Ride Report -'06 Toyota Solara Convertible
Sep 20, 2005, 7:42 pm
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Orlando, FL, US
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Ride Report -'06 Toyota Solara Convertible
Reserved a D for a week in IND, and for the first time ever, found an upgrade to a convertible in my spot 
Car was an '06 Solara SE (the base model), silver with a black top, almost 10k miles, and classified as a YU.
Here is the web site for this model:
http://www.toyota.com/solara/models_convertible.html
Power: Has a 225 HP V-6 with a 5 sp Auto. Trans has manumatic feature for self-shifting, and a sport mode in addition to the standard "D". Found it to be plenty quick in around town driving and the engine was VERY smooth. My highway driving was all in 55 mph speed limit areas, and it seemed pretty peppy there too, but I didn't get the chance to push it very hard. I put 153 miles of mostly city driving on it, and put in 9 gallons, for a calculated 17 mpg, but like most of the cars I rent, it was probably not as full when I got it as when I returned it.
Ride/Handling: Ride was very smooth for the most part, but over bumps that were uneven from one side to the other, the windshield really shimmied from side to side. The handling was fairly tight and well controlled, but it was easy to get the front tires to squeal.
Interior Seats were manual adjust, covered in an attractive and comfortable patterned cloth. Bolsters on the seat and back hold you in place, and fit me well, although larger people might find them confining. With the telescoping steering wheel, I was able to find a very comforable driving position. I have a problem with a lot of cars (the corolla is the worst) where no matter how I adjust, the steering wheel is too far, or the pedals too close, but not with the Solara. Decent enough stereo, but didn't have the premium system of the Solara SLE. Took a couple of lunch trips with an adult in the back seat, was OK for trips of that length, but tight for longer stints, as expected in a convertible. I did most of my driving top down, and even on the highway it wasn't excessively windy. Driving with the top up in moderate rain, I was surprised to see a few stray drops coming between the windshield header and the top. I wouldn't expect that from a Toyota, but maybe some prior renter had screwed up the seal, I didn't check closely.
Summary Overall a car I would take again in a flash, probably the best (not to be confused with largest) upgrade I have gotten in 4-5 years of renting from Hertz.
Car was an '06 Solara SE (the base model), silver with a black top, almost 10k miles, and classified as a YU.
Here is the web site for this model:
http://www.toyota.com/solara/models_convertible.html
Power: Has a 225 HP V-6 with a 5 sp Auto. Trans has manumatic feature for self-shifting, and a sport mode in addition to the standard "D". Found it to be plenty quick in around town driving and the engine was VERY smooth. My highway driving was all in 55 mph speed limit areas, and it seemed pretty peppy there too, but I didn't get the chance to push it very hard. I put 153 miles of mostly city driving on it, and put in 9 gallons, for a calculated 17 mpg, but like most of the cars I rent, it was probably not as full when I got it as when I returned it.
Ride/Handling: Ride was very smooth for the most part, but over bumps that were uneven from one side to the other, the windshield really shimmied from side to side. The handling was fairly tight and well controlled, but it was easy to get the front tires to squeal.
Interior Seats were manual adjust, covered in an attractive and comfortable patterned cloth. Bolsters on the seat and back hold you in place, and fit me well, although larger people might find them confining. With the telescoping steering wheel, I was able to find a very comforable driving position. I have a problem with a lot of cars (the corolla is the worst) where no matter how I adjust, the steering wheel is too far, or the pedals too close, but not with the Solara. Decent enough stereo, but didn't have the premium system of the Solara SLE. Took a couple of lunch trips with an adult in the back seat, was OK for trips of that length, but tight for longer stints, as expected in a convertible. I did most of my driving top down, and even on the highway it wasn't excessively windy. Driving with the top up in moderate rain, I was surprised to see a few stray drops coming between the windshield header and the top. I wouldn't expect that from a Toyota, but maybe some prior renter had screwed up the seal, I didn't check closely.
Summary Overall a car I would take again in a flash, probably the best (not to be confused with largest) upgrade I have gotten in 4-5 years of renting from Hertz.
Sep 21, 2005, 1:47 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Nice review. ^
Though I like the Mustang more for its sportier chassis and its good looks, the Solara is a comfortable boulevardier. The one thing that did stand out for me was the cowl shake on the convertible -- the coupe is obviously fine, but the first-generation convertibled was notorious for it, and even though the current-generation is improved, it was still a bit much for my tastes.
Though I like the Mustang more for its sportier chassis and its good looks, the Solara is a comfortable boulevardier. The one thing that did stand out for me was the cowl shake on the convertible -- the coupe is obviously fine, but the first-generation convertibled was notorious for it, and even though the current-generation is improved, it was still a bit much for my tastes.