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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  Buy Somethng Else - 2007 Toyota Camry
  By ToyotaIsGoinouth - November 12 - 1:23 am

  The reputation of Toyota may have been hard earned in the past but now is quickly waning. The "organic" break pads went out at 36,000 miles. We lost the engine at 40,000 due to the engineers at Toyota putting a rubber piece of hose on the oil return to the top of the engine. Buyer beware! Stay away from this car and dont bank on Toyota any longer!

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  Not Impressed so far! - 2006 Toyota Avalon
  By J.Yoeman - November 7 - 1:23 am

  Bought the top of the line Limited model with all the bells and whistles except for NAV which I find useless. The engine is pretty quick and the interior room is good. I was dismayed to find after the first month that the transmission was leaking on my garage floor. Thankfully the dealer fixed that. The car handles well but is noisier than expected. I also think the trunk is too small and find it incredible that Toyota doesnt install some kind of exterior door protection trim molding on a 36K car! Im also not overly fond of the light fake wood but I do like the silver accents.

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  MagLuk - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By magluk - November 6 - 11:16 pm

  So I wrote a review two years ago right when I bought the 2010 Corolla. A lot has changed and only for the worse. When Im on the highway it sounds like there is something retelling around the roof, and Im getting the feeling like the roof will fall off, it happens more on a windy day, also the car is starting to jerk when Im in drive at 40mph trying to go faster. The car also has a problem with pick up when I want to accelerate and switch lanes. Over all Im getting scared of driving this car, and Im thinking of trading it in, not for another Toyota, I believer they are getting to expensive and the quality is going down hill. The dealer always has excuses on not looking in to this mater.

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  Did I Get A LEMON? - 2006 Toyota Sienna
  By mdinkel - November 3 - 9:06 am

  2006 Sienna LE - bought new, now has 65,000 mi. Live on country roads and am 8 mi one way to school and 25 mi to a Toyota dealership. Took it to dealership a year ago for the engine lights coming on and a belt squeak. They said I must have has some bad gas and the belt was not squeaking. Alls fine right? NOT. A year later (7-20 08) take it back because the AC went out. Just thought it was a belt. The magnetic coil is out and they told me the catalytic converter is out and the oxygen sensor. The driver side slide door will not open at all! Many other things wrong too! I asked the service manager if this is normal to have these things go out with only 65000 mi. He said no. $1500

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  Toyota Quality/Reliability??? - 2000 Toyota Sienna
  By teo - November 2 - 2:00 am

  My transmission went on my 2000 Sienna at 36,400 miles. Poor reliability and horrible customer service. I will never buy another Toyota again!

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  Engine problems - 2002 Toyota RAV4
  By Somerset Ky - November 2 - 2:00 am

  With only one year and 9000 miles on the vehicle a piece fell from inside the valve cover and went into the engine doing about $3000.00 in damages to the engine. Dealership advised it was a bad design by Toyota, but would didnt think it would be recalled. The fan belt has a squeek in it ever since.

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  Solid car but torture to drive - 2006 Toyota Sienna
  By Dalpine - November 1 - 4:43 pm

  The lack of support in drivers seat combined with pronounced leaning into turns can result in chronic back problems. The pain is not lessened by the lumbar that feels like a football in your back. Fuel mileage extremely poor. I regret buying it.

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  09 Venza, V6 FWD - 2009 Toyota Venza
  By Kinkajoo - October 31 - 5:53 pm

  We like VENZA a lot and bought one and we like the drive. But the sales guy forced us to buy a flip-down DVD player that too 10.2 Inch screen size to give us $100 off. Now when we flip down the DVD player it completely blocks the rear view mirror causing huge safety concern, Also If cops notice that you may be liable for penalty as well. On top of the safety issue they plugged a wireless-audio DVD player which signals to the existing radio... thats disgusting... you always hear static and the volume is bad. If sales person had given an option of rear-seat two screen DVD player as an option we would have gone for this... that sales guy was not trained to give out options to the customer.

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  What Happen to Toyota Quality??? - 2009 Toyota Venza
  By abrown20 - October 31 - 2:36 am

  I was so excited when I got my Venza. I do think it is beautiful and I love the bronze color. However, I have never had a Toyota so poorly made. My Venza is a fully loaded 09 and i had high expectations. Within a year all the rubber seals in the doors, hatch and sunroom had fallen out and been replaced. The warranty just ended and now the sun visors have fallen down. How do sun visors just fall apart??? My last Toyota was 11 years old with orginal visors! The clips that hold the belts in the back have broken. The quality of the detail work should be an embarrassment to Toyota but they have taken no responsibility. Road noise is Horrible and it has always pulled to the right. Just Sad!

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  vibration in gear - 2014 Toyota Camry
  By Joe Rollings - October 29 - 1:12 am

  When i bought the car thier was no vibration at all with the car in gear at a stop with the a/c on or off. At 11,000 miles like flicking on a switch. out of no where the vibration started. I know this because it was actually bothering my stomach. I brought in and at first i got the run around, told me it was the nature of the model. Then i insisted they find the problem. I spoke with the mechanic personally and he said he cleaned the throttle body, injectors and realigned the motor and wishbone. Seems to be better but not gone. Very earitating with a/c on. I suggested to the mechanic could it be a faulty a/c compressor clutch or something. He said that couldnt be it. I tried to gently powerbrake it just enough to bring it up about 50 RPM. Flelt much better. Im thinking the computer my not be bringing the rpms up high enough at idle. Anybody else out there with these same issues?