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 deals on 06 4x4 SR5 DC - 2006 Toyota Tundra
  By TC - August 18 - 1:46 am

  Got a great deal on a remaining 06 DC 4x4 SR5 which was pretty loaded up. Heres the positives about the truck: great back seat room compard to 07 DC, larger bed than upcoming Crewmax, nice engine and tranny, unparalled resale value, lots of aftermarket items available, very good off road ability, fit and finish is perfect. Negatives: horrible gas mileage so far, outdated dash board and controls, higher than average TSBs and recalls, cloth seats seem cheap, center console rounded, not good for work.

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  Toyota matrix XRS - 2003 Toyota Matrix
  By codywindham - August 17 - 11:52 pm

  I am 16 years old and bought this as my first car. It has 241000 miles on it but it still runs like its new. It has great pickup and great handling and is really fun to drive. It gets decent gas mileage. The only thing I had to do was change the hoses but that is normal with cars with a lot of miles. I highly recommend this car.

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  Best truck ever owned - 2014 Toyota Tundra
  By lscheall - August 17 - 11:25 pm

  I have owned trucks made by all of the big three and the only other truck that can come close to a Tundra is a Ford. Dodge and GM trucks are cheaply made crap that is over priced and break down way to often. The power comfort and performace of the Tundra is unmatched. Not to mention that it is the only truck that is actually made in the US while the others are made everywhere but the U.S. My only problem with the interior design is the amount of chrome, I have had two eye surgeries and to me it is overwhelming at times. Other then that small flaw I love this truck, and would and have recommended it to my friends.

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  Reliability - 1997 Toyota 4Runner
  By clow - August 17 - 7:10 pm

  After having my 4Runner for 3 years, I can say that it is a very reliable SUV. I purchased it with 101,000 miles on it in 2002. I am now at 161,000 miles. Other than changing the usual, such as oil, filters, etc. I have recently replaced the shocks, struts, and battery(the old one was the original). The truck starts at the turn of the key and eveything still works, including the air conditioner. I have nothing, but good things to say about Toyota.

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  2016 CAMRY CLEARANCE PURCHASE - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Bonnie Konjevich - August 17 - 10:52 am

  Better MADE AND SAFER than my 8 YR OLD Honda Civic

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  Fantastic quality automobile... Classic - 1996 Toyota Celica
  By Keith - August 17 - 12:43 am

  This car was owned by my brother first for 4 years. It went through many drivers when he owned it and was always extremely reliable and economical to own. I bought it a few months ago after a minor accident. I fixed the imperfections and am now driving it everyday. Its getting about 23 mpg with the top down most of the time. It shifts very smooth and takes corners effortlessly. Acceleration is about 10 seconds to 60 mph (automatic) and has about 93k on it. The styling is classic and even though a 96, not out of style in the least. Mine is black on black and always gets great comments on its looks.

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  Very good car - 2007 Toyota Avalon
  By joe b. - August 16 - 10:36 pm

  This is an excellent car. Great ride, plenty or interior space. The engine is smooth and quiet. The exterior is a great improvement over the previous models, which were rather bland. Great value for the money.

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  After First Month - 2009 Toyota Tundra
  By TMC - August 16 - 7:00 pm

  Great Engine and Transmission. Feels Solid and drives great on most roads. Toyota has a real issue with the bed hop problem on concrete roads. Been to dealer twice for this issue. No help from dealer or escalation to Toyota district rep. Seems to be a design problem and Toyota trying to say it is suppose to be that way. No way. I am changing shocks this week, at my expense, to try and address this issue. Hope it helps..

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  Great car, but horrid infotainment system - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Sad about infotainment - August 16 - 5:39 pm

  I like everything about the car except the infotainment system and the auto-temp control. The infotainment system appears to have been designed by different groups that didnt bother to share design ideas. If you you play a CD, you get one interface, play music via bluetooth, you get a very different interface and if you play music via a flash drive in the USB port, you get yet another interface. To make things worse, if your flash drive happens to have 60+gb worth of music, the infotainment system takes forever to index the music and invariably forgets what is knew only seconds before and has to reindex it yet again. With any other music interface, if you are playing an album and select repeat, it will repeat the entire album. If you only have one song selected and select repeat, it will only repeat the song. With the Toyota, selecting repeat will only repeat the song selected. You cant have it repeat all songs that you are currently playing. Also, if you have a number of songs that it is playing randomly, if it happens to randomly play the last song in the list (even if it is only the first or second song out of 100), it will frequently drop out of the large list of yet unplayed songs and start at the top of the root list of artists and play their music. If you have the thermostat set to auto for temp control, it will not let you control if the upper/lower fans are turned on. For instance, it was sunny and hot outside. I set the temp to 72 degrees F when I got into the car. It quickly cranked up the air conditioning and fans (as desired). However, once it had cooled the car off inside, it turned off the top fan and only kept the fan turned on for my feet. So I end up with nice and cool feet, but with the sun on me and the top fan completely off, I was still rather hot. I ended up having to give up on the auto temp control. its ok when it is cold outside, but worthless if it is hot.

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  Dream on wheels - 2006 Toyota Avalon
  By Rocky P - August 16 - 1:40 pm

  Ive been reading consumer and auto magazines for close to a year and finally splurged. The Avalon Ltd. is close to the Lexus with about $5,000 savings in your pocket. Everything was standard. Ride incredable, reclining back seats, more gadgets than you can imagine, all with Toyota reliability. Used prices are actually more than the cost new from the dealer. Mileage 29-31 400+ miles between refills.