Opinion: Toyota Has the Best Lineup on Sale Right Now
Back in 2017, then-CEO and current chairman Akio Toyoda announced to the world that Toyota was done making boring cars. While we all might have scoffed at that claim for a moment, the world’s top-selling automaker has stuck to its guns. As a result, Toyota currently has what might be the most comprehensive lineup for enthusiasts on sale today.
Toyota has always made interesting cars on occasion, but there is a reason the brand is known for its reliability and durability above all else. The cars have long been linked to appliances, reserved for folks who aren’t all that interested in the joys of driving. Things can change rather quickly in the automotive world, however. In the years since that announcement, Toyota has consistently released vehicles with a serious enthusiast bent.
Back in 2019, we saw the return of the Supra, which was followed up with a manual-equipped model arriving for the 2023 model year. In 2021, Toyota released the updated GR86, which brings significantly more performance credentials than its predecessor. That year also saw the release of the reworked Toyota Tundra, and the debut of the TNGA-F platform. That same platform would ultimately spawn the new Sequoia in 2022, just around the same time as the GR Corolla arrived to satiate our rally-racing dreams. The past two years have also brought us the fourth-generation Tacoma, a U.S.-market Land Cruiser, and the all-new 2025 4Runner. Even Lexus has been on a bit of a roll, with models like the GX 550 and LC500 receiving plenty of praise from the enthusiast community. That’s for a reason, as the products are genuinely great interpretations of their respective segments.
In fact, I think Toyota’s current lineup can go toe-to-toe with just about every automaker. Sure, it might not have the mid-engined supercars or track-focused machines that Ferrari and Porsche have on offer, but I challenge anyone to spend an afternoon with the GR86 and walk away unsatisfied. It’s a genuine performance car, and one that happens to be priced for the masses. The GR Corolla is currently a better WRX than what Subaru has made since it killed the STI, while the Supra is an undeniable performance car staple. Toyota’s trucks have also always had a legendary reputation, but this latest crop brings more to the table than ever before, even with them all sharing the same platform. Even the Prius is a good-looking car now.
It would have been unhinged to suggest that Toyota had enthusiast buyers at the center of its business back in 2017. And while it is still true that Prius and RAV4 buyers outnumber the track rats and autocrossers, Toyota is done turning a blind eye to those with passion.
So why is all of this happening? Well, Toyota must have noticed something that is clear to a lot of car buyers in the States today. Plenty of people looking for nothing more than an automotive appliance are choosing to buy Hyundais or Kias, to say nothing of Chinese cars on the horizon. Toyota has to make its cars desirable, and it knows it.
We enthusiasts are the real ones to benefit here. If we want something that promises Toyota reliability, we're no longer locked into front-wheel-drive econoboxes or plasticky crossovers. And on top of that if we want something fun to drive, we're not stuck buying leaky MGs or Jags. It's a different world out there. Even Toyota can't be boring.
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