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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  Did I buy a lemon - 1995 Toyota Camry
  By JP - January 19 - 10:40 am

  My 1995 toyota camry has been somewhat of a lemon. It did have over 200,000 miles when I bought it and it was on the second engine. The reverse went out where it would be somewhat OK at start up if cold, but would not work when the oil got hot. Miraculously it began working again about 2 years after I bought. I would drive it without a reverse but had to be careful where I parked. The door handles broke and I have a tie-string to open the drivers door. Overall the car is junk and it does prove to me very much so that Toyotas are far from perfect and can develop serious problems like all other cars. I still rate Toyotas high though.

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  CVT Is Horrible - 2015 Toyota Corolla
  By Dan - January 1 - 8:02 am

  The new corollas are slow and its mainly because the CVT transmission. The engine and overall design of the car would be awesome with a real transmission in it but that rubber band CVT doesnt help it out at all. Slow acceleration, bad reliability and noisy. The new corolla makes more noise then it does power, my 2007 model is faster. The DOHC paired with just the four speed auto transmission in my old corolla is faster then any of the new CVT corollas. Glad I have a older model.

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  Computerized Fiasco, Warranty Nightmare - 2017 Toyota Highlander
  By S. Tessmann - November 18 - 10:55 am

  My wife wanted leather seats so we purchased the XLE model, which comes with electronic and computerized everything. Although we paid for it, we will never use nor did we want 80% of the electronic wizardry that comes in this model. Lots of computerized stuff equates to lots of opportunity for malfunctions. The radio is "speed-activated," meaning the volume is supposed to increase gradually as the vehicle speed increases to compensate for road noise . The radio in our highlander is defective. The volume erratically and abruptly increases and decreases at any speed, even while the vehicle is idling. Its enough to drive you nuts. The vehicle is under warranty so I told the dealership I wanted the system replaced in one visit. In response, I got a lot of rigmarole about protocol and was told the system would need to be removed and sent off for diagnosis. I told them this was unacceptable as it meant several 100-mile round trips to the dealership. To no avail. They arranged a Saturday morning appointment but then told us they would need authorization to replace the system and since Toyotas technical service office is not open on a weekend, they could not get the approval. The technician downloaded a software service pack that did not correct the problem. I called the Toyota "customer care" center to lodge my complaint and insist that the problem be corrected in one additional visit. It was like talking to a trained puppet. More rigmarole about protocol and "Im sorry you are being inconvenienced" and "I am unable to guarantee the problem will be fixed on your next visit." Protocol before customer service, always !! The vehicle also comes with "radar activated" cruise control. Although functioning properly in our vehicle, its the most worthless, vexing thing Ive ever encountered. Who wants a cruise system that slows the vehicle as it approaches another vehicle you intend to pass? Consequently, I have to manually turn off the radar system every time I use the cruise control. This is another example of just too much technology thats poorly thought out.

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  STALL OUT WHILE DRIVING!!! - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By Joe - November 2 - 1:52 am

  This is my 5th Toyota and 3rd TRD off road 4x4. It has stalled out on me 4 times ( once making a left turn and almost got hit) Toyota has had if for a total of 6 weeks of my 10 months of ownership. The last time it was in for 4.5 weeks so the Toyota engineers could look at it and the answer was they tightened some loose connections. I am not feeling real confident with this truck or the Toyota company. Soon as it is lemoned I am most likely buying a Chevy Colorado, only because of Toyota customer service

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  Whew never again - 2015 Toyota Camry
  By Kathi - September 19 - 3:37 pm

  Be sure to drive this car on bumpy roads. I feel every small bump in the road. Wind noise inside is terrible. Should have bought the Hyndai, much quieter interior. Truely hate the black dashboard, I am in and out of my car all day. Gets very warm. Thank goodness the full blast air conditioner cools it quickly. I bought this car too fast , felt rushed by the dealer. Needed a car, my trade in had a major sunroof leak. Should have walked away. Already looking for another car. Would not go back to Sloan Toyota.

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  DRIVES LIKE A OLD JALOPY TRUCK - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Liz - September 7 - 7:51 pm

  Buyers beware of Toyota Camry xse 2016 is dangerous. Dont let the beauty of this car fool you. This car shakes and bounces. The car veres to the left or right depending on the road. Toyota refuses to fix the problem.

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  First year of Camry computer runs car - 2002 Toyota Camry
  By Dalia - September 7 - 12:10 am

  This is a dangerous car. This is the first year the computer totally controlled the accelerator and the brakes and they can fail. Toyota should pay to fix all these cars that are still on the road.

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  2016 Camry - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Elaine - August 13 - 8:13 pm

  Nice smooth ride

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  Extremely Disappointing - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Dan Hans - August 12 - 7:54 am

  Test drove this car expecting it to be as quiet and comfortable riding as the camrys from the 1990s and 2000s. Was I dead wrong. Terrible seats, lots of road, wind, engine noise makes it evident that Toyota quality has slipped greatly with lots of cost-cutting measures. Hyundai makes much better and nicer cars than Toyota does these days.

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  So many problems - 2004 Toyota Tacoma
  By BrianWilliams - August 2 - 10:00 am

  I thought the vehicle (because it was built by the Japanesse) would be of high quality. Complete junk, exterior trim is already peeling off, transmission (torque convertor?) struggles when excelerating and decelerating on the highway with an automatic and if I hear a mechanic at the dealer say "thats a tacoma for ya" one more time Ill smack him. Buyer Beware on this type of engine, all the problems have been engine and exterior, nothing else seems to be wrong. Also getting a pretty bad rattle at 25K and its leaking coolant, back to the dealer again.