Oh, just sync your phone. I was like you, but then in my new Ford, I have the sync bluetooth and it also reads out my texts for me. Now I call it my mini-office. Get some work done while stuck in traffic here in LA.
@galant: LOL Oh, I plan to sync my phone and it will be very convenient to use this feature. But I want to familiarize myself with all the controls before I start playing with the phone in the car. Part of reading through the manual will be figuring out the “simple” radio controls, including syncing the phone.
Totally unrelated side note regarding car radios: a few years ago a kid with giant speakers in his car blasting heavy metal noise pulled up next to me at a red light. Seeing me wince at the volume of his stereo, with a smirk he briefly cranked it even louder before turning it down some. Then he yelled at me “how do you like that lady?” I couldn’t resist, I rolled down my window and turned up the volume on my radio tuned to the classical music station which was in the grand finale of playing Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyrie. I’ll give the kid credit, he laughed, said “sorry” and turned his down to a respectable annoying thump thump noise.
Just one warning: Turn the radio volume down before you turn the engine off. If there is a mode button on the steering wheel, left side and it works like mine, it will turn the radio/cd player on if you touch it while turning a corner, or any other time for that matter. it also switches the radio to am, fm, cd, or blue tooth. Who needs the stereo coming on unexpectedly?
@pleasedodgevan2: Ah, thank you. Yes, I did notice a mode button but didn’t feel like reading the manual tonight to find out what that is all about. That is tomorrow’s project when I feel refreshed and not suffering serious car shopping jet lag.
I too bucked the trend of using bluetooth and syncing my phone (in my GF’s car), but once you do it and see how easy it is, you’ll come around. I have even synced my phone with the company cars I sometimes drive.
The convenience of listening to downloaded podcasts in a car can’t be beat. If any of you own stock in satellite radio, I’d dump it now, because it’s already obsolete.
I had my Toyota Sienna about a year before I finally synced the telephone to the audio system. I had a problem getting it to work, but the service writer at the Toyota dealer did it in less than a minute. Since then, I have had to replace my cellphone, but I was able to do it myself.
If you have a grand daughter, it is particularly handy. When we make the 350 mile trip to visit, we get a call about halfway into the trip with our grand daughter saying “When will you be here?” I find it handy around town because I frequently get telephone calls.
I think you made a good choice with the Camry. We have found our Toyota products–a 4Runner and a Sienna–to be quite reliable.
It sounds as if the only advantage of a crossover/SUV for you is the higher seating position and ease in getting in and out. That’s a serious issue for many drivers, mostly older, who want to slide right into their car, with no climbing or dropping. The small crossovers like the CR-V and Forester are very good choices. Since you don’t need much cargo space, consider also the Subaru SV CrossTrek. It’s really just an Impreza hatchback that has been raised a couple of inches and given some off road capability and cosmetic enhancements. The current Impreza is nice, and raising it a little makes it the perfect height.
I’d also seriously consider a Kia Soul. It’s a boxy car with an upright seating position and gobs of space for such a comparatively small vehicle. It was redesigned this year, though it looks nearly the same. The interior materials have been improved the most. The recently discontinued Toyota Matrix also had an excellent seating height. It was a raised wagon version of a Corolla, essentially. And a very good car.
Other compact utes you might like include the Toyota RAV4, redesigned this year with a bit more style. The Nissan Rogue was also just redesigned and massively improved from one of the ugliest cars in the segment to one of the prettiest, with a very swanky interior. The Kia Sportage is also very stylish inside and out and has an excellent seat height. Most common complaint is the rough ride and sporty handling that doesn’t really improve performance. Probably not for you if you like a smooth, quiet Impala. The Hyundai Tucson is a cousin of the Sportage, but much more mainstream in styling and ride/handling. It’s pleasant, a good value, but not outstanding. The oddball new Buick Encore actually sounds halfway suitable, though reviews have been weak. It’s a raised variant of s Chevy Sonic, an OK economy car. Buick has raised it, declared it an SUV, and given it a somewhat nicer interior, though not as nice as many competitors. This car was really designed for Chinese tastes. I guess they see this as a cheap way to add an entry-level small car to the Buick lineup. I doubt many will sell in the US. Still, a novel little car. The current Ford Escape is handsome and has a quality feel, but has suffered some reliability problems. Nothing Ford can’t sort out, but so far they haven’t.
Then there is the bigger Toyota Venza. It’s essentially a Camry wagon with bigger wheels and tires and raised slightly. It has the superb reliability of the Camry, one of the most consistently excellent cars made. It has a lovely smooth ride and is cushy and nicely equipped, it’s not for driving enthusiasts, who will find it too mushy and unresponsive, but for average drivers it is very nice. Just not cheap, alas.
I hope you find your dream car soon, I could name a bunch more that might be perfect for you. Hard to know.
OP already found the “dream car” . . . a new Camry
Congratulations on your Camry, Marnet. Now you don’t have to face the expense of that road trip to Lousisiana to find a genuine Mojo Hand from some HooDoo dealer out in the swamp… 
The only difference between most car based SUVs is a different body sitting on the same chassis as a sedan.
If you don’t need the space and disadvantages of the SUV version of a Camry…then get the Camry. And that’s what OP did.
@MarkM: Thank you for your response. I have already ended up buying a Camry but I do appreciate you taking the time to respond with informative feedback. As there are certainly many “lurkers” who read the forum (as I often do), I’m sure your advice will find additional readers who will benefit from your response.
@db4690: Well…sort of. I admit the 6 cyl Impala was my “dream car” but I also dream of having enough money to live on both now and in approaching retirement years. I settled for my second choice, the Camry, as the more financially responsible choice as well as, hopefully, much improved reliability over what I feared another Impala would be. I think I turned loose of the departed Impala just in time; all of a sudden in the past 500 miles it used a quart of oil after never before having had the dipstick show any oil loss or usage between oil changes. As there has been no leak on the garage floor, I can only assume the engine suddenly decided either to burn oil at a fast rate or oil was disappearing into the cooling system. So, even though the Camry’s styling has all the charm of an inverted bathtub, it seems a good choice and I’m happy with it. After spending the morning reading the manual and figuring out all the controls, I spent the afternoon taking it for an extended drive at varying speeds and driving conditions per the manual’s stated engine break in protocol. Wow, the gas mileage is amazing after what I’ve been used to. I’m really going to like fewer visits to the gas pump!
@ok4450: Darn, and here I was planning a trip to the swamp to wrestle crocagators in time for hurricane season and some voodoo magic!
@dagosa: I discovered that although the Toyota Venza is based on the Camry chassis, it’s steering and handling were quite oddball and unsettling. I didn’t like driving it at all except that it had the MOST comfortable car seat I’ve sat in ever. Glory, wish I could have gotten that seat in the Camry!
Gotta give the new buggy its first bath tomorrow. It doesn’t really need it but once I am the one who has vacuumed and wiped it out inside and washed the outside with the attention to detail I want, then it will truly and fully feel like mine mine mine. LOL
glad your happy. made me smile
@wesw: Thank you.
you re welcome
A number of people around me have Impalas similar to your now ex-Chevy and they haven’t had the multitude of issues you’ve had with yours Marnet.
This may boil down to that Impala just being one those where the problem stars were all aligned…
It would be the same way with what might be called the XYZ Toaster corporation. A million pop-up toasters will roll off the assembly line and have few problems, but a certain percentage may be prone to not toasting the bread, burning it beyond recognition, or throwing it through the drywall when it shoots out the top…
@Marnet
Right about the Venza. You have to have a specific need, like carrying 2 to five on trips in comfort, to warrent owning them. They are an empty nest car, not made for kids and seem like Toyota’s answer to the Crown Victoria. They are not a great driving car but being built on the Highlander chassis which seats seven, they are only designed for five and can accommodate rear lounging chairs and large seats up front. The electric steering is absolutely numb. The payback ? On long trips they drive straight as an arrow with little correction at very high speeds. 80 plus mph on the northern area of our state where higher speeds are allowed, they are rock solid and quiet with the 19 inch wheels and 245 wide tires. At lower speeds, it is jittery because of that higher unsprung weight. The faster you go, the more comfortable and better riding the car. The rear can be cavernous with the flip of a lever. It does have 8 inches of ground clearance with the awd which gives good ride height in traffic, but they sure are wide and a chore to drive in traffic unless you have been weaned on trucks. The interior is bigger then an 04 4Runner, so a truck size Camry is disconcerting to drive.
Glad you found a suitable car, Marnet. I read CT on an old smartphone and ancient version of Android that makes it hard to keep track of where I am. From your test drives it seems the higher center of gravity of an SUV didn’t agree with you. The Camry may not be exciting, but it’s comfortable, roomy, economical, and incredibly reliable. May you have many happy miles with it.
@ok4450
Yep; in the mass manufacture of anything, it is always possible to get a unit that isn’t quite up to par. Despite the myriad of every failure problems, I liked the ex-Impala. It was a comfortable car. And it got the job done getting me home safe when I hit the road hazard. And again, back at Thanksgiving when I had to drive it long, hard, fast to and from my best friend’s funeral between heavy ice/snow storms (85 mph for 400 miles each way) it purred smoothly without a hiccup and held the road well. Darn, I do miss that split bench seat with the shifter on the steering column. Oh well. Time to move on and enjoy the new car. Yes, I would have preferred another Impala and almost got one but in the end simply had to look at the difference in price and long term cost to own. I forced myself to bow to common sense over wishful thinking. But, if money in the bank allows, I might yet step back up to an Impala in a few years. Time will tell.
As to toasters, how did you know that toasters all toss my toast up and out onto the counter?! Same toasters never did that to anyone else in the family but they do it when I use them.
@dagosa
Interesting to learn that about the Venza. It was a nice looking vehicle, had absolutely decadent, comfy seats that are everything I wish I could have in a car seat, but had the most unsettling oddball steering and handling. It was so peculiar I didn’t even take it on the highway. Didn’t know it would have steered and handled better at higher speeds. But as most of my driving is around town, I’m not unhappy to have passed on the Venza.
@MarkM
Thank you. I do hope to get many miles and years out of the new Camry. Parting with the ex-Impala after only 7.5 years at 54,000 miles was a real anomaly, as our family has always kept cars for anywhere from 16 to 25 years and upwards of 200,000 miles or more. I was sorely tempted to keep sinking money into the Impala because I did like it quite well but when my independent mechanic shop sat me down and four mechanics all kindly lectured me that they felt it would cost me more over the next 10 years to keep the Impala over replacing it and that they would feel much better knowing I was in something newer and more reliable even though it might mean they would lose my business to the dealership shop for a few years, as well as both my brothers strongly urging me to replace it, then I felt it time to listen to the chorus of advice.
Now, gentlemen, if I win the lottery…8 cylinder luxury rocket ship here I would come. LOL
@Marnet, here’s another piece of info for future reference. When you can afford an uber expensive luxury rocket ship, make sure that it has 12 cylinders. A straight 6 and V12 are naturally balanced in the second order. The sound of a V8 is relatively crude
I think rocket ships usually use rockets, not car engines. If you go talk to Elon Musk you can get either a Tesla or a rocket. He probably won’t sell you the rocket, but he might be able to send your dad’s ashes into orbit. Or yours, when the time comes. Eliminates arguments over spaces in the family plot. But I’d rather have a Tesla. There are a couple in my neighborhood I see now and then and they are splendid. The ugly blanked-out grille needs to go, but otherwise it is very pretty, if not in Fisker Karma territory. One of those nearby, too, a real rarity. Its owner just loves it. If he hangs onto it I could see that having significant worth in 20 or 30 years. It’s gorgeous inside and out, rare, and technically interesting, just what you want in a collectible car.