Toyota Green Cars

Toyota has ambitious goals for an all-electric future. The Japanese automaker plans to considerably expand its electric vehicle lineup over the coming years.

Akio Toyoda, the brand’s President & CEO himself was at hand to give us a glimpse into what Toyota has in store for their next decade, which is set to be dominated by EVs. In a mega unveil for the brand’s future EV strategy, he gives us a first look at 16 distinctive concept vehicles that the brand has been working on.

Electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be the key to solving our climate crisis, or is it? Toyota’s hydrogen combustion engine that powered this GR Yaris is proof that the answer to the global climate crisis can and should be a multi-solution approach.

Toyota has always been resistant to ever-changing regulations by governments around the world to phase out the internal combustion engine (ICE) which also includes the hybrid electric vehicles that the company pioneered.

The Toyota bZ4x electric crossover concept made its global debut a couple of months back. Now the automaker has revealed it in the U.S. The bZ4x is roughly the size of the RAV4 and will be launched in the production form later this year. The company hasn’t revealed a whole lot of details about it yet, but did mention that it will come with an all-wheel-drive configuration, which means it could have a dual-motor setup. The all-electric crossover will go on sale from early 2022.

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.

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.

Toyota hasn’t offered the Camry sedan in Europe for well over 10 years, relying on the Avensis as its top three-box car for the Old Continent. However, at this year’s edition of the Paris motor show, Toyota brought the new eighth-generation model, which it intends on selling here again in the near future.

The market trend is quickly shifting from sedans to crossovers and SUVs. However, SUVs have two major cons when compared to their segment counterparts - high retail price and poor fuel economy. Even though they are a practical choice thanks to additional cabin and cargo space, it’s a little difficult for everyone to afford an SUV. So why not go for a used SUV instead? You don’t take the depreciation hit that first owner does, and since SUVs are built to last a lifetime, you can get an almost-new SUV at half the original price.

Now that we’ve planted this seed in your head, let’s have a look at the best used SUVs from 2016 with high fuel efficiency.

The new Toyota Yaris GR Sport was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show and it showed its finely built body, GRMN-tuned suspension and courageous face that looks for trouble. Limited edition Toyota Yaris GRMN was met with great enthusiasm from the car community, but that was just a highly limited car. The Yaris GR Sport isn’t. It also isn’t as special as the Yaris GRMN.

Toyota brought the new RAV4 to the Paris Motor Show, and while there will be a regular gasoline-burning model on offer, the automaker mainly focused on the new hybrid version.

Toyota and Mazda just announced a new partnership wherein the Japanese automakers will jointly develop electric vehicles. The partnership also includes a forthcoming $1.6 billion assembly plant at an as of yet unannounced location, with production scheduled to ramp up by the year 2021. The plant will create upwards of 300,000 vehicles annually and employ roughly 4,000 U.S. workers, prompting a Tweet from President Trump, who praised the announcement as a “great investment in American manufacturing.” The plant will initially build models of the Toyota Corolla and a new Mazda SUV, with the possibility for EVs sometime in the future. The partnership includes a 5 percent stake in Mazda for Toyota and a 0.25 percent stake in Toyota for Mazda, with the possibility for expansion in the future. Toyota and Mazda will also work together in developing infotainment tech and autonomous driving tech.

The partnership is framed as a major step forward for EV development for both companies. “There will be new rivals appearing – Apple, Google – these are IT companies, we also need to compete with them, too,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda, according to Reuters. “What’s different from the past is that there are no nautical charts for us to follow. It’s without precedent,” he added with regards to EV tech and alternative vehicle power sources. Without a doubt, this new partnership marks further expansion of the EV segment as a whole and the expectation of widespread EV adoption in the near future.

Continue reading for the full story.

Following a couple of announcements that it plans to increase production of the upcoming 2016 Toyota Mirai due to unexpected demand, Toyota has finally begun taking orders for the hydrogen-fueled family car. Starting today, California drivers who want to switch to alternative fuel can request a Mirai using Toyota’s dedicated Web page here.

However, the process is a bit different than placing an order for conventional cars, as production of the Mirai is limited. Specifically, vehicles will be placed with "select, eligible customers" which will be contacted directly by a Toyota representative to discuss ownership.

The first examples of the Mirai are set to arrive in October 2015, when selected customers will take delivery from one of the eight authorized Toyota dealers across California. Each Mirai will cost $57,500 plus an $835 destination fee.

A group of lucky customers will also benefit from the Mirai Trailblazer support program, which includes three choices: APR Support of 0% for 60 months + $7,500, Purchase Support of $7,500, or Lease of $499 per month for 36 months and $3,649 due at signing.

As a brief reminder, all Mirais come with three years’ of complimentary fuel, Safety Connect and Entune with hydrogen station finder app, and 24/7 customer call support. Other benefits include no-cost scheduled maintenance for three years or 35,000 miles, no-cost enhanced roadside assistance for three years, regardless of mileage, and eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on key fuel cell vehicle components.

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The Avalon has been a quiet stalwart of the Toyota lineup, providing a plush ride for those not interesting in owning a luxury brand (i.e. Lexus), but want all the bells and whistles normally associated with one. Equipped in the Limited trim, the Avalon offers just as many luxuries as say, the Lexus ES or even GS sedans, but without the hubbub. Add to that a fantastic hybrid system, and the result is a surprising package that affirms its halo role in the Toyota lineup.

I recently spent a week and a generous road trip getting to know the Avalon Hybrid. In fact, I took the car on an eight-hour adventure to my hometown for my 10-year high school reunion. The Avalon might not garner the same attention as the Lexus RC F from late 20-somethings, but I didn’t go with the mindset of impressing.

My wife and I made the quiet journey from central Florida north to I-10, then due west to the sleepy little town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Save for a few high-profile tobacco attorneys, many of the town’s 22,000 residents are blue-collar, with folks working in the fishing, shipbuilding, or oil industries. Still, Southern charm runs deep here, with wrap-around porches on antebellum homes, sprawling live oak trees covered in Spanish moss, and thick, twangy drawls coming from gents and belles alike.

In other words, it was the perfect place for such a subtle luxury car to fit in.

Continue reading for the full review

The Prius name may be more than 15 years old, but Toyota’s a more recent iteration of the hybrid is this – the Prius Plug-in. And as the name implies, this Prius has a trick up its sleeve for how it goes about charging.

As with any conventional Prius, the Plug-in can be charged on the go. Tap the brakes or coast down a hill, and the electric motor harnesses the wheels’ rotational energy, feeding it back into the battery. However, this model goes one step further, offering customers the ability to charge the car while it sits in their garage.

Plug the included power cord and transformer box into any 110-volt wall outlet, and the Prius Plug-in will trickle charge it’s batteries for three hours, giving the car an advertised 11-mile, all-electric range. Pop the charging cord into a 240-volt, and the deed is done in one and a half hours.

So how well does the added plug-in feature work? To find out, I spent a week with the Prius, testing out its electrified abilities first hand.

Continue reading for the full review of the 2014 Prius Plug-in Hybrid

The Toyota Mirai is proving to be more popular than even Toyota anticipated, potentially paving the way for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to follow in the Toyota Prius’ footsteps as a pioneer in the alternative fuel segment. While it’s still a little premature to laud the Mirai in equal terms as the Prius, demand for the former has forced Toyota to spend 20 billion yen ($165 million as of 12/12/2014) to triple the domestic production capacity for the fuel-cell sedan.

Japanese newspaper Nikkei is reporting that Toyota is also planning to increase production capacity at its factory in Aichi in order to accommodate the increased output of fuel-cell stacks and hydrogen tanks for the Mirai. The Japanese automaker also plans to add more equipment on a separate Aichi site that is heavily involved in vehicle assembly. The additional capacity should give Toyota the resources to meet the rising demand for the Mirai. The vehicle is scheduled to hit dealerships in Japan on December 15, 2014, but interest in the car likely means that Toyota will have to work long hours to meet the number of models that will likely be ordered as a result of the this spike in demand.

According to Nikkei, Toyota plans to build about 400 models for its home market by 2015. The Mirai will then follow its Japan release by arriving in Europe by September 2015 with just around 50 to 100 models sold annually. Meanwhile, the U.S. is scheduled to get its shipment, believed to be around 200 to 300 models, by the end of 2015. Due to the availability of hydrogen and other variables, California will be the only state to get the Mirai for the time being.

All these allocations and the possibility of a sales expansion in the U.S. means that production of the Mirai could be increased as Toyota gears up to produce more models in the coming years.

Click past the jump to read more about Toyota Mirai.

The Toyota Prius has been around since 2001 and very rarely have we ever used the words "elegant" and "luxurious" to describe it. But Toyota is determined to infuse those two things on the 2015 Prius with the unveiling of the Persona Series Special Edition. Yes, the Toyota Prius is getting a special edition treatment. But that’s not even the most surprising part about this whole thing. Believe it or not, the Prius Persona Series Special Edition actually looks pretty darn good. Who knew!

This is actually the second time we’ve seen a Persona Series Prius, as Toyota released one in 2013 too. It comes with plenty of exterior and interior upgrades that really bring out a side of the Prius we rarely get to see. That’s about as big a compliment you can throw at the hybrid sedan that doesn’t involve its outstanding fuel efficiency.

The Toyota Prius Persona Series Special Edition will arrive in dealerships in September with a price of $26,985. Another $325 will be added to that total if customers opt for the Blizzard Pearl exterior paint.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 Toyota Prius Persona Series Special Edition.

The original Prius hit the streets of America back in 2000 with its Corolla-like looks and a funky hybrid-electric drive that was unlike anything else on U.S. roads except the two-seat Honda Insight. That first-generation Prius was replaced in 2004 with the familiar hunchback turtle look we’re all used to. The second generation is where Toyota really gained ground with hybrid sales, moving over 600,000 cars before the third-generation Prius took over in 2009. With the new model, the Prius gained a few reshaped exterior panels and a more futuristic interior while retaining is stellar fuel economy numbers. Since then, Toyota has moved over 710,000 third-gen cars.

I recently found myself behind the wheel of a 2014 Toyota Prius with the “Three Model” option package. One level up from the base model my tester came equipped with some nice features like a 6.1-inch touch screen in the center dash, Sirius XM radio, navigation, Toyota’s smart key entry and start system, and power windows. But despite those features, the car still felt very basic. Cloth seats, a rubber steering wheel, manual seats, and hard plastics everywhere kept the car feeling rather down-market.

Besides the interior’s shortcomings, the Prius performed just as you’d expect: slow and efficient. So does the car live up to all the hype that’s been following it all these years? Click past the jump to find out.

Click past the jump for the full review of the 2014 Toyota Prius