Toyota Compact Car reviews

Any new version of the Toyota RAV4 is automatically a big deal. Aside from a few big pickup trucks, the RAV4 is America’s favorite vehicle. And it has also been a winner among eco-conscious buyers; not long after the gas/electric RAV4 Hybrid debuted in 2016, it became America’s favorite hybrid — even outselling Toyota’s iconic Prius.

So when Toyota announced the 2021 RAV4 Prime, it was a big deal. Forget about the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, a low-range plug-in hybrid version of a forgettable SUV. Forget about a planned Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, which doesn’t offer all-wheel-drive and whose on-sale date got bumped back a year over fire risks. Forget about various plug-in sedans and hatchbacks, and various expensive luxury plug-in hybrids that can barely crack 20 miles of low-speed all-electric use. And forget about the range anxiety that keeps many people away from fully electric vehicles. No, it’s the RAV4 Prime that promises to make Americans plug in their cars en masse.

We spent a week in the new 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime to see how it bridges the gap between the gasoline and electric worlds. Here’s what we found.

Toyota’s range of performance-spec models under the “GR/GRMN” family has a new member in the fold. The C-HR GR Sport, which Toyota first unveiled in October in Japan, is heading to the global market packing enough sporty bits to qualify as a GR Sport model.

The upgrades are mostly cosmetic in nature, but Toyota also worked on improving several of the crossover’s technical elements. Considering that GR Sport is the entry-level line of Toyota’s growing performance-spec lineup — the GR sits in the middle and the GRMN rules the roost — the C-HR GR Sport is both a walking advertisement of what you can expect from future GR Sport models and a good example on the kind of performance potential that the C-HR has.

The 2021 Toyota GRMN Yaris is an upcoming high-performance version of the fourth-generation hatchback. Toyota has yet to confirm the GRMN Yaris, but word has it the Japanese brand is planning to introduce a range-topping GRMN version of its GR-badged cars in a variety of segments. What’s more, Toyota recently tested a beefed-up GR Yaris on the Nurburgring and its appearance hints at an upcoming GRMN variant.

Just like the GR model, the GRMN is being developed by Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division. However, development takes place under a more hardcore performance arm called Gazoo Racing Masters of the Nurburgring. The 2021 GRMN will arrive with a sportier exterior and various upgrades to the drivetrain. Let’s find out more about it in the speculative review below.

Toyota made some major changes to the 2021 Toyota Supra, the most important of which come in the form of updated power output for the six-cylinder model and the introduction of the four-cylinder Supra to the U.S. market. However, there was another gem hidden in Toyota’s announcement, and that is the Supra A91 Special Edition. It doesn’t come with any extra power over the standard model, but it is based on the six-cylinder model, so it does have the extra power.

Whenever a carmaker takes out the good stuff out of its know-how box and spreads its on a new car, well, that’s when you know you’re in for a treat. That’s exactly what Toyota did with the GR Yaris, its second global GR-badged car after the Supra GR and at the same time a homologation model that will sometime in the future spawn a fully-blown rally racer.

The 2020 Toyota Mirai Sedan Concept is a show car that previews the second-generation Mirai. Introduced in 2015, the Toyota Mirai was the first hydrogen production model offered in North America. The 2020 Mirai Sedan Concept shows a completely redesigned model on the outside, now featuring a sportier body with a four-door sedan layout. The production model will arrive in late 2020.

Although it’s labeled as a concept car, this vehicle gives us serious hints as to what to expect from the production-ready second-gen Mirai. That’s because the car you’ll find in dealerships will be almost identical. The big news besides the new exterior design and the more refined interior is the Premium RWD Platform that replaces the old architecture. And yes, this means that the second-gen Mirai will drop the FWD layout in favor of a sportier RWD setup. Toyota also promises a 30 percent increase in driving range and increased hydrogen capacity.

Back in 2017, Toyota brought a quirky concept vehicle called the “Concept-i” at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Now, an evolution of that same concept will debut at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. It goes by the “LQ Concept,” and, among other nifty tricks, the LQ Concept is largely defined by a personal assistant called ‘Yui’, which, according to Toyota, is meant to “learn from the driver and deliver a personalized mobility experience.”

In other words, the LQ Concept wants to be your friend, an unnerving thought given where these things could end up. Perceived concerns aside, the LQ Concept is a good example of Toyota’s eye towards a future where a connection between the driver and the car is of paramount importance. We’re going to learn more about the LQ Concept in Tokyo, but, for now, chalk this one up to another concept whose purpose remains years ahead of its time.

Every morning when I get to work, I wind my way up to the roof of a six-story parking garage. And every evening, I wind my way back down. It’s a good half-mile round trip at plodding speeds. In a normal car, I watch the trip computer’s fuel economy readout tick down as I circle round and round through the garage. But in the 2019 Toyota Prius, I can go all of the way down and even most of the way up using purely electric power — burning no gas at all.

That’s the beauty of a well-executed hybrid: It often uses the least gas in circumstances where normal cars would use the most: Bumper-to-bumper traffic, neighborhoods with a four-way stop at every corner, or crowded parking lots. As long as you keep a gentle touch on the throttle — and in these conditions, there’s no reason not to — you can watch your mileage rise rather than fall. And this isn’t a plug-in hybrid that costs more and requires charging infrastructure; the Prius’s battery recharges as you drive normally, capturing energy from the gasoline engine and braking friction.

To be sure, the Prius hatchback is hardly the only hybrid on the market on which such technology achieves similar results. The Hyundai Ioniq hatchback, Kia Niro wagon/crossover, and the Honda Insight sedan are all newer designs than the current Prius, which dates back to 2016. There’s even an all-new 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which puts the Prius mechanicals in the body of a brand-new sedan. All these models rival or even beat the Prius’s EPA fuel economy ratings, and they all cost a little less; the 2019 Prius starts at $24,725. But the Prius still has the best blend of real-world utility and efficiency. It’s impressively spacious, and it’s more willing to putter around with its gasoline engine shut off than the Honda, Hyundai or Kia are.

Toyota has added another unique strength for 2019: a class-exclusive all-wheel-drive system, which is optional equipment on certain Prius trim levels. The car’s controversial exterior design also got a makeover this year, though its equally contentious interior design (and aging infotainment system) did not. Nor did it get a horsepower boost to address complaints about leisurely acceleration. Let’s go through the full rundown on how the iconic hybrid fares in today’s marketplace.

The Toyota Corolla is one of the last cars you’d think of as being special. But something about the new Corolla TREK variant qualifies as “special.” It’s the latest addition to the Corolla Touring Sports estate lineup, and it’s a promising showcase of the Corolla Touring Sports’ understated versatility as a personal ride and a family hauler for those weekend adventures away from the city.

The Corolla TREK comes as a result of a collaboration between Toyota and bicycle manufacturer Trek. It’s a partnership that stems from a recent partnership between the two companies at this year’s Vuelta a Espana cycling race where 16 Corolla TREK models were used as support vehicles.

Well, they’re not support vehicles anymore. The Toyota Corolla TREK is now available for public consumption. Pricing details will be announced in the coming weeks — it’s estimated to cost around £29,000 ($36,00) — but order books are now open with the initial batch of deliveries scheduled to begin sometime before the year ends. Unfortunately, the Corolla TREK isn’t headed to the U.S. market.

Seven years after arriving in the auto scene, the Toyota 86 is somehow still going strong. At the very least, it’s going strong enough to warrant more special edition models from Toyota. Don’t look now — well, you can look now, or you should look now — but the newest special edition 86 is on its way, and it’s named after Japan’s most famous stretch of highway. The new special edition sports coupé is called the Toyota 86 Hakone Edition, and, believe it or not, it’s actually available in the U.S. Details on pricing and availability have yet to be revealed, but the model does go on sale the U.S. this fall.

The introduction of the Toyota Corolla GR Sport days before its live debut at the Geneva International Motor Show gives us a first glimpse of what the hypothetical (and probable) Corolla GRMN might be.

The Toyota Corolla GR Sport is the closest in execution to semi-sports hatches like the Ford Focus ST-Line, the Hyundai i30 N-Line, and the Renault Megane GT-Line. As such, the Toyota Corolla GR Sport features a comprehensive set of sporty style additions without any performance upgrades. The Gazoo Racing Sport pack is available for both the base engine and top-trim.

The first semi-hot Toyota hatchback in decades came only weeks after Gazoo Racing trickled out the stunning new Supra. It delivers on the promise Aikido Toyoda, Toyota CEO, gave two years ago - “no more boring cars.” Moreover, with the new Toyota RAV4 TRD, the new Toyota GR Supra, the incredible Toyota Yaris GR, and the announcement of the new Toyota GT86, we live in a time when the world’s favorite manufacturer is again in the business of awesome cars.

With almost 50 million units sold since it was first introduced in 1966, the Toyota Corolla is, without question, the best-selling car in the history of the auto industry. Even if the world is populated by Corollas, Toyota has found a way to continuously reinvent the model in ways that make it popular. It comes as no surprise then that we’re going to see another reinvented version of the Corolla called the Corolla Trek at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the Touring Sports wagon body of Toyota’s best-selling model, the Corolla Trek is essentially a raised version of the wagon that’s not a lot different from the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack. The recent trend of automakers raising their wagons and hatchbacks in the name of giving them crossover-like appeal has now taken over Toyota. We’ll see what that’s about when the Toyota Corolla debuts in Geneva next month.

First rolling off the production line in 1966, the Toyota Corolla has been around for over five decades. In 2013, Toyota celebrated an astonishing 40 million units sold for the nameplate, which makes it the most popular car in history. Now there’s a new twelfth generation for the 2020 model year, and it offers refreshed styling, a new interior stuffed with a wide variety of technology and features, a new architecture, and a new Hybrid trim level, all at a reasonable price point. However, with SUVs and crossovers dominating the sales charts, does the 2020 Toyota Corolla have what it takes to carry the torch for the sedan segment? To find out, I flew out to Savannah, Georgia, to experience it first hand, all courtesy of Toyota.

Toyota launched the 2020 Tacoma model at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. Although its sibling, the Sequoia TRD Pro, stole its thunder at the, one cannot sideline the Tacoma. After all, it is the best-selling mid-size pickup truck currently on the market. The 2020 Toyota Tacoma does not bring a lot of changes to the table; mechanically or cosmetically. Do you think there is enough to differentiate it from the 2019 model and keep up with the rising competition?

The fifth generation of the iconic sports car, the 2020 Toyota Supra, marked the brand’s return to the U.S. market after 21 years (and in Japan after 17). Unveiled at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, the Supra Mk. 5 goes on sale for the 2020 model with a high-performance six-cylinder engine and Toyota’s latest technology. Unlike its predecessor, the fifth-gen Supra wasn’t developed in-house by Toyota. The coupe is the result of a long collaboration with BMW, from which Toyota borrowed the chassis, engines, and transmission. Together with its motorsport division, Gazoo Racing, Toyota designed the exterior, the cabin, and retuned the suspension system. The new Supra is also the first vehicle developed by Gazoo Racing to go global. These cars were previously restricted to the Japanese market.

Toyota just introduced a brand-new generation for the Corolla this year, with both a head-turning hatchback and a smart sedan making the body style lineup. Now, Toyota is adding yet another model with a new hybrid variant, ushering in an even-greener option for the compact four-door segment. Standout features for the 2020 Toyota Corolla hybrid include a comfortable ride, loads of technology and features, and as an added bonus, upwards of 52 mpg combined thanks to the drivetrain that’s borrowed from the Toyota Prius.

The Corolla is a true benchmark for the compact segment, with over 46 million units sold over the course of five decades since its release in 1966. Now, the Corolla enters its impressive twelfth generation for the 2020 model year. Earlier in 2018, we got behind the wheel of the new 2019 Corolla hatchback and loved its raucous styling and shift-happy manual transmission. Now, the Japanese automotive behemoth is offering a brand-new sedan version, and it promises even more refinement, more technology, and a new look to boot.