On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, May 13, 2000

Solara offers snazz for the straight-laced

So: You've grown a little weary of your predictable, sensible-shoes lifestyle. But just a little. You're nowhere near ready to have the words "L-O-V-E" and "H-A-T-E" tattooed on your knuckles, and piercing is definitely out.
   Still, in the depths of your psyche, there's a Wild Child begging to be released. What's a solid citizen to do?
   Interestingly, Toyota has an answer to that - and, if you can come up with the scratch, it's a pretty nifty one.
   A while back, the Japanese automaker, not content with the Camry's place at the very tip-top of sedan sales in the U.S. market, decided to sculpt a slick coupe version of the Camry: Thus was born the Solara.
   But Toyota doesn't like to leave any bases uncovered: Thus, for 2000, we have the Solara convertible. And that in itself is a fairly entertaining story: The ragtop begins as a Solara coupe at a Toyota plant in Canada. Virtually next door is a new facility for ASC, a company that's been in the chop-top business for years and years. The body shell comes off the Toyota line, then is shipped to ASC for decapitation and the usual bolstering required to make up for the loss of the solid top. Then it returns to Toyota for paint, interior and so forth. And then ASC gets it again for special interior tweaks and installation of the top.
   All's well in the end
   A baby Solara convertible thus bounces into the world having already been the object of a parental custody battle.
   To all indications, though, the experience has not proven traumatic. On the contrary, just like its Camry/Solara siblings, this ragtop has a strikingly sunny disposition with top up or down.
   The convertible comes in low-buck - no, make that medium-buck - and high-buck versions. Our tester was the former, an SE with pleasant if uninspired cloth upholstery (who creates these mottled patterns?) in place of the standard leather you get with the rather more posh SLE.
   If you can get through life without such fillips as power-heated side-view mirrors, remote keyless entry and auto-dimming electro-chromatic rear-view mirror, you're likely to be happy as a clam with your SE.
   Ragtop with a view
   The most important thing is that it is a convertible. I've been arguing for years that if everyone would just buy a convertible - new one, old one, hot rod, junker, whatever - the mental health of the entire nation would take a quantum leap. Trust me. I know.
   Certainly the Solara convertible is admirably suited to plastering a great big grin on that mug of yours. The top itself is a superb piece of work, padded and upholstered to hardtop standards. Operation is a snap: Simply undo a couple of catches on the header rail (where the top's frame meets the top of the windshield), then hit a button. Technology does the rest, stuffing the top into a well behind the rear seat - which, you should know, offers considerable more people room than some pricier ragtops. Nice parlay.
   Another point: Not only does this convertible have a big rear window that takes a lot of the worry out of lane changes; that window is glass, not plastic. So? So, you won't have to worry about your view to the rear being blotted out by the dreaded plastic haze.
   A little extra for the horses
   Of course, we're not just dealing with a tanning device here; we're talking car. And an eminently satisfactory one: How could it be otherwise, tracing its roots to the estimable, all-conquering Camry?
   You will, however, face one choice: Do you go with the V-6, or do you settle for the four (which has yet to make it to market, but will ultimately be the price-leader for the line). Let's see: 2.2-liter four, good for 135 horses, and 3-liter V-6, delivering 200 hp. Economy of operation vs. that nice little nudge in the back when you put the hammer down. What to do?
   How do you say, "Laissez les bons temps rouller" in Japanese? Got to go with the V-6, pal. You'll thank me for it.
   As for the rest of the show, it's pure Camry/Solara. The V-6 speaks with authority, albeit with only a trace of a growl; braking, handling and road-holding are very much passenger-car state of the art. There's a bit of the flex and wibble-wobble you get in most convertibles, but it's not bothersome.
   So: If you're a little . . . reticent, and you're looking for a friend to see you through your first experience of topless motoring, the Solara convertible will be with you all the way.
   Of course this could just be the first step down the road to serious naughtiness. You may even find yourself turning up at work wearing paisley suspenders and a hand-painted necktie.
   You scamp: I know you've got it in you.
  

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