So I got back at lunch from taking out an SE.. Only had a couple I4's.. One had toyota leather installed by the dealer, so off we went. Not bad.. Functional motor.. faired well.. handled ok for a larger car. The SE does handle nicely and feels confident in the twisties. About like the I4 EX-L I drove except maybe a little more "tame".
had the same situation in the automatic though when I punched it.. I thought the engine was going to jump out of the hood and go crying down the street, but with normal accelaration it faired well.
If I have to do an auto.. I think I've made the decision it's got to be a V6. There are just too many semi's, trucks and suburbans running all over people on these roads around here. "No replacement for displacement" is a statement a friend of mine used to say. I think it really applies to these 2.4 or 2.5 fours with auto 5 speeds. No offense to the guys that have them.. I can only do a 4 with a stick I think.
Road/engine/wind noise... It had some.. Just in feeling the door weight/mass from the XLE next to it, you could tell there was soundproofing in the other car that wasn't in this one.. Don't know if that's just something in the I4's vs V6 camry's or something extra in the XLE.
I could tell if I bought it.. 1st thing I'd be doing is pulling all seats, carpet, panels and door panels and laying a coat of B-Quiet in there.. Then it would be RIGHT.. but yeah that adds some weight.
