 then why are we surprised Big Altima Energy is a thing? Its having everything people typically say they want
When I was in high school a lot of those Taurus had trickled down to us. Every single person I know who had a Taurus or sable either had engine failure or transmission failure. Don’t see to many on the rd these says
Transmission issues, yeah just like Toyota, Honda & Nissan. Hell even Jim Davis commented on the Toyota's shitty transmission in a brand new car not once but twice you heard him lol. The only Taurus engine known for premature failure was the older 3.8 V6 found in the first and second generation units. Keep in mind though, the Taurus has a standard V6 the others have standard four cylinders which account for most of their sales. Their optional V6 engines are the ones that have shitty automatic transmissions. But nobody talks about it though.
Knowing what we know now, I started arguing with the video about the Altima.. which yeah it’s a video from 2002 uploaded to RU-vid. It’s just funny how that generation is known for being an absolute shit-heap, while the other 3 have their merits. Camry and Accord are no brainers when searching on the used market. They’re usually bought by sensible people who usually have owned it for 10+ years. Cheap parts and cheap to maintain. The Taurus also falls under a similar category, as it’s not nearly as reliable, it was a government fleet vehicle, so there will never-not be secondhand parts for pennies.
Best looking Accord ever with the worst looking Camry ever. Altima would be my pick if it wasn't for the rust through issues on this gen. Outside that either Accord or Taurus with the terrible Camry in dead last.
We had a 2002 Camry XLE4 cylinder that gave us just over 300 K trouble-free miles before losing it in an accident. That bloated manatee Looking Nissan was by far the most unreliable in this group with literally one of the most unreliable automatic transmissions built by Renault and both 4 and 6 cylinder engines that were plagued by headgasket blowing issues. As for the Ford tourist I'll bet you've never seen one with a front console with this high of a trim level? Most trim levels of the Ford Taurus we're designed for Fleet use and always felt like bland rental cars. They were however pretty reliable provided you picked one of the smaller V6 engine options. The bigger the V6 and the more powerful the more stress was put on Ford's typical weak automatic transmission. The more power the more likely you were to burn out the transmission prematurely which was definitely the car's biggest Achilles heel. This was by far my favorite generation of the Honda Accord and arguably was the last of the good accords. Once it was redesigned for 2004 it started living automatic transmission issues again mostly with the V6 engine. The 1996 fort Torres was not so affectionately referred to as the " Cosmic or oval roach" The 2004 accord was known in the industhree as the " Droopy butt accord". Just like when Ford had to correct the cosmic roach with its mid cycle refresh Honda did the same thing with its droopy butt accord.
The 2002 Nissan Altima was a sleeper back in the day. It was faster than any car of its class. To be challenged only by the accord the following year, although still being at slight disadvantage acceleration wise. The v6 Altima could match all the pocket penis of the time, like the Acura rsx-s, or Celtica gts, the manual v6 Altima would crush those cars. It would also crush on the base or v6 models of the pony cars, like the Mustang and Camaro. 2002 Nissan Altima Se and 2003 Dodge Ram Hemi 1500 were sleepers of its day.
Wish they'd waited until 2003 to do this, when the 7th gen Accord was introduced. They're comparing a brand new (for the time) Camry to what was effectively a 5-year-old Accord. Also it's wild that their favorite was the Altima lmao
And I'll still be driving a sedan even so. Cause SUV crossovers are garbage and for non-car people that don't care, and there are too many on the road.
Wow Drum and bass beats in a motorweek video Also I'd totally take the 3.5 Altime with a manual I see a ton of these Altimas and Camry's around Toronto
I bought my 2002 Taurus with the 3.0 Vulcan about 3 weeks ago and love it so far. Has about 140,000 miles on it, and just put a new water pump and belts and pulleys on it, and she runs nice and smooth
Had the 2002 Camry 4 cylinder and a 2005 Taurus. The Altima was a pile of junk and Hondas had cheap interior bits for the price. The Ford V6 was less refined than the Toyota inline 4. Overall, both cars were okay. The Ford was a bargain because the dealer gave it away for far less than my otherwise loaded Camry. I gave up both with around 130,000 miles with no major repairs on either.
The Vulcan dates back to the 80s lol it is a lot more refined than it used to be and no more normal power steering whine. It has more torque than that 4 cylinder which is what matters most
Correct. I bought the final year 2006 Camry 3.0 V6. It is a wonderful car. It was supposed to be a beater until I found the Lexus LS460 I wanted. I ended up falling in love with the Camry and 4 years later still enjoy driving it! Repairs are dirt cheap. I can do all the work myself. Brake pad service and oil changes are $30 😄 Such as stress free vehicle in these crazy times
Ive owned/own 3 of the 4. Used to have a Taurus and yes it was the largest inside (even has 6 passenger seating unique to this group. Currently have an Altima and Camry. The Altima has the best steering and braking of the 3 but the harshest ride by far. Camry has the smoothest, quietest ride but worst handling. The Camry I find is the most reliable and fuel efficient of the 3 as well.
7:52. Are you all blind at motorweek??????!! AINT NO WAY that Taurus has more rear legroom than the Altima or Accord That guy looks like a sardine in the Taurus’s back seat.
I always tell people when buying a vehicle is to look at the history of previous models. Their favorite pick did not age well at all. This is why I tell people to stay away from family cars from Nissan, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, or anything Korean.
I would have chosen the Taurus with the optional 24 valve Duratec and leather then and I would still choose it now over the rest. The fourth generation Taurus was actually a very good looking and almost sexy car when spec'd out like this with the 5 spoke machined aluminum alloys and rear spoiler, particularly in black or blue. But they're all nice cars and over time they've all proven to us now that they all have shitty transmissions with the V6, except for this generation Taurus, it's transmission went through several updates and improvements since 1986. People always forget that most of those Asian brands here in the test were usually sold with a 4 cylinder and automatic. The weak four cylinders aren't as hard on those transmissions as those optional V6 engines were. So keep that in mind when you're quick to say "the Taurus has a shitty transmission". Remember, the Taurus also has standard V6 power, yes it was the bulletproof pushrod Vulcan V6 not the 200hp Duratec with only 153hp but it's still a V6 which means it has good torque - 185lb/ft at very low rpm versus how much peak torque at higher rpms in those weak 4 cylinders? Hope that makes sense out of it for some of you.
The Vulcan was an antiquated pushrod V6 which was trying to best the newer DOHC power plants which were becoming the V6 standard. I saw too many of those things fail in spectacular fashion. And the Vulcan wheezed out 130 on a good day. The better engine was the previous model’s Yamaha designed V6 DOHC or the 1999 to 03 Yamaha designed DOHC mini V8. Anyways it’s irrelevant cause most Tauri died by quarter or rocker panel disintegration. It would rot so badly there that I failed many a car for inspiration cause those areas were too far gone to salvage
@@matthewcaughey8898 dude you don't know what the hell you're talking about....the Vulcan wasn't trying to beat anything, it's a base engine for fucks sake. It's been out since 1986 and it went in everything from a Ranger to a Windstar to a goddamn USPS mail truck. It's a good engine, more reliable than anything you get from Honda or Toyota. And in their lowest hp version they put out 130hp in the Probe & Tempo and 140-158hp in everything else as it got improvements over the years. Get your facts straight dude.
@@matthewcaughey8898 also the Yamaha SHO V6 is based on the Vulcan dummy it uses a Vulcan block....and no it's not more reliable because unlike the Vulcan which uses a timing chain and is a non interference engine the SHO V6 uses timing belts and it is an interference engine and requires extensive maintenance including valve adjustment every 60,000 miles. And the SHO V8 wasn't made from 1999-2003 dummy it was made from 1996-1999. If you don't know your shit stfu. U have a smart phone use it! Proof smart phones make people dumber and dumber!
I've always been partial to the Taurus too haha. Had a 94 as a first car in mid 2000's (170k miles with a clunky trans) and it got me to work and school pretty reliably haha. And I remember I could throw $5 in the tank and go from school to work in a day (which was around 40 miles ish).
@@johnl3230 they're good cars with a silky smooth ride and a cheap delicate looking basic suspension setup that rides better than the very expensive multi link suspension setup in the Accord and Altima
You know what's funny, I never see this generation of Camry anymore. I still see tons of these Altimas and Accords running around as daily drivers and this generation of Taurus is the staple for mechanic special craigslist ads but it's like all these Camrys got taken off the roads in the mid 2010s. I still see tons of 96-02 Camrys and the 06-13 Camrys but it's like this model never existed.
There's probably more of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camrys still on the road than Altimas and Taurus combined. The Honda still looks good to me but I never did like that particular generation of Camry.
I had a 02 Taurus SE white exterior and it was a smooth little car, had it til it hit 230k and the motor ended there but I wasn't a fan of the body style like that, other then that it was cool to drive
