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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  toyota cant fix my truck - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By John B - April 16 - 2:45 am

  leaking differential (recall) - Toyota has my truck and Im in a rental - they dont know when it will be fixed and Toyota does not have a fix a this time . Got the truck back after almost 3 months to replace a seal

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  Toyota slipping badly - 2008 Toyota Camry
  By ray3503 - April 15 - 3:03 am

  Its clear to me that as Toyota grows they are unable to maintain the qulality standards they set. The Camry im driving is slow, the controls are in poor positions, it handles squishy and rattles. The exterior body styling is ok i guess, but this car is so vanilla and so ho hum its hard to recommend it. I think the US car companies are putting out much better cars than the Camry, and the Accord sits in a league by itself in this segment.

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  Complete Lemon - 2004 Toyota Camry Solara
  By KevinP - April 11 - 11:23 am

  The car has been to the shop 23 times in the last 4 years. There was a short in the electrical system in the first month that Toyota didnt find that caused many other problems. Worst Dealer ever, worst car ever. The car understeers heavily, too little grip for fun handling, I average 23 mpg. I bought this because I thought the Passat was unreliable. I will be trading this piece of crap in for a Saab this week. VW and Toyota need to be taught what customer service is.

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  Disappointing - 2003 Toyota Avalon
  By Larry Bienapfl - April 8 - 2:00 am

  Automatic temperature control is very inconsistent - to hot or to cold. Feet are hot, upper body cold. Brakes are poor, almost impossible to brake slowly they are on or off. Car nose dives when stopping quickly. Poor acceleration from stoped position. Doors must be slammed to close properly. Automatic wipers dont respond when needed. Poor traction in snow

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  Disappointed with the Camry - 2009 Toyota Camry
  By Ron B - March 27 - 10:00 am

  This car jerks before it accelerates. It lurks when the brakes are applied. The interior materials looks like its made of cheap plastic. The color is ugly. Parts of the engine, drive shafts, bolts, nuts, show very early rusting, and got worse after a year. It is so underpowered that it makes a lot of vibration and noise during acceleration. I would not recommend this car.

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  White "Nite" - 2000 Toyota Avalon
  By Louis DiLandro - March 15 - 3:24 pm

  Despite the age it still performs as the day I drove it out of the showroom.

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  Dissapointed - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By mTacoma - March 7 - 12:17 pm

  I bought this truck because of Tacomas seemingly historical reliability...however, its been a mess of issues. Horrible transmission, low power, vibrations in the drive-train somewhere, rattling windows, shift flares, entune radio that reboots when it feels like it. Terribly dissapointed in the quality. And, to boot, Toyota claims everything is operating normally! HA! What a load of crap.

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  LEMON - 2004 Toyota 4Runner
  By Randomguy32 - March 3 - 9:36 pm

  I got a lemon. The exhaust leaked inside the cabin (dealer never able to fix). The electronic stability control system was itself never stably operated (dealer never able to fix). 4wd high didnt always engage (dealer never able to fix). The sunroof would open and close at its own discretion (dealer never able to fix). The fuel cap release latch broke 3 times. The radio petered out, was fixed, reinstalled, and broke again. I wasnt able to drive the vehicle for 2 months of the year I owned it and Toyota would not take it back as a lemon citing Massachusetts loose lemon laws.

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  Severe NVH issues - 2015 Toyota RAV4
  By Stacy Wilson - March 1 - 7:55 am

  A surprisingly zippy little SUV, but too many negatives. The #1 issue that I have is the squeaks, creaks, and road noise inside this car. I recently discovered an industry term, NVH - which rates Noise, Vibration, and Hazzard. This Rav4 has the WORST NVH rating. Sure wish I knew about this term prior to purchasing this car. On the hunt for a top rated NVH vehicle. I purchased this vehicle brand new, 2015 Rav4 Limited. Within the first few months, the dashboard began squeaking and creaking - I have a TBI, and cannot tolerate this type of noise. Plus, the road noise coming up into the car from the tires, frame, etc - is brutal. The dealership said that Toyota has templates, of an absorbing type of material. The dashboard would be dropped, template installed, problem fixed. Well, that particular squeak and rattle anyway. They informed me that if they went ahead with this repair, they would need to drop the entire dashboard - separating thousands of contact points within the dashboard - and the end result would be LOTS of more squeaks. Wow. Also, very very tight seating, even in the front seats. Unless you are a petite person, and do not have any issues with serious road noise in the car while driving, it is a fun little car to bop around with, and the cargo room is fantastic.

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  DO NOT BUY CAMRY I REPEAT - 2008 Toyota Camry
  By Honest Opinion - February 28 - 9:53 am

  This is a horrible car. All the talk about Toyota quality is really nothing more than marketing-hype. The so-called quality is NOT there. Rather, this car is riddled with many problems--some of which are really serious and dangerous. First, the transmission is really bad. It slips all the time and shifting is very poor. It could cause "unexpected" acceleration, and can cause serious accident. Second, the quality is bad. The gaps between parts (e.g., dash board) are wide and uneven. 1970 Dodge is probably better assembled than this. Ive already visited the dealership three times because of various problems. Third, dont expect any fun in driving this car. Steering is very unresponsive.