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Toyota is leaving the appliance business. The 1999 Toyota Camry Solara is proof. It’s a coupe. It’s fun. And — gulp! — it’s actually good-looking.

It’s the only Camry with smileability. The others are boremobiles, appliances — virtuous in the manner of a good toaster, freezer or washing machine. You buy ’em because you need ’em. Let’s face it. No one goes around saying: “Hey, man. Check out my Camry sedan!”

But they will praise the Solara coupe — the Camry for people who’ve come of age, who are old enough to have children who, God willing and the creek don’t rise, are out of the house and on their own.

The Solara still has enough room for five — although four people would fit more comfortably. But the Solara has a two-seater attitude.

That means it feels more like a sports car than it does a sedan, although it’s built on a Camry sedan platform and equipped with the sedan’s V-6. That 3-liter, 24-valve, electronically fuel-injected engine is designed to produce 200 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 214 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm.

A more economical 2.2-liter, 16-valve, 135-horsepower four-cylinder engine is available.

Toyota beefed up the Solara’s four-wheel independent suspension system and tightened its steering to give it a sporty feel. That mechanical magic worked. Try this: Test-drive a Camry sedan, with either four or six cylinders. Then take a Solara out for a spin.

You’ll notice that the Solara moves better in the curves, that the steering seems more precise, that the entire car feels tighter. You’ll also notice something else you won’t notice in any other Camry: People are looking at you. They’re looking at the car. They’re smiling at you and the car!

Quite frankly, I was surprised. I expected less. I saw my first Solara almost a year ago at an auto show in Detroit. It didn’t seem particularly impressive then, possibly because it was surrounded by so many advanced-design, mostly experimental concept cars.

But the dark-green Solara that showed up in my driveway was a phat roller — “phat” as in pretty, hot and tempting. It was a sleek job, front to rear, with nothing tacky about its two-door body.

This was unusual. Automakers frequently leave telltale signs of compromise when they convert a sedan to a coupe. There is some ill-conceived geometry, such as a rear end that appears to have nothing to do with the front end of the car. There is some ergonomic goof-up, such as a front seat whose design impedes access to the rear. Or, quite simply, there might be sloppy seams here and there covered up by plastic molding that, alas, can’t conceal the squeaks and rattles that come from poor construction.

None of those things exist in the Solara coupe, which is available as the tested SE or the more upscale SLE model. It is a quality piece made all the better by Toyota’s apparent discovery that a car is as much about attitude and presentation as it is about a collection of well-made parts.

1999 Toyota Camry Solara

Complaints: Some taller types said they felt more cooped up in the Camry coupe than they did in the sedan, especially in the rear seats, where the roofline takes a severe slant. People of height might want to sit in the Solara awhile, in the front and rear, before choosing to buy.

Praise: I’m short, which meant I was happy in the Solara. Some cars simply feel good, and this most certainly is one of them. Excellent overall construction. Definitely fun to drive.

Ride, acceleration and handling: A triumvirate of smoothness. If national politics worked as well as this car, we wouldn’t need a special prosecutor.

Safety: Dual front and side air bags; three-point shoulder harnesses with emergency locking retractors; collapsible steering column; available traction control on the SLE model; daytime running lights; standard anti-lock brakes.

Head-turning quotient: Neck-snapper supreme, which is something I thought I would never write about a Camry.

Mileage: I n the tested six-cylinder SE, about 24 miles per gallon. Fuel tank holds 18.5 gallons of recommended 89-octane unleaded gasoline. Estimated 430-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded, running mostly highway.

Luggage capacity: With both rear seats up, 14.1 cubic feet. More space can be created by lowering rear seats.

Sound system: AM-FM stereo radio and cassette with three-disc in-dash CD changer. Installed by Toyota. Excellent.

Price: Prices not firm at this writing. Preliminary 1999 prices range from $19,058 to $25,408, including an estimated destination charge of $450, depending on model. Hunch: Dealers initially will go for premiums. The Solara is aptly named. It’s hot.

Purse-strings note: Compare with Honda Accord Coupe, Pontiac Grand Prix GT, 1999 Chrysler Sebring Coupe LXi and Chevrolet Monte Carlo.