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:

• 

  It is called a large car, but it isnt - 2009 Toyota Avalon
  By Chris Christensen - April 23 - 10:43 am

  Older Avalons are wider and more spacious. This is an upgraded Camry size. Restricting, not comfortable on long trips, and the seats dont go back far enough. Reclining rear seats are a marketing game. Paint job is very poor - tree sap etched paint. High quality cars should have plenty of clear coat coats. If this is Toyota"s flagship, make it one!! I am very disappointed. The new Venza is even worse - noisy, bumpy ride!

• 

  WOW - 2001 Toyota Sequoia
  By Toyforrunr - April 23 - 8:16 am

  I own 3 4 Runners. My brother bought a Tundra and I loved it. When the sequoia came out I had to have one. We looked for a used one with no luck. So we finally bought one for X-mas. Very impressive. Comfortable and quiet ride. Went to Disney and avged 18.7MPG. Has good power and looks awsome! All factory options plus: spoiler, bug deflector, running boards, trip computer, pwr front seats, driving lights, tow pkg, keyless entry, alarm, and factory tinted windows. Silver Sky in color. Really tough SUV inside and out. I LOVE IT!!!

• 

  Great value - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By mrosloff - April 23 - 5:29 am

  As a city resident, I test drove several cars in this category - Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Ford Focus, and Nissan Sentra. I realize the category is not a luxury or performance car. Other cars have somewhat better interior quality, but I liked the handling and comfort of the Corolla best. I do mostly highway driving or short trips in the city, but it gets great gas mileage and I think it makes good use of interior space. I still think it is a reliable car and great value.

• 

  Second Toyota/More to Come - 1998 Toyota Avalon
  By patoconnor - April 22 - 9:10 pm

  Traded an 87 Toyota Cressida on the 98 Avalon. The Cressida was still an excellent car, but husband wanted front-wheel drive after we moved to Denver. The Avalon, though not as sexy as the Cressida, has been rock-solid, comfy to drive, love the extra room afforded by column-shift, great power, perfect for long drives, smooth, no maintenance issues.

• 

  As good as expected - 1996 Toyota 4Runner
  By DK - April 22 - 7:06 pm

  10 years and still running strong. No problems. If it got better gas mileage I would keep it forever.

• 

  Best in Class!! - 2011 Toyota Camry
  By thill357 - April 22 - 2:59 pm

  Best car I have ever owned! I truly LOVE this car! It look great, drives great, and is made by the best company in the world! I have the SE model w/ a sunroof, ground effects, blacked out grille, spoiler, dual chrome tipped exhaust, and fog lights with a black cloth interior. Inalways loved the Toyotas..... Just good cars overall. Owned a 97 corolla w/ 300k miles. That was truly a wonderful car!! I love this car to.... Not just an ordinary LE camry, this is a true "sports" camry and is made for taking them curves! Comfortable for all passengers and trunk is large! Truly reccomend this car over the altima, accord, or sonata. Best for it is money.... Love the new 2012 camry too... Check it out

• 

  Good car - 2017 Toyota Highlander
  By Satisfied Customer - April 22 - 1:40 pm

  Ive been impressed so far by my FWD 2017 Highlander XLE. It is comfortable, spacious, gets reasonable gas mileage for a big car, and I love the active safety features and how well laid out the controls are. It is also very smooth and quiet on the highway and is a reasonable size for my garage and parking lots while still fitting lots of stuff. Note that I use it as a two row vehichle. The third row is really more for small kids on trips and adults at no more than short distances and when in use the cargo space goes from great to limited. I really like the blind spot monitoring. Getting about 27.5 mpg on highway and 25 overall so far. One thing Im not a fan of is the throttle response. Transmission is programmed for economy so the car feels slower than it is and you really have to hit the gas to feel the power. If you floor it youll find the car really moves quickly but otherwise it feels lethargic. Using the power setting improves this. The controls are very good on the car.

• 

  Poor Corolla - 2008 Toyota Corolla
  By Lana - April 22 - 1:16 pm

  When I bought this car, I knew it was going to be for utilitarian purposes only, school, work, errands. After all, thats all that this car is good for. After 2.5 years driving it after buying it brand new, I got bored with it and sick of hearing the engine strain to accelerate and pick up reasonable speed. The car drives well, seeps on gas slowly (I could drive 2 weeks without filling up), but it is not a fun car. Very dependable, never had an issue with it after 20,000 and going.

• 

  Spontaneous Combustion - 1999 Toyota 4Runner
  By Houston, TX - April 22 - 1:10 pm

  I bought this car new and took great care of it. With 85K miles on it, an electrical fire started behind the dashboard (probably inside the instrument cluster) causing massive damage. All wiring was factory and no work had been done on the electrical system. Otherwise I really enjoyed the car until it caught fire on me.

• 

  but one thing - 2002 Toyota Avalon
  By chasjoret - April 22 - 10:00 am

  the only thing I can say wrong is the front bucket seats dont have enought padding. On a long trip they get very unconfrontable.