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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  Great car but needs some improvements - 2013 Toyota Corolla
  By amit8 - March 26 - 3:17 pm

  It has been more than a month and I am happy with my Toyota Corolla S car. It has nice interior and built in touch screen display for bluetooth smart phone connection, radio/CD buttons. S trim doesnt have variable wipers. All your smartphone contacts are visible and thats a great feature on display. The interior is also nice and spacious compared to Sentra in the same class. S trim doesnt have intermittent variable wipers compared to LE. Its 0.7 inch shorter than LE. Makes lot of noise and vibration when it changes gears to high but then its pretty smooth. When climbing uphill, it sometimes smells gas. It has good pick up (torque) but not like previous corollas.

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  Good buy - 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid
  By Chris E - March 26 - 1:13 am

  This is a really solid car. I consistently get 37 mpg and have had no problems with it so far. The interior finishes are a little spotty for a Toyota (seat material mars easily, hard plastics scratch easily, a couple of small rattles). Plenty of power. Overall, Toyota did a nice job.

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  Fun to drive frugally - 2011 Toyota Prius
  By hoehandle - March 26 - 12:37 am

  We traded our 03 Lexus 300 for this new 2011 Prius IV on 2/12/11. I carefilly compared fuel used and miles driven on the first 3 gas fill-ups and found the trip meter indicated about 2 mpg more then it should be. Average milage was 48 MPG during the cold temps and engine break-in. Now we have over 4,000 miles on it and we consistently get over 50 mpg. On a recent short trip of 71 miles, our Prius showed 59.3 MPG. This was driving with other traffic and not upsetting other drivers by trying to be thrifty. I did learn how to increase the MPG from various blogs and related websites. It is not a Lexus but suprisingly my wife and I forget the difference while driving this vehicle. Very pleased!

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  Good Sales Car - 1998 Toyota Camry
  By blueviking - March 25 - 10:00 am

  Camry has been a very good car for me. I put on average 42,000 miles per year and this car has been the best value for the money. I have not had to change brake pads or mess with the rotors like I have done with the Ford Taurus( driven 6 Taurus). Ride is smooth and quite, the milage I figure is in 28 to 32. I will buy another Camry because of its overall value in the long run.

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  Great, but flawed. - 2003 Toyota Camry
  By Lmiller - March 25 - 10:00 am

  There is a intermittent noise in the dash. The Car has 20 more horsepower than the Mercury Sable it replaced, however seems to have less performance. Rear vision is poor with the spoiler. Love the spoiler, cant see over it.The brake pedal is mushy, but brakes are good. The exhaust pipe hangs down six to ten inches on every Camry I have seen. Looks very Tacky. I no longer have to look at Camrys and rebadged Camrys (Lexus) to identify them. I just look for the exhaust pipe hanging down under the rear axle.

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  Previa it is not - 2004 Toyota Sienna
  By Previafan - March 25 - 10:00 am

  After donating a 1991 Previa DX 5 sp after 13 yrs & 250K miles without a single visit to the dealer for service, Sienna was an obvious choice. In the Previa, on trips to Lake Tahoe, I would drive it like a sports car (almost!) but based on 2 days of driving, I will not be doing that in this van. After trying to find an 8 seater with opt pkg 3 in red salsa pearl (why dont they call it maroon), I settled for a 7 seater with opt pkg 4. It has plenty of power, good gas mileage and typical Toyota boring ride (Previa was an exception). A well built van.

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  Oops! - 2009 Toyota Avalon
  By Jeff - March 24 - 11:13 am

  Beautiful car except it came with a front end vibration at 38-42 mph and above 60 mph. 5 trips to the dealer and 4,000 miles later, it has a reduced but constant vibration that is a nuisance at 39 mph and discomfort above 60. The dealership replaced 2 tires and then all 4 with a harder tire. You feel every little imperfection in the road and the vibration puts your backside to sleep. After a 250 mile trip, I was exhausted. This car should be a dream to drive but unfortunately its a bad dream. Filing for a replacement under FL lemon law.

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  xticx - 2004 Toyota Highlander
  By james - March 24 - 11:00 am

  No doubt Toyota highlander is wonderful on road and comfortable to drive, the only problem i have is the fuel consumption when the a/c is on.

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  Good truck with some issues. - 2013 Toyota Tacoma
  By Jeff - March 23 - 6:03 pm

  I purchased this truck in 2013 brand new. I still own it in October of 2016. There are two design flaws and one other issue with this truck. The two design flaws are: 1. There are two rubber strips across the top of the truck that come loose in strong wind or at the car was. Im not exactly sure why these two rubber strips are on top of the truck in the first place. They dont seem to do anything except come off the truck. 2. The painted on descriptions of the controls. For example ... POWER on the radio knob. These painted on descriptions come off over time since they werent recessed into the dash then painted so you couldnt touch the paint. In my opinion if they were just recessed without painting they would look better. So the descriptions of the knobs will come off over time due to touching them. The other issue is towing and the shifting of gears. I towed a UTV on a utility trailer. I could not use the cruise control when towing this UTV because the RPMs would go too high. Even without towing something the shifting takes a while at higher speeds (60+ MPH) when getting on the highway. Once it does finally shifts gears lowering the RPMs its fine. I love the way my Tacoma TRD looks and handles, but there are issues that keep it from getting a 5 star rating that could have been caught in the design of this vehicle. I would recommend this truck but not if you want to tow something at its maximum towing capacity and as long as you are OK with its design faults.

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  Why wouldnt you? - 2006 Toyota Prius
  By Simon Palmer - March 23 - 3:06 pm

  With a large tax credit to offset the "hybrid premium" it was an easy decision to try the Prius. I was looking for a hatchback as these have the versatility that a one-car household needs without the punishing costs of a SUV. There were surprisingly few hatchback choices in 2006 and this one has turned out to be a winner. Fuel economy to date (45,000 miles) 58.9 MPG; reliability 100%; servicing costs average; fun factor 5 for a normal person, 8 for a geek. Interestingly, I got stranded one night by floods and slept in the car until morning; the ICE kicked on and off occasionally to recharge the battery and keep the A/C running. This car is now my personal hurricane evacuation plan!!