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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  and I used to like this van - 2002 Toyota Sienna
  By SJJJ - December 12 - 2:00 am

  My primary reason for purchasing the Sienna was Toyotas legendary quality and reliability (plus the Honda sales managers that I dealt with were not very pleasant). In December 2002 my Sienna would not start. It took the dealership over 3 weeks to find the problem, which turned out to be a loose wiring harness. A difficult problem to find, no doubt, and not one that necessarily foreshadowed any future issues. Yesterday, about a month after being repaired, the Sienna once again failed to start. So after being stranded a second time by my nearly new Sienna (2002 Symphony), I have serious doubts about Toyotas reliability, certainly about this Sienna.

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  Toyota Prius - 2007 Toyota Prius
  By larry platt - December 11 - 8:06 pm

  The car is not made for anyone over 62, there is no leg room. On a long trip the car is impossible to get comfortable in. The car is dangerous in the snow. Even a small amount of snow causes the car to slide out of control when braking. On a snow covered hill if you have to stop the car will slide backwards because there is not enough transaction. Because of where the dashboard is located, at night there is a "green" glow on the windshield that is distracting and on darker roads the green glow will affect road vision. The rear camera for backing up is useless. There are blind spots. When passing a car on an interstate you need to constantly look over your shoulders.

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  First Toyota but may be my last - 2016 Toyota Highlander
  By Billy Day - December 9 - 1:43 pm

  I bought my Toyota Highlander in Jan 2016 New, but it is a 2015 model year. The Car has excellent performance and power , in fact, it almost has too much for a front wheel drive car. However, when getting in traffic I have pushed the accelerator slightly then let up and quickly push again but the engine computer seems to be confused and does not respond as it should. I have talked with Toyota, but they tell me it is all in my mind as they dont see anything wrong. This of course, annoys me but I guess it is typical of many service departments, since they are taught to say these things so they can avoid warranty issues. The steering is nice,firm, and stable. The interior is very roomy and informative with an attractive dash, etc. Seats are comfortable especially around town, but on long drives (300 mi) they tend to get hard and stiff. I have noticed too much wind noise above 60 mph, and this is a big disappointment to me because of Toyotas reputation. The Toyota infotainment is impressive at first, but it become difficult to use the Apps while driving and it seems to have way too many steps to go through just to get what you are looking for. The Navigation is not always accurate or easy to use, so I tend to use google on my I phone and I rarely use the Toyota Nav any longer. The infotainment voice command is difficult and slow, plus it is annoying to use as it makes you wait for a beep sound before you can speak and many times I will talk over the computer and it will not understand what I want. It would be great if they could fix the long delay in the voice command for sure. Overall, the Highlander is a roomy car inside, but the third row seats are really only for small children. I bought this car because of Toyotas reputation for quality but the above negatives have caused me to question all of the quality I was expecting. In fact, at this point I am not sure I will be buying another Toyota Highlander. I have recently driven the New Mazda CX-9 and it seems to really be nice and it offers much more value, interior quality, and it is a very good looking car as well. In fact, I have considered trading my 2 year old Highlander in on the CX-9.

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  Id rather have my Buick back - 2007 Toyota Camry
  By TRT - December 8 - 7:53 am

  This Camry supposedly has a drive by wire accelerator which is supposedly a better system.This car stumbles around corners and when trying to accelerate, the transmission down shifts sometimes resulting in lurches and unwanted high speed. The driving experience in town is very poor. Highway driving is little better as the car seems to lose power at higher cruise speeds.

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  Turtle - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By timbo - December 6 - 7:21 pm

  Compared to the 2012 Tacoma I owned this truck is like a turtle, It has no power and when you use cruse going up a slight incline will shift to different gear. In my 2012 towing a boat up hill it would not shift like the 2016 does with out a boat behind it. Very sluggish do not buy this truck if you want a truck with average power. Im a Toyota man but will not buy another truck un Toyota addresses the issue with motor and transmission does not compare to the 2012 Tacoma that I traded for this one, I wish I had my 2012 back.....

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  Could do better... - 2015 Toyota Tacoma
  By Jared - December 6 - 1:28 pm

  Ok, Im comparing this to my 2010 Ford Focus. It may not make sense, but in this case Im just comparing technology, because a newer vehicle should have newer/better technology right? My Focus had automatic locking doors over 15MPH, a display of MPG, how many miles till empty, which door was left ajar, and which tire was under deflated, an almost fully lit door controls panel to include lock/unlock and all four windows, outside temperature, and a compass. Ill tell you what my 2015 Tacoma has out of all of those items. None of them. As soon as my eyes turn away from the center touch screen (only really needed for the backup camera) all I see is a cheap design. Awesome, great, theres a light that tells me my headlights are on. Why do I need that when the headlights shut off automatically anyway? If you dont have an HD radio your screwed from outside temperature. If you need to make a quick change on your route and need an idea of what direction youre going, you cant know that either. Finally, the truck bed doesnt lock. Are you joking? Id rather know whats going on with my vehicle than have a TV attached, and, you know, be able to keep things safe in the bed... As you can see from the bubble fill in review, this is my only complaint. And a side note, SYNC by Microsoft is a better voice recognition/command program.

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  Blown Head - 1995 Toyota 4Runner
  By Blown Head - December 6 - 3:13 am

  It drove awesome for the first couple years and then my head gasket started going out and then finally did. Its sat in the same spot for two years now because just to replace a head gasket was at least $1500.00 I bought another vehicle for that price.

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  2004 vs. 2016 Toyota LE - 2016 Toyota Camry
  By Robert Kauffman - December 1 - 10:24 am

  I prefer my 2004 with 40,000 miles to the new car. The 2016 did not handle bumps and potholes better than my 2004. The 2016 has no front bumper. The interior of my special edition LE LE Is much more attractive. I am not comparing new technology with mine. I do not trust/have/like ABS. I am 71 years old, FYI.

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  Gas mileage fiasco. It will never get the MPG that - 2017 Toyota Highlander
  By AAA - November 29 - 7:49 pm

  This SUV look like a really good buy from all the comparisons of SUV. The additional 3rd seating, the safety features. The start and stop technology and technology. This is where you go wrong. All the features mentioned above are not good. Additional seating is very hard to get in, be ready to put some muscle. The safety features is not all that good, it will not stop when actually it needs to stop, MPG is horrible more like 14 to 17 realistic. Technology its horrible you should be careful that it has no apple or android integration. That should tell you something.

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  Rattle Trap - 2015 Toyota Camry
  By Jim - November 28 - 11:34 pm

  Two reasons I will never buy another Toyota. 1. The Damn Car RATTLEs going down the road. The Dealer has not found this. The Car is crappy in my opinion. 2. They have made the car for the Japanese body. The American body is bigger. Take the lead from GM on this one. Mechanically the engine/transmission are excellent, but that still does not overcome the RATTLEing. I am going to runup the miles on this car, dump it and never buy another Toyota again. Oh yeah I would like the gal that have been used versus the miles remaining till empty - another take a hint from GM.