Toyota Car reviews

2020 didn’t suck entirely for the car world, and other than the usual suspects, we were teased with a handful of upcoming hypercars. For example, Toyota took to Le Mans to unveil its first-ever hypercar in front of the public.

While unveil is a big word, really - we only saw a heavy-camouflaged prototype lapping the Circuit de la Sarthe track, the presentation came with a couple of specs and numbers. Until Toyota decides to fully loosen its lips on the topic, here’s all we know so far about the GR Super Sport hypercar.

The 2021 Toyota Supra’s stock BMW-sourced, 382-horsepower 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine is a noticeable improvement from the 335-horsepower unit that first came out, but if would-be Supra owners really want to channel their inner Brian O’Connell, 382 ponies isn’t going to cut it.

For that, help from the aftermarket world is needed, and it just so happens that Manhart Racing is ready with open warms. The German tuner already presented a 450-horsepower upgrade for the Japanese sports coupé earlier this year, but it seems that the rambunctiousness isn’t over.

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.

On sale from December 2021, the new Toyota Mirai comes to pick up from where the first-generation left off. We already saw it take a bow at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2019 and Toyota just announced the FCEV is ready to go on sale.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new 2021 Toyota Mirai, whether you’re looking to buy one or not.

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.

We’re having quite an unusual SEMA Show this year, but that hasn’t deterred automakers from coming up with special off-roading concepts. Toyota is no exception and has teamed up with 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine to develop an Overlanding concept based on the Tacoma. We’ve seen a lot of aftermarket Tacoma builds over the years, but this one stands out for the amount of equipment installed on it.

The 2020 Toyota Ornamental Conifer GR Supra is a customized version of the Japanese coupe designed for the 2020 SEMA Show. Now converted to the SEMA360 Showcase online presentation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will debut four special-edition Toyota models, including this GR Supra. Essentially an art car, the Ornamental Conifer GR Supra was designed by British artist Nicolai Sclater.

After teasers, leaks, and getting Fernando Alonso to drive the Hilux, Toyota has finally unveiled the 2020 Toyota Hilux. The truck has been launched in Europe, where the pickup truck segment is picking pace. The truck has a long history and enough credibility to make it one of the segment’s top picks. But, with growing competition, Toyota, too, had to bow down to the pressure and deliver the best it could. So, for this updated model, the Japanese automaker has introduced a new front end, better tech features and, most importantly, a more powerful 2.8-liter engine. How about that!

Last year, the Toyota Highlander was in its final model year of a generation that wasn’t great even when it was new. This three-row crossover lacked the spaciousness, slick driving manners, extra-easy ergonomics, modern infotainment, and upscale interior details of the latest competitors. Yet by a healthy margin, it outsold every other seven-seat vehicle in the country. Buyers were drawn to a trusted name, and even if the competition might have been more impressive, loyal customers didn’t find enough wrong with the Highlander to try their hand with, say, a Mazda CX-9 or Kia Telluride. Now, there’s a new Highlander, and it’s time to see where Toyota has made marked improvements.

Toyota introduced the RAV4 Prime in Los Angeles as the most powerful and quickest RAV4 ever built. At the same time, the Prime’s powertrain makes it the most frugal RAV4 out there, so it’s safe to say that Toyota check a lot of boxes with this one. He’s your guide on the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime.

The A90-generation Toyota Supra is now more than a year old, which means its time to expect some updates to roll out for the sports coupe. To its credit, Toyota is wasting little time getting that ball rolling with the arrival of the special edition Supra Horizon Blue Edition. Based specifically on the RZ trim of the sports coupe — it’s a JDM model — the GR Supra RZ Horizon Blue Edition arrives with a steady diet of new and exclusive features, none more obvious than the splashy Horizon Blue paint finish. The Toyota GR Supra RZ Horizon Edition is limited to just 100 units, all of which are earmarked for the Japanese market.

In the short time that it’s been around, the Toyota Supra has become an aftermarket darling. Tuners have taken to building programs for the A90 Supra with as much fervor as the nameplate commands. Even companies known for building kits for other automakers have turned their attention to the Supra.

Count Manhart Performance on that list. The German house that’s best known for tuning BMW models has prepared a comprehensive program for the Supra that includes an engine upgrade program, suspension tweaks, new wheels, and a host of aesthetic modifications to the exterior and interior. The result is a raunchy Japanese sports car that now lives up to the revered Supra nameplate.

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.

Toyota is bringing an armada of trucks and SUVs at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, including the Highlander XSE that’s infused with enough sporty characteristics that make us wonder if Toyota’s deliberately trying to jolt some life into what otherwise is a family-oriented three-row crossover. To be clear, the Highlander XSE is not a special edition Highlander; it’s a new trim level that comes with significant visual and performance upgrades that you normally don’t see in a Highlander. If this is Toyota’s attempt to catch our attention with the 2021 Highlander, consider our attention’s caught. The Toyota Highlander XSE will go on sale in the fall of this year as a 2021 model. No pricing details have been revealed, but Toyota did say that the Highlander XSE will slot between the XLE and Limited trims. With the Highlander XLE starting at around $40,000 and the Highlander Limited starting at $44,000, expect the Highlander XSE to start at $42,000.

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 previous third-generation Toyota Highlander debuted back in 2013, with a facelift performed in 2016 that added an eight-speed automatic transmission, an updated spec for the V-6 engine, and a few aesthetic upgrades as well. Since then, the Highlander has proven to be one of the brand’s most-popular nameplates, selling some 245,000 units in 2018. That means it’s time for Toyota to give the Highlander a full-fledged generation update for 2020. Making its big debut at the 2019 New York Auto Show, the latest fourth-generation Toyota Highlander brings new styling inside and out, a raft of fresh technology for infotainment and safety, and a number of powertrain updates as well. However, can it still stay at the top of the segment?