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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  Solid truck - 2000 Toyota Tacoma
  By icyhotstunna87 - August 5 - 10:00 am

  ive always liked toyotas because of their quality, and this truck has continued my trust in toyota with its reliability, comfort, and quality!

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  Love at 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th...sight! - 2000 Toyota Camry Solara
  By Fairway Green - August 5 - 10:00 am

  I was looking for a used car for my mom at the Toyota dealer when I first saw my Solara. It was an SLE, fairway green with the gold package. I was taken by its looks and elegant style. To this day, when I approach my car from the front at an angle, I stop to gaze at her. I LOVE THIS CAR. Routine maintenance has given me 40K trouble free miles. The JBL audio, with the help of a 10 Bazooka, silences any want of more from a sound system. Toyota combined looks and reliability to match my sense of style and fiscally conservative personality perfectly. Owning this car has raised my level of expectations of what a car can stand for.

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  Dealer - 2001 Toyota 4Runner
  By Dottie White - August 5 - 10:00 am

  I love my 4 runner. The dealer has ignorant sales people that are only interested in making money. They do not care about what happens after the sale.I was thinking about buying a new 4 runner and I was told specifically what do you think you can buy a new vehicle every six months. I was planning to trade because the color is dark green and is hard to keep clean.

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  Best Experience - 2002 Toyota Sequoia
  By Ramon - August 5 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is one of the best cars I have ever owned. The fuel economy was a surprise to me. I was expecting it to consume a lot of gas but surprisingly it doesnt. Drives very smooth and has good acceleration for a big SUV.

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  Lovin it! - 2006 Toyota Corolla
  By Toyota4Life - August 5 - 6:53 am

  My first Toyota and I love it! From what I hear about Corollas it will probably be my last for at least 200,000 miles. And you can bet your bippy that Ill get another after that! Superb gas mileage, comfy seating (Im 5 tall and its hard to find a luxury- like car that fits me) drives fun, quiet + smooth. This might sound strange, but I live in the boondocks and have never been able to get in many radio stations with my other vehicles, The Corollas antenna rocks! Not that I use it much now that I have a 6 disk Cd changer! Wish the volume went up more though.

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  Unique 04 Corolla S - 2004 Toyota Corolla
  By Steven - August 5 - 2:13 am

  Im not so sure now that this car was worth buying. I bought the car used with 10,000 miles on it, and it currently has 22,000 on it. The car has good build quality, but the drivers door rattles and sounds cheap when you shut it. The car doesnt have enough low-end power, and the gas mileage that Toyota advertises is false, Im only averaging about 25- 26mpg in the city. Ive had a humming noise coming from the vehicle, Toyota said they fixed the problem prior to being there 4 times before. The car start making the sound again, and Im just fed up and I dont want to take it back there. The interior is nice, sporty, but it lacks the "driver friendly" atmosphere.

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  All good except rear window defroster - 2005 Toyota Camry
  By Farshid - August 4 - 6:50 pm

  It is a Toyota so it is quite, comfortable and has low maintenance cost. The only negative thing that I found is the rear window defroster. It is not as powerful as it should be (even in compare to my previous car, Prizm 99) for Michigan weather to melt frozen water on rear window quickly. By the MPG in city is about 21 not 24.

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  Oh my aching back! - 2006 Toyota Corolla
  By MRI tech - August 4 - 5:56 pm

  The Corolla is like a Timex watch, very reliable. I never worry about it breaking down. I bought this car new and I have only had to do scheduled maintenance. Great gas mileage, 30+. Now for the bad news, very uncomfortable seats, steering wheel does not telescopic, air conditioning hardly blows out at all when in head/foot postion. Defroster takes forever to unfog windshield. I drive an hour each way to work, and my back kills me. The arm rest might as well not exist, it is of no use except for storage. I am presently looking for a "comfortable" car. Why does inexpensive have to hurt so much? Windshield cracks if anything hits it however small.

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  History of problems - 2007 Toyota RAV4
  By jimdereynier - August 4 - 4:57 pm

  2007 Rav 4 First 100,000 miles= a real problem At 80,000, external oil line blew- lost all oil but was just coming up an I 95 ramp so I was able to save engine- This occurred before the recall- - Bad battery in the first 18 months. - $600 air bag electronic line went bad- no recall. - Disk brake rotor plate- front and rear and to be replace- under 60,000 miles. 100,000- to 238,000 - Car works like a Toyota - and even get much better mileage than the first 100,000.- Bottom line- the engineering team should have been fired.

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  A+ for Prius 07. - 2007 Toyota Prius
  By Z - August 4 - 4:30 pm

  Bought his Car 2 weeks ago. MPG are amazing. First week to fill it out was $20.00. I ran about 400 miles with a full tank combined with city and highway. I have no complaints at all. Great Car. I shouldve bought it 2 years ago.