Overview & Reviews

Toyota is a Japanese brand whose refined, well-designed vehicles have earned it a great deal of popularity. Toyotas also have a superb record for reliability and durability, which goes a long way toward justifying their typically high purchase prices. For buyers who plan on owning their new vehicles for a long time, the Toyota marque is a very compelling choice.

The automaker's name is a variation of the surname of its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. After years of research, Toyoda unveiled his first prototype, the A1, in 1935, marking the birth of the Toyota Motor Corporation. The '40s witnessed the launch of additional passenger cars and even a pickup. By the end of the decade, the automaker had produced more than 100,000 vehicles.

Toyota grew bigger in the '50s and expanded its roster with a slew of new small cars. The company also unveiled the utilitarian BJ truck; this vehicle was the precursor to the Land Cruiser. By the end of the decade, Toyota had commenced exports to the U.S. with the establishment of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. The first Toyota to be sold on American shores was the Crown; it held the distinction of being the first Japanese car to be sold Stateside.

The '60s witnessed even more growth for the emerging juggernaut. Toyota introduced the Corolla, an immensely popular model that is still in production today. Vehicles like the home-market Publica, the 2000GT, Hiace and Miniace were also launched. The decade closed with Toyota reporting annual domestic sales of 1 million units; cumulative exports also reached 1 million.

Japanese-market cars like the Carina, Light Ace and Publica Starlet were launched during the 1970s. In the States, the Corolla grew in popularity and the Corona and Mk II models debuted as well. The successful Celica sports coupe was also rolled out and would remain in production for more than 30 years. Toyota's shadow had spread far beyond Japan by this point. The decade's oil crisis had made the manufacturer's compact, fuel-efficient models more popular than ever in the United States. By the time the '70s drew to a close, the automaker had exported more than 10 million vehicles.

Toyota expanded its presence in the U.S. market during the '80s, with the introduction of popular models like the 4Runner SUV and the MR2 sports car. The true high point of these years, though, was the birth of the Toyota Camry sedan. Originally known as the Celica Camry in Japan, the car went on to be a hit of phenomenal proportions, earning kudos as America's best-selling car of the year time and time again.

During the '90s, Toyota rolled out the Avalon full-size sedan and expanded its selection of SUVs with the compact RAV4. By the end of the decade, more than 100 million Toyota vehicles had been produced in Japan. The company also proved itself on the cutting edge of new technology with the rollout of the Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid. The car debuted in Japan in 1997; by 2001, the fuel-sipping sedan had made its way to American highways. Despite the presence of a growing number of competitors in its segment, the Prius continues to boast class-leading sales.

Toyota's current lineup is relatively extensive, including minivans, cars, trucks and SUVs. The brand remains extremely popular among savvy consumers who place a high value on quality and dependability.

User Reviews:

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  Pretty good - 2007 Toyota 4Runner
  By jen - September 16 - 3:03 am

  Overall a good truck, better on gas than most SUVs. Downfalls are it floats on the highway, a lot of blind spots, especially the 3rd window and the wide panel between the 2nd and 3rd. The roof is very low or the seats are high, if you have a kid in car seat, expect to hit there head a few times. The trunk is so heavy and they need to add extra assistance to close it, not at the end when you actually get it down. Id love to see a dual sunroof.

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  Looks Arent Everything. - 2007 Toyota Camry
  By Doug - September 10 - 2:06 pm

  4 cylinder gets good mpg but no pickup. Coming out of a corner and you need some pickup, forget about it. The acceleration is terrible. 5 months old already replace rotors and brakes. Toyota did not want to replace without me paying for it. I put a lot of miles on a car. Camry is 5 months old already have 20k on it. Tire noise stinks. Vibration in front end that Toyota cant find. Interior rattles. Bluetooth is awful. You cant have the a/c on or the moonroof even cracked. I had to yell just to get through a call. Car overall is terrible. Would not buy another Camry EVER!!

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  pulsating brakes - 2000 Toyota Tundra
  By BrentL - September 10 - 2:00 am

  I have had brake problems from day one. Warped drums and rotors are chronic in the Tundra and covered in a service bulletin. Problem is, nothing they do solves the problem. I have had my brakes turned or replaced five times in the last twelve months. I expect the same schedule next year: a day at the dealer every two months.

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  Dont buy this car. - 2002 Toyota Camry
  By dontbuycamry - September 10 - 2:00 am

  I bought camry se v6 to replace my 92 camry. this one has too many problems, i am already thinking about my next car. they had to replace airbag, front brake roter, pad. front hood release cable got loss. molding on the roof had to be changed. it rattles from driver and passenger doors. went back to the dealer 9 times in 11 months. this one will be my last toyota.

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  2014 Avalon Limited - 2014 Toyota Avalon
  By Bruce Colman - September 8 - 11:46 am

  Bought it new last fall, should have been an amazing product. This winter the battery died, discovered it was a known problem with the Canadian dealer, lots of cars coming in on tow trucks with a battery with a bad cell. GPS system is useless, a five year old $150 Garmin has more features and is easier to use. I actually use a Gamin window mount GPS on road trips. The most discouraging part is the rattles in the roof, dealer has tried to fix them, several times over a year, turns out the problem was common to many Camry/Avalons with a sunroof, the inner support binds with the outer roof at times, poorly engineered. Toyota has a maintenance bulletin, which required stripping the interior to add a kit, took over a year to sort it out. The rain sensing wipers would start normally, it heavy rain of wet sow, go on high and lock on high. Spoke to other owners, same problem, required turning the wipers on and off to reset. My year 2000 BMW 528 never had these problems. Ended up trading the car in, definitely not recommended. Side mirrors do not always return to normal after backing up and going forward.

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  Big letdown - 2012 Toyota Venza
  By alexsdad2 - September 7 - 3:49 pm

  I had this vehicle for less than a year because of 3 things: 1) The mpg was poor! I do a combination of city and driving. I could only get 20 mpg out of it. 2) The brakes in hard braking situations required me to press the brake all the way to the floor. The reaction of the car was not one of confidence. 3) It was brought to my attention that the safety rating needed to be looked at further. There was something the passengers safety being rated 2 out of 5 (safest) in an accident. I do not remember if there were qualifications on the angles of the crash or speed, etc. All of the above led me to bail on the vehicle. The vehicle was spacious and was attractive.

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  Not the Toyota I thought it would be - 2017 Toyota Highlander
  By Mike D - September 4 - 4:29 am

  Having owned a few Camrys (97, 03) and Avalons (05, 08) over the years, my expectation was one of Toyota quality, however I am disappointed. Overall the SUV has two really good highlights. The first is plenty of power...plenty. This thing gets up and goes (as long as you manually take it out of "economy mode" default which causes it to run like a 4 cyl). Second is fuel economy (auto start and stop feature is annoying but all cars have it now). I travel about 30,000 miles a year and am averaging about 23 mpg. vs. 19 mpg in past Enclave (15) and 18 mpg in Explorers (12,14) I have owned. Overall fit and finish is good as with most Toyotas but here are the really frustrating things, in no particular order: 1. Whistling wind noise driving at highway speeds from passenger side window/mirror. 2. Front USB chargers are very poorly placed tucked way under the gimmicky "shelf" on dash which is not as cool as you think it would be. 3. The touch screen is too far to reach from driving position. Have to lean forward each time to make changes to audio etc. 4. Blue tooth voice command feature is very clunky, not intuitive and odd in comparison to Enclave and Explorer or any newer cars. You have to speak way too loud and give way too many commands just to make a phone call only to have them all reconfirmed in detail before dialing. 5. Sound system quality is mediocre in comparison to the Bose in Enclave mid priced model and base model system in Explorers. Volume always seems too low. 6. Tailgate is a joke. It beeps like 5 times and then begins the 5 minute opening journey. Closing is same. 5 beeps warning everyone around you your tailgate is going to close and then it takes 5 minutes to close. They seem to have countered it with the ability to open the back window as on older SUVs, but I would rather the tailgate to open and close faster. I am not just being picky, I am comparing it to a bunch of other vehicles including my sister in laws Escalade, friends X5, neighbors Q7 etc. All fast open and close. 6. Drivers seat will not go low enough for a over 6 tall driver. Thus, if you sit in normal driving position you tend to look out of the top third of the windshield. To counter, you need to lean seat back making it even more difficult to stretch to reach dash controls/touch screen. 7. "Safety sense" features are also very gimmicky. They do work, however I find myself overwhelmed by all the beeps, lights and warnings. They could get away with the side sensor lane changing lights in mirrors and the rear end collision avoidance and it would be fine. Biggest problem: when it snows, the front radar sensor and camera in grill become covered with snow, the entire dash lights up like a Christmas tree and continues to flash with warnings all over the place to make sure you pull over to clean grille and front of car clearing off safety sensors. Warning lights can not be overridden or turned off until the sensors are cleaned off. I would think it would be far more dangerous to pull over on the side of the highway in a snow storm to clean the sensors to enable the safety features on the car than it would be to drive without them. I have driven this car on two trips in the snow and both times it happened. POOR design. 8. When stopping at school or soccer practice to wait for my daughter, most recent cars I have had allow you to turn the car off and continue bluetooth phone call/listen to radio/roll down window etc until you open the door. This car cuts you off as soon as you shut it off. Very annoying. I hope this gives you some insight. Had I known about these items, I probably would have gone in a different direction. Seems Toyota has lost its edge.

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  Beware of a Few Things Before Pruchase - 2005 Toyota RAV4
  By mikeb - August 31 - 6:53 am

  My RAV is actually an 04, but I feel that I should share my experience. I liked the vehicle at first, but several things began to bug me. First, I found the front seats front seats to be very uncomfortable if driving more than 30 minutes, and so did my passengers. Second, the back seat has horrible leg room - a problem if you have back seat passengers on a regular basis. Third, the rear hatch door seems flimsy and items fall out too easily. Also, the cabin seemed to cramped - and I am only 58" and 150lbs. My previous car was a Civic and somehow the cabin of the RAV seems smaller!I traded my RAV in for a 05 Honda CRV SE - much better vehicle over all - tons more room!

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  Used Toyota Good Value? - 2000 Toyota Avalon
  By cyberdeviant - August 30 - 3:23 pm

  Ok first off this isnt my car, its my fathers, I am in transition to a new car and drive this car to and from school (100 mile commute) This car is reliable and has a near smooth ride but thats all it has going for it. The thing rattles like no other car Ive owned. This includes the dash, all 4 doors, seats make squeaky noise, center console rattles when stopped. The one thing I like about it is the stereo is decent but any louder than normal voice volume and the doors rattle insistently. This car rattles more than my old 89 Toyota pickup 4x4. The car (when purchased) had an oil jelling problem and luckily it was a recall and Toyota fixed it no charge. Thought Toyota lasted but not this car.

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  Not all its made out to be. - 2014 Toyota Corolla
  By Bill - August 29 - 12:21 pm

  My 2014 Corolla has 106,000. miles on it now and other than reliability I have been mostly disappointed with it. Ive always found that the ride to be choppy and harsh. There is a lot of vibration in the steering wheel and the road noise that makes it very tiresome to drive. The seats are comfortable, but because of the low roof-line, I find it very difficult to get in and out without hitting my head on the door frame. The steering is numb and the brakes are mushy. The visibility is poor because of the high dashboard and small windows. Visibility is especially poor at night due to the terrible LED low beam headlights! These headlights cause a sharp cut-off of light above center which is like having a black curtain hanging about two car lengths in front of you. This is especially bad while going down hill which reduces the visible distance to about 1 car length. At times you can literally see pedestrians leg without a hint of their torso. Its almost funny if it werent so dangerous. I hear the low beams cost upwards of a grand to replace too, cant wait for that! The most disappointing thing about the ownership experience of this car has been the paint. Three winters of sanded roads have left the clear-coat paint on the front bumper and hood badly damaged. The black paint is dull and actually looks grey in places. Other cars I have driven under the same conditions have fared much better.