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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  not a caddy ,please - 2008 Toyota Avalon
  By haybailer - May 15 - 3:33 am

  The touring is a low rider, street driver with low profile tires and a sport tuned ride. It rides like my 2000 4matic although the Avalon is fwd, Taller strut towers and low profile, so Im told so far. Tire bite good in snow, Nokians. But ,Im trying to soften the ride this summer threw after market seek. Softer struts. These cars are fine for the money.

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  Not Without Compromises - 2011 Toyota Prius
  By wcascrs - May 8 - 6:52 am

  I like the car because its very easy to use with its Smart Key entry and Push Button Start. I also like the way the hybrid system works and sure dont mind the 50 MPG combined. But power and handling are lacking and it lets road noise right on in. Climbing steep hills around here gets the gas engine pretty worked up, and it lets you know it too, right into the cabin with the road nose. It has a torsion beam rear suspension and goes around corners ok, but it has a fair amount of body roll doing so and gets a little unsettled over bumps. it seat four really well, five adults not so much.

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  Teeth rattling ride - 2012 Toyota RAV4
  By pfw1 - May 7 - 7:51 am

  I bought the 2012 V6 4x4 sport a couple of months ago. I got the sport because of the lack of the tire on the tailgate. I guess I was not paying enough attention on the test drive. This is the most bouncy jouncy bumpy car I have ever driven. every tiny bump/crack in the pavement is transferred right to your kidneys. Im not sure if its because of the sport suspension or the 18" run flats. It is better on the freeway.The V6 is also a bit too powerful for this car, if such a thing can be possible. A tinny box like this should not be able to go so fast. the throttle is also super touchy which can be unpleasant if you are too heavy with your foot. The mileage is mediocre at 18 combined driving.

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  EPA test lies to buyers - 2004 Toyota Prius
  By Stan Seamone - May 4 - 10:00 am

  Gas millage advertised on EPA is a fraud. Actual millage about 32 to 40 if your lucky, called EPA and they said Toyota gave them figures? I asked them to show me that my car delivers 60/51. I would be happy to get 50/41. I think Toyota has these big figures on the cars so they can sell them fast.

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  Surprisingly disappointed - 2007 Toyota Sienna
  By hillaryef - May 3 - 4:50 pm

  I was told to choose: Sienna or Odyssey. My mistake. At this rate I probably wouldnt pick either! Were very disappointed with this car. Under the hood, yes its ok. Its the small stuff thats frustrating. It seems like there is always another minor issue. Of course some really are just minor (ie: the window trim comes off) but still annoying. We paid too much for these issues! The stuff that really bothers me is things like the very loud rattling on the right side sliding door. (taken in...no one can find anything wrong) I wouldnt recommend this car to anyone. There must be something decent out there other than the Sienna or Odyssey. Off to the auto show :-(

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  A/C Line Corrosion after 3 yrs, Extreme Tire Wear - 2008 Toyota Sienna
  By watsonk - April 24 - 6:22 pm

  2008 Sienna, 3 years and 2 months old, experienced A/C coolant leak due to tubing corrosion underneath the vehicle at the rear. One A/C compressor is supplying coolant to both front and rear A/C units. Dealership quoted over $1,300 for the tubing replacement and blamed corrosion on road salt in Western PA. No guarantee that it will not re-occur in 2-3 years. This is a manufacturer defect! First set of Dunlop tires worn out after 19,000 miles. The second set of Goodyear tires is nearly worn out after 20,000 miles.

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  TRD Sport Crew Cab 4x4 5.0" bed - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By Joe Darvish - April 24 - 12:25 am

  After waiting out 2005-2015 body style, I bought the 2016. I do not find the seat uncomfortable, but I agree with others comment on engine/transmission mismatch. I expected the engine to be a lot more quiet. We have a 2010 RX350 with a different 3.5L V-6 engine which is exceptionally smooth and quiet. Tacomas downshifts at highway cruising with a slight uphill when I dont expect. It makes you think you are driving a 4 cylinder engine when it down shifts. The gas mileage should be evaluated when the engine breaks in at about 5K miles. The rest of the truck is fine. I have a 2009 Honda Accord EXL and a 2009 Mercedes E350 sport. Road/wind/tire noise at highway speed is very good. Fit, Finish, and feel are excellent As the time goes by and Toyota learns how customers evaluate the truck, they will come up with transmission shifting programming update that will improve the shifting. If I were you, I would not run to GM trucks yet. GM is known for having issues down the road. Dont be fooled by GMs truck of the year awards.... 5-10 year GM trucks are not reliable or are worth that much.

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  Gas hog, slow, but it works - 1995 Toyota 4Runner
  By NJMike - April 23 - 6:33 pm

  SR-5 v6 auto. Bought used w/ 103k. Its an occasional use vehicle, everything works (tailgate window a bit slow). Not powerful or acceptable w/ gas. I use plus fuel to help minimize pinging. I use it about once a week and during inclement weather (snow or flooding). More comfortable at around town speeds of 35-45 mph. Itll do 70 but seems like it would rather not. 4wd works well in the snow. It starts every time Ive needed it. Im 6-2" and its tight on leg room (I wish I could move the seat back even more), good headroom though. "Original" front brakes were changed @ 103k.

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  Good SUV but missing A LOT of refinements - 2016 Toyota RAV4
  By Jason in Nebraska - April 22 - 8:54 pm

  Overall, the RAV4 XLE is a good vehicle but far from great. I have many good things to say about it, especially the comfort of the seats. Its easy to find the good things about it, so Ill focus on all the little annoying things I find with it. Ill start with the Entune system. The software that supports it is poor at best. Its full of little bugs that make Entune incredibly annoying to use. While in USB mode, I can set it to randomly play songs from the entire flash drive. Itll go from playing REO to playing Metallica next. But when I turn the car off, Entune forgets that I want to randomly play the entire drive. Instead, it only plays songs from the artist being played when I got out of the car. So every time I get in the car, I have to tell it to play the entire flash drive again. When using satellite, Ive yet to figure out how reliably scroll through all stations. It seems that after I select a station and then keep scrolling, it stays within the genre. I have to tell it again that I want to see all stations. I could go on, but I think you get the point. The instruments leave a bit to be desired as well. There is no digital display for the speed. Not a big thing, but something I was used to with my last car. Theres also no display to tell me what the current tire pressure is in each tire. Im told a warning light will appear if one tire is low, but it wont tell me which tire. If theres already a monitoring system for tire pressure in place, it shouldnt be too hard to give the driver just a little more information. I noticed that my speed readout is also off about 3-4% or so. I took it in to the dealer and said that on the interstate, its consistently showing me going 2-3 MPH faster than I actually am going. I checked with 2 different GPS units as well as using a stopwatch between known fixed points and manually calculating the speed. The dealer told me that 2-3 MPH off is normal and is within tolerances. I pointed out that that if the speed is off, the odometer is probably also off. The dealer told me the its also off but within tolerances. Of the 4 other cars (Chevy, Dodge, Mercury and Subaru) Ive driven within the last year, the Toyota is the only one which has a speedometer thats not dead on accurate. So that means, its shorting you roughly 1000 miles on warranty. I find the placement of the daytime running lights (DLR) switch odd. Its with the headlights. In order, the light settings are: off, DLR, parking, headlights. When I turn the headlights off at night, I naturally just move the switch down till it stops. Well, that means I just left DLR off too. It should be DLR, off, parking, headlights. What would be even nicer is automatic lights, but that doesnt come with XLE. I also noticed that for being a brand new car, it doesnt bead up water like it should. I used to have a job where I drove a different new car every day. This is the first new car Ive driven that the water doesnt just slide right off the windshield when it is raining out as I drive down the highway. The water on the hood also doesnt bead up. The A/C also needs a little help. For whatever reason, the RAV4 doesnt remember that I like to have fresh air coming into the car all the time. Every time I start the car with the A/C on, its set to recycle the air. Like the USB on Entune, I have change that each time I start the car. It also doesnt seem to cool as fast as other cars I drive or have recently driven. That may be more of a subjective thing though.

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  Not what used to be - 2009 Toyota Camry
  By Sliverhorse - April 22 - 6:23 pm

  Not a bad looking car but not as good in other ways as was my 2002. Am wishing I had not purchased. Looks are good but after having it not happy with way it runs, or rides though it is comfortable. Not much attention to build quality.