How do they get the compression for needed fuel efficiency without being an interference engine? The Camry 4 cyl is 10.4:1 compression.
Good question. We had a 1993 Camry with the inline four
and it was a great car. We sold it with 135K miles on it
and it was running perfectly. It got fairly good mileage,
but was a bit anemic on power.
I am not sure how Toyota gets the higher compression with
a non-interference engine, but I always felt better knowing
that if the belt did break, the engine would not grenade.
We now have a 2004 Lexus RX330 (bought one year old with
approx. 20K miles on it) and it is coming up on 116K miles
without a single repair knock on wood!). I do my own brakes and maintenance and the car is a dream to work on. I do think it has too many bells and whistles.