TechnoFILE's
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Reborn 2009 Toyota Corolla Still Screams "Value" It has an all-new body, more room inside, and many other upgrades, but at heart it's still a Toyota Corolla. And that should please millions of people. The tenth generation of Toyota's longest-lived vehicle has been blessed, or at least designed, with a leaner, more muscular shape that still manages to look like a Corolla, as well as a set of more powerful, yet still economical, four cylinder engines. This journeyman people carrier also comes with an all new chassis and suspension designed to make the Corolla even more attractive to its customers and competitive against its challengers. more.... Hybrid Highlander Flings Gas Pumps Away Toyota's revamped 2008 Highlander is a nice "crossover," kind of like a stretched RAV4. It's comfortable, well-built and with plenty of features. But it's also quite big, with three rows of seating available and plenty of room for hauling your stuff. Having a comparatively large size usually affects a vehicle's gas mileage adversely. But as with the last Highlander generation, Toyota has introduced a hybrid version designed to let you exploit the best of both "functional and efficiency" worlds. more... It's a full-figured car, with ample room and plenty of power. And it's soft and comfortable. Toyota's flagship Avalon features some nice freshening for the 2008 model year, but if you're looking for driving passion you'd best look elsewhere. Fortunately, many people don't care a whit for driving passion and are more than happy with a reliable vehicle that will take them where they want to go, efficiently and dependably. And for them, this Avalon may be just the ticket. more..... Think of it as a big RAV4 – and that's meant as a compliment. The new, 2008 Toyota Highlander is, according to its maker, "the mid-sized SUV that delivers the versatility of a sport utility vehicle with the driving comfort and performance of a passenger car." Toyota also says the Highlander is designed as an "urban-friendly" SUV, as opposed to the more off-road-aimed FJ Cruiser and 4Runner, with more forceful styling and performance and a more flexible interior than before. more..... The Sienna is a straightforward minivan, and one of the best. It seats up to eight, though not necessarily with extreme comfort if you decide to pack 'em in, but it can also double as good hauler of stuff, whether it be luggage, furniture or – my personal preference – big screen TV's and audio equipment. more..... Toyota Tundra – Civilized Brute Force If the third time's the charm, Toyota's new Tundra full sized pickup is definitely a charming vehicle. If you think big trucks are charming. I'm not a truck guy, except for the occasional time I need to haul something (I prefer hauling butt in a fast car), but if I had to buy a big pickup, it just might be this new Tundra – though I thought the last generation was a pretty skookum truck as well. But the marketplace and punditry decided that the last Tundra still wasn't enough for Toyota to play with the big boys in the full sized truck market. more.... Toyota Camry LE - Vanilla is Back in Fashion It has a spiffy new look inside and out, and will probably run forever. For what more could anyone ask? More excitement, perhaps? The 2007 Toyota Camry LE, the four cylinder version of which I got to live with for a week, is a fine car, well built and unpretentious. And very vanilla. more.... Toyota Corolla CE - a Boffo Basic Bus It may be long in the tooth for its model cycle, but Toyota's venerable Corolla is still a great little car that'll probably run forever. I haven't driven a new Corolla in ages, but my family has owned Corollas including a 1992 LSX model we still own and drive today. So I was very interested to see how the car has evolved, especially since I had recently spent time in the Mazda 3, a wonderful little sedan that goes head to head with the Corolla. Could Toyota's ageless sedan match up against Mazda's "zoom zoom" reputation? more... What a difference a new version can make! When I drove the last Toyota Camry, I referred to it as “vanilla,” in that vanilla is extremely popular and a fixture in kitchens worldwide, where it performs beautifully in any number of applications. “But if someone asked you what flavor made you swoon," I said then, "Chances are it would be chocolate, peppermint or, my personal fave, butterscotch. So what we have with the Camry is analogous to that: it’s a fine car, well designed and crafted and extremely well built. It’s dependable and as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. But it doesn’t stir the automotive taste buds.” Then along comes Toyota and unleashes this new version. more.... Toyota Yaris an Unpretentious Yet Rewarding Little Car Toyota’s new entry level car is more refined and fun to drive than you’d think would be possible from a vehicle poised happily at the low end of the market. Available in three or five door liftback (which means "two door or four door hatchback") and four door sedan versions, the Yaris is a nifty little car that’s also practical and economical, and even kind of cute. The coupe is a little roly poly, in a manner reminiscent of the Echo it replaces (though nicer), while the sedan is a fairly attractive and straightforward little critter in its own right. more.... Toyota FJ Cruiser – The Legend Lives Again Once upon a time, when the earth was young, Toyota Land Cruisers roamed the lands. Keen-eyed wheel watchers would often find Toyota's heavy duty four by four side by side with – or instead of – the famous Land Rover as they navigated a wide variety of wild and wooly wastelands worldwide. Ancient specimens of these workhorses undoubtedly still serve their masters, bringing civilization to the wilderness the same way the revered Douglas DC-3 still flies in and out of untamed corners of the globe. But whether it was global warming, shrinking habitat, or a lack of profitability, the legendary FJ40 Land Cruiser eventually made the endangered vehicles list, and finally became extinct, leaving a void in the global 4x4 market that consists these days mostly of softer, more civilized and comfortable vehicles that are as good for every day driving as they are at conquering Everest. more... Two Toyota Trucks Try Defining "Racy" - Tacoma X-Runner and Tundra TRD What makes a vehicle racy? If you're Toyota, it appears you may not be sure how to answer that question. On one hand, the Japanese car making giant brings to market the outrageously racy Tacoma XRunner then, when it comes to its soon-to-be-replaced Tundra, it slaps a mostly cosmetic TRD moniker onto what's basically a very nice but decidedly unracy pickup. What gives? more... One of the cutest of the cute utes has been reborn, not quite as cute, and a little more of a brute, but still all "ute". The new version of Toyota’s popular RAV4 looks as if it has been on a work out regimen that has left it larger and more muscular than before. And the bulk up hasn’t only been on the outside; the not-so-little SUV is now available with V6 power that cranks out a healthy 269 horsepower. more... If the Toyota Camry were a flavor, it would have to be vanilla. Not that there’s anything wrong with vanilla. Far from it; vanilla is extremely popular and is a fixture in kitchens where it performs beautifully in any number of applications. But if someone asked you what flavor made you swoon, chances are it would be chocolate, peppermint or, my personal fave, butterscotch. So what we have with the Camry is analogous to that: it’s a fine car, well designed and crafted and extremely well built. It’s dependable and as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. But it doesn’t stir the automotive taste buds. more... Toyota Yaris Surprisingly Fun Drive Toyota’s new entry level car may be a little funny looking, with a funny name and, at least in Canada, a bizarre “Uncle Yaris” ad campaign the designer of which should be sacked, but that doesn’t prevent the little bugger from being far more fun to drive than you’d think it has any right to be. Yaris, which I speculate may be Japanese for “roly poly little blob on wheels,” is the successor for the ordinary and dumpy-looking – though successful – Echo hatchback (I’m surprised not to hear that Echo coming back!). And what Toyota has come up with is a nifty little car that’s practical, economical and even kind of attractive in a globular type of way. It kind of looks like an Echo with the frumpiness ironed out to leave clean and aerodynamic lines. The result is cute. more... Toyota Highlander Vs. Ford Escape Hybrids It’s the battle of the hybrid SUV’s! In the green corner, the Ford Escape, a nice if somewhat bland vehicle that’s pretty good for hauling, if pretty boring to drive. In the other green corner, the Toyota Highlander, a Camry-based SUV that feels more like a car than a truck, and which is not quite as boring to drive. So which is the winner? more... How do you turn a good and popular compact wagon into a racing car? Well if you’re Toyota and you’re talking about the Matrix, you offer a couple of minor upgrades, slap on a few logos, and Bob’s your uncle. And that’s the problem. The Matrix, based on Toyota’s legendary Corolla, is a very nice wagon. It offers a lot of flexibility and economy, and if it works as well as my best friend’s nearly identical Pontiac Vibe, it should offer its owners plenty of driving pleasure and value for years to come. Ah, but a sports car it is not. more... Well, is my face red. I like to pooh-pooh political correctness, and things apparently designed to appeal to the liberal mind set. Hence my built-in aversion to hybrid cars, which at first bloom seemed to be a case of pandering to the enviro-whacko fringe. After all, Honda’s first hybrid, the Insight, was indeed a technological marvel, but so utterly impractical as anything other than a commuter vehicle. The Insight sipped gas, but with only two seats and limited storage space – and anemic power delivery – it wasn’t really a vehicle you could take into the mountain passes and expect pulling power. I know this because that’s exactly where I took it. more... The 2006 4Runner continues to show that Toyota’s long-running SUV franchise is a fine vehicle with legendary off road capabilities that would undoubtedly make it suitable for taking just about anywhere short of the surface of the moon. And it would probably perform well there, too, with appropriate modifications to make it work in an airless environment. And once you figured out a vehicle to get it there… more... Toyota Avalon a Smooth Operator Who’d have thought a Toyota Avalon would have a claim to sporty performance? Yet that’s the case with the new, third generation of Toyota’s flagship - at least if you enjoy straight line performance. The car not only comes with an attractive new exterior coupled with a comfortable and luxurious new interior, it also sports a new 3.5 liter V6 engine that cranks out a very pleasant 280 horses @ 6200 rpm and 260 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4700 rpm. This is enough to propel this big car in a most satisfying manner. more... Toyota Solara SE – a Comfy Sports Car-compatible The Toyota Solara looks kind of like a poor man’s Lexus SC430, but it’s actually quite a nice drive as long as you aren’t expecting real sports car performance. Basically an offshoot of the Camry, which is nothing to sneer at, Solara is a two door coupe that in its most basic form offers a decently fun ride in a beautifully rendered and comfortable package, with reasonable economy. more... Toyota’s Sequoia a “Treemendous” SUV They don’t call this a Sequoia for nothing. Like the famous Redwood, the big Toyota is grand and stately. It’s full in size and features, but surprisingly nimble for a vehicle that’s nearly large enough to house a government ministry. Well, maybe nimble isn’t the best word, but despite its mass this is no land barge. So the rather immense Sequioa is still quite nice to drive and at the same time manages to come off as fairly subtle compared to other “brute utes” such as the Hummer H2. Neither are really my kind of wheels, but I can certainly see why people buy them. more...
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