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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  Mileage - 2005 Toyota Prius
  By BDenny - June 12 - 10:33 pm

  We traded our 2003 Camry for the Prius, and there is substantial difference in the two vehicles. The most being the ride and the power. I purchased the car without having test driven one, which I have never done before. The salesman told me that 90% of buyers have not. The biggest reason for purchasing the Prius was Fuel Mileage. I am pleased with the fuel mileage, but it isnt getting what I had expected. It is getting 45-48 on the hwy and around 43 city. I am not sure why it is not getting better in the city, but I think a part of it is my wifes driving style. I have about 2500 miles on it so far, and the dealer told me that I wont see the best mileage until gets over 5000 miles.

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  2007 Toyota Yaris - 2007 Toyota Yaris
  By Ang - June 12 - 9:10 pm

  Hello Yaris! I needed a small commuter after 95K miles of long distance traveling on my old job. I have put 1000 miles on my new 07 Yaris and I have no regrets. Getting 35 mpg combined city/hwy, love the velvety smooth 5-speed, electronic steering (so easy for city parking), peppy pick up, great handling. Thought I would hate the center speedo but I love it at night, no glaring speedo in front of you. Yaris gets me lots of looks - never thought a car could be cute, but this is!

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  09 Prerunner V6 Access Cab SR5 - 2009 Toyota Tacoma
  By Robert - June 12 - 9:10 pm

  Purchased earlier this year but waited to see what issues cropped up before doing a review. Overall, I have been pleased. I have not experienced the transmission issues others have had (yet), but have run into a couple of minor problems. The radio tends to shut off automatically, or get stuck on a station and the buttons wont respond. Also, when I dont have the A/C fan running and the air button is set to recycle, it will switch to outside air randomly even though I dont have the selector set to heat or defrost. My only other complaint is the bed surface is so slick that groceries are strewn everywhere during the 3 mile drive home from the market.

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  Pleased in every way - 2005 Toyota Prius
  By ED - June 12 - 8:20 pm

  After much research and soul searching, we purchased an 04 Prius in November of 03. It was love at first drive. A 2300 mile trip from Gulfport MS to Key West Fla confirmed our first impressions. We were less tired than we were in the same trip in my wifes town car, and had much more money for fun instead of for gasoline. We now have 18000 miles on the car and have average 48 mpg to our delight. Thank you Toyota. Wake up, U.S. companies.

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  truck is fine transmission if junk! - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By wdills22@gmail.com - June 12 - 7:49 pm

  I was so happy to get my new truck and i love everything about the truck except the transmission. I literally cannot go 45mph. When i hit that speed the truck shifts into a gear that bogs the engine down to 1000rpm and then it downshifts when i try to keep the truck at 45mph so it jumps me past that speed. I cant keep a steady speed unless Im on the highway in the top gear. I had the TSB done to fix the hesitation going from P to D and it worked. I had the transmission fluid checked. I did everything that corporate toyota told me to do and it still bogs down driving down the street and continually shifts. The fix is already in the truck but they wont perform it. If you put the truck in ECT PWR mode then it runs great. If they take that program and make it the startup program then it would be fine. For now Im going to have to trade it in and get something else. It sucks because i like toyota or at least i used to.

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  Cruizin Camry - 2007 Toyota Camry
  By CRUIZIN - June 12 - 2:36 pm

  I got this 32 MPG/Highway vehicle for $200 under invoice. I really cant complain about this vehicle. My car did, however, have a small rip in the rear leather armrest. Toyota took care of the rip, but you can still notice the patched up area if you look at it carefully. I definitely reccoment using Edumunds to buy your next vehicle. It will save you a lot of time and will get you a good deal.

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  Our first minivan 2012 Sienna Base Model 7 Seater - 2012 Toyota Sienna
  By Jay V - June 12 - 8:32 am

  Ive always been a car guy, then SUV, all german. Now that we have a newborn and our family is growing, we had to opt out to having a larger capacity vehicle. Hence, the 7 seater or even more in the future if need be. My first thought was, man no one really respects van drivers and I experienced this first hand right away. This is when other vehicles always cuts you off on the freeway and disregards that "Hey we are driving here! Dont you see me!" LOL. Well at least the drivability and the comfort with this van counters that. The ride is pretty smooth. We bought it used, and we are the 3rd owner at 88K miles, in clean pristine condition. We are running it with Goodyear tires. Even though we have the base model this is actually pretty good. I did not want the factory navi since I use Waze anyway and my kid uses his ipad mounted on the headrest. Its a win win for us.

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  Happy with it - 2013 Toyota Corolla
  By MisterSmith - June 12 - 6:17 am

  Kids are grown up now, just needed a reliable commuter car with good gas mileage for going to work. Got the sporty loaded model and it looks nice for the price. Heated mirrors, sunroof, climate control, stitching, bigger rims & tires and nav are nice in this type/priced car. And I got an amazing deal since the 2014s were just out. It drives very average, is weak on power, and the interior fit and finish is old school, but for the value i couldnt find better. At the time, a similar Civic EX was almost $5k more. Now at 40k miles with zero issues, just oil changes and tire rotations. Even the tires still have a good 25k of tread left. I knew exactly what I was getting when I purchased it, and has fully lived up to my expectations. Would recommend, just dont expect much refinement in this model.

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  Love it - 2008 Toyota Sequoia
  By Chris - June 12 - 3:36 am

  I wanted a large SUV I could pack full of stuff including the kids for long trips. About a year ago when I heard the Sequoia was going to be redesigned for this year I held off my purchase and decided to see what the ’08 had to offer. I’m glad I did because I absolutely love it. In fact the whole family does. I’ve already taken it on a 1200 mile road trip and it was a joy to drive (as much as a 19 hour dive can be with two kids). We were able to load up the back with the 3rd row down and there was still room for the kids to sit in the second row. There was even enough room between the car seats for my wife to sit between them when needed.

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  Money well spent. - 2009 Toyota Camry
  By Tom - June 11 - 2:30 pm

  Okay, I test drove pretty much all the midsize family sedans and in terms of price, value, comfort, looks, and fuel economy the Toyota Camry won. The 4 cylinder is plenty of power so dont waste money for that and the xle trim is worth the extra money. Very comfortable interior and decent handling so dont expect a sports car ride. I like driving this car. Lots of room front and rear with a decent sized trunk. Lots of airbags and VSC for safety. It even has a knee airbag for the driver. Controls are simple enough but I wasnt sold on the navigation. So I didnt get it. Too many things to look at when driving. Overall, I give it an A.