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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  Rented ford yaris for road trip - 2016 Toyota Yaris
  By Michael - July 17 - 7:53 pm

  If you are driving this car more than 20-30 min. at a time, then you are going to be hurting! Last weekend I drove to Kansas from Colorado and back in a day, and it was killing me. After driving the car for 5 hours and a little over 400 miles I was limping at the gas station. 300 miles later I got out to walk around and was limping from the pain of my foot the entire time. I switched out with the co-driver and she said after just driving for an hour her leg and thigh was killing her. The foot peddle is small and really hard to keep at the right speed, there is no cruse control and the speed gauge goes in increments of 10 so you dont know how fast you are going. Having to keep looking at the speed gauge every 10 seconds to see that you are speeding or not makes this unsafe because YOU ARE NOT WATCHING THE ROAD! which makes this an unsafe car to drive even in the city. When we finally got back to Colorado I could barley walk to the front door of our house and 3 days later my foot still hurts.

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  START STOP HAS TO GO - 2017 Toyota Highlander
  By JIM YOUNG - July 13 - 12:49 pm

  This highlander has start stop tech. Which absolutely sucks. The engine tries to stop running before the car comes to a stop. It hesitates on start up. The advertising misrepresents this feature. It is not safe. It does not save gas. Its a joke on the american public. The consumer should be able to turn this off permanently. I had a 2014 highlander which was a very good vehicle, however, i have told folks to stay away from the 2017 because of the start stop crap.

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  Disappointed - 2007 Toyota Corolla
  By Pat - June 30 - 10:33 pm

  Picked up this car 5/2007 and now have 1200 miles on it. Vehicle came equipped with Goodyear Integrity P185/16 which have an air loss problem. Letters to Toyota USA & Goodyear unsuccessful & forget the dealer bad news with them. Even though Toyota chose to put these tires on their car they blame Goodyear & Goodyear is unresponsive. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety website there are 25 complaints filed on these tires so something is wrong. Overall for this car Toyota has failed with it the interior is sloppy & the vehicle handles like it is 4 yrs old not 4 months old. Also once I tilt the wheel I cannot see the speedometer

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  Worst purchase - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By David E. - June 26 - 10:32 am

  I had own a 2005 tacoma and drove it for 9 years with onlh one issue the air conditioner stop working. Sld the truck and had purchase a jeep but aftrr 3 years i decided to purchase the ne 2016 tacoma trd sport. It was the worst decision i have made in purchasing a new truck. The transmission is crap for it canot decide what gear to run in and the truck has a surge when you are trying to park or pill into a garage. I have had the truckmin the shop twice and went today and talk to a sevice adviser and was told that there was nothing they could do for this is the way the truck will perform and they were done. The truck is omld six months old with 6k miles. I am going tomorrow and trade it in for a Dogde Ram. Hopefully Toyota will get there act together for if people stop buying there products for they are no longer in my book as the best vechicle on the road.

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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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  2010 Toyota Camry DONT Trust - 2010 Toyota Camry
  By MUTHUKRISHNAN SELVARAJ - May 15 - 5:50 pm

  Many of us believe that TOYOTA is a best brand and it will run atleast for 100000 miles. I also felt the same and bought the car from a dealer earlier in 2013, a 2010 Toyota Camry. Now the miles is around 84000. I used to do my oil checks, vehicle check properly. Last month also i did there were no issues reported. All of the sudden this sunday the engine started to make noise. No rains, no animals no accident it started to behave on its own. The Check engine light and VSC light started to glow, i am shocked to see this happening. I went to TOYOTA Dealer they said this is a serious problem. A car having trouble in engine within 84000 miles I was also crazy to hear it. I called the Toyota motors they simply state the engine is out of warranty and they cannot help on this as they provided only the warranty for 5 Years or 60000 Miles. Even though I explained the situation they are not ready to listen anymore and they simply declined the request. With no other options left i have to go back to my Toyota Dealer again now he told about 6000$ after an hour talk he reduced to 4000$. The part is coming only around 1000$ but the service charge they are asking for 3000$. The problem is with the ignition coil and when i read it in the websites there are chances that the car could have been gone uncontrol and its a risk factor for anyone to drive. Toyota is not ready to accept this as its fault. I believe they need to value the customers and their safety. They feel after 60000 miles whatever happen to the owner they wont care. Its a bad attitude.

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  2010 Toyota Camry DONT Trust - 2010 Toyota Camry
  By MUTHUKRISHNAN SELVARAJ - May 15 - 5:50 pm

  Many of us believe that TOYOTA is a best brand and it will run atleast for 100000 miles. I also felt the same and bought the car from a dealer earlier in 2013, a 2010 Toyota Camry. Now the miles is around 84000. I used to do my oil checks, vehicle check properly. Last month also i did there were no issues reported. All of the sudden this sunday the engine started to make noise. No rains, no animals no accident it started to behave on its own. The Check engine light and VSC light started to glow, i am shocked to see this happening. I went to TOYOTA Dealer they said this is a serious problem. A car having trouble in engine within 84000 miles I was also crazy to hear it. I called the Toyota motors they simply state the engine is out of warranty and they cannot help on this as they provided only the warranty for 5 Years or 60000 Miles. Even though I explained the situation they are not ready to listen anymore and they simply declined the request. With no other options left i have to go back to my Toyota Dealer again now he told about 6000$ after an hour talk he reduced to 4000$. The part is coming only around 1000$ but the service charge they are asking for 3000$. The problem is with the ignition coil and when i read it in the websites there are chances that the car could have been gone uncontrol and its a risk factor for anyone to drive. Toyota is not ready to accept this as its fault. I believe they need to value the customers and their safety. They feel after 60000 miles whatever happen to the owner they wont care. Its a bad attitude.

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  First time dissapointment with Toyota - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By Larry - January 7 - 7:35 pm

  Very underpowered. Trans continously shifts to keep rpms up. Took 1200 miles trip to Florida. In 20 to 25 mph headwind will not stay in high gear using criuse but runs at higher rpms. Constantly downshift in cruise even with very slight road incline. Would never pull a trailer on long trip. I am 69 an sadly this is most dissapointing vehicle I have ever purchased. Running the vehicle with the ETC button on gains you 1.5 to 2.5mpg. Using that mode, I got 24 mpg with the last two tanks of gas. Pulling a 14 foot, 2500 lbs travel trailer the Tacoma will barely go 65 mph on a freeway and gets 12mpg.

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  Wolf in sheep clothing - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By Dwight ryan - January 4 - 11:16 pm

  Looks good engine has no power loud sounds like it out of oil transmission is Always hunting for right gear shifts hard seats are better than my 15 taco. But still not good Really thought this was going be the truck. ITS NOT. Call me toyota come to my house I will go over everything you didnt do right. I Want My Money Back. This is my 4 th taco truck had 2 tundra. Still have a 2015 Tundra I will keep it. Twice the truck X 2. Toyota lied about this truck.

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  A big NO to Toyota again - 2002 Toyota RAV4
  By Phyllis - December 27 - 12:50 pm

  The car is ok apart from the check engine light that keeps coming on. Had the ECM reprogrammed but so far nothing has changed. I wonder if Toyota still stands by their product if they cant take the responsibility of acknowledging their mistakes. I will never buy a Toyota car again.