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20 Vehicles Toyota Definitely Regrets Making

Cameron Eittreim May 11, 2021

Toyota is one of the largest automakers in the world. The company has brought iconic model names such as the Corolla and Camry into the fabric of our culture. But business hasn’t always been sunshine and roses for the Toyota brand. The company has had its fair share of flops; the last generation Celica comes to mind.

Although Toyota has generally produced successful cars compared to most automakers, there were still some questionable offerings. We took a trip back in time and reminisce about some of Toyota’s worst offerings below.

20: Sera

Around the globe, tiny sports cars are quite popular. Naturally, it was no surprise that Toyota would try to captivate this market. The Sera is a notable exception from the usual bland Toyota design focus. With a style similar to the Honda Beat, the Sera was positioned in a great spot. But for some reason, Toyota designers decided to add gullwing doors to the car.

The resulting styling of the Toyota Sera is over the top and buyers didn’t vibe with it. That’s not to say that the Sera was an ugly car, but with an all-glass roof, it was quite strange. Few examples of the Sera made it to the states, and the care is quite rare. With performance that was minuscule, the Sera just couldn’t get a hold of the market.

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19: Cavalier

There was indeed a Toyota Cavalier, and yes, it was also a Chevy. Through a partnership with GM, it was a way GM could sell cars overseas without having to break the export rules. The car was not a hit overseas because of its small size and American flavor. We know that the Cavalier itself felt very cheaply made, and that also was the case with this model. All that was done to the car were a few badge modifications and different taillights.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Toyota was selling the Corolla as the Chevy Prism. Needless to say, the partnership wasn’t very fruitful for Toyota. GM on the other hand got to market a vastly superior compact car that was reliable and had Corolla underpinnings.

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18: Prius C

There was a short period after the 2008 recession where the Prius was the most popular car on the market. Those days are far beyond us now and the Prius is sort of soldering on as the car that once was. Still ever popular as a brand identity with some, the Prius fails to click with mainstream buyers anymore. With the rise of electric cars and mainstream gas-powered cars getting exceptional gas mileage, few flock to the Prius.

Toyota tried to spruce things up a few years ago with a varied line of Prius models to choose from. These cars were supposed to drive younger shoppers into the Toyota showrooms but all they did was drive a wedge in the already dying product line.

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17: Mega Cruiser

The ‘large and in charge’ SUV craze of the ’90s took the world by storm. But what surprised people even more was the sudden popularity of the Hummer. What used to be only reserved for military usage was showing up in grocery store parking lots. Toyota wanted to jump on this craze and used the expertise as an off-road builder to design the Mega Cruiser. The SUV was nothing more than a poorly constructed clone of the H1. Sales were horrible with only 3000 examples sold in its entire run.

Drivers did get the stellar reliability and off-road capability of a Toyota product. But in the long run, it was just frowned upon for its ugly looks. There was absolutely no appeal to the Mega Cruiser whatsoever. The obscene-looking SUV never made it to the stateside and Toyota decided to pull the plug early on.

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16: Land Cruiser (Outdated)

When it comes to long-running SUV nameplates, the Land Cruiser has been around for a long time. But, Toyota has a habit of letting the SUV go stale before doing a full redesign on it. Right now, the Land Cruiser is one of the most outdated SUV models on the market. With a premium price tag, you tend to wonder why Toyota is investing into it. Some specific buyers go for the Land Cruiser but the overall appeal is limited. It’s still powered by an outdated V8 engine and much of the interior is stuck in the 2000s.

The current Land Cruiser design has been in production since 2007. That’s a lot of technology ago. This is why the company probably regrets selling the Land Cruiser because it doesn’t seem to know what to do with the aging SUV.

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15: Scion XD

Released at the end of the Scion brands existence, the XD was a compact car most people didn’t get. The styling was about as unimaginative as you can get, coupled with the fact that performance was lethargic. The four-cylinder engine was not much more powerful than the Yaris which Toyota already sold at the same dealerships. On top of that, the interior was bare-bones, giving buyers a sub-rental car feeling instead of a Scion.

The brand had lost much of its popularity by this time, falling from the height of its popularity in the early 2000s. Scion was meant to appeal to younger buyers but sadly Toyota let the brand slip by the wayside. We’re sure that the Scion XD is at or near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to cars Toyota is proud of.

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14: Venza

Right before crossovers exploded to the popularity we see today, the Toyota Venza hit the market. However, the design was a bit strange and it seemed like the thing didn’t know what it was. Toyota marketed the Venza as a hip new type of vehicle, but in reality, it was just a larger wagon. With a V6 engine and decent fuel economy, the Venza was a quintessential Toyota, nothing more or less.

Sales of the Venza were very poor and the model just couldn’t resonate with buyers. There was a redesign later on down the line but it was just too late to bolster sales. Toyota has since revived the Venza nameplate in an attempt to find success once again.

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13: Crown Majesta

Toyota has had its fair share of failures abroad and the Crown Majesta was targeted to the luxury car market. What looked to be a much larger Lexus LS was just an aged design and consumers were none the wiser. The sedan soldered on up until the 2018 model year when it was finally ditched by Toyota altogether. With such a varied product line, it doesn’t make sense why Toyota kept this vehicle on the market.

A lot of the interesting design elements that Toyota incorporated into the Crown Majesta were carried over to new models. When you think about a well-designed sedan with a lot of luxury features, the Crown Majesta just doesn’t come to mind.

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12: Lexus CT

Lexus has experienced a pretty successful run in the U.S. for a brand that was only started 30 years ago. But the brand has had some failures from time to time. The Lexus CT was directed toward consumers who wanted a luxury car with crossover features. While the design of the Lexus CT was attractive at the time, it just didn’t resonate with the standard clientele who went to Lexus dealerships.

With a hybrid powertrain, the Lexus CT was extremely well-appointed from the gate. But maybe Toyota would have been better off by marketing this as a Toyota branded model instead. Traditional Lexus buyers just aren’t going for these gimmick-style vehicles and this model’s sad sales represented that.

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11: Master Ace

Right on the heels of the minivan revolution, Toyota wanted to design a van that was “cool.” The Master Ace was created and sold in Japan and America. The van that we got over here was simply called the “van” and it had some unique features. There were pull-out tables inside of the van and an optional TV setup which was great for trips. The skylights over gave the van an open feeling with its high roofline.

Because of the design of the van, the placement of the engine is under the front seating. This means that doing maintenance was a nightmare. Toyota had a few blunders when it came to the minivan market – this was just the first.

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10: Lexus HS

Released in the mid-2000s, the Lexus HS was quite the odd duckling. With a pudgy design, this short compact car was marketed as a premium luxury hybrid. Sadly, Lexus buyers weren’t amused by the stubby car’s appearance or its high price tag. It was outsold by the IS, ES, and even the larger LS. Sales were so poor that Lexus was highly discounting these models by the end of the 2012 model year.

Likewise, there were a few other experiments that came out of Lexus around this time. But when it comes to failed car models, the HS was among the worst. The design was just not imaginative and the car lacked the usual Lexus quality that buyers have come to expect.

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9: 1991 Toyota Previa

The next Toyota van failed to create the kind of buzz the company had hoped for. Although the design was redone and a lot more modern, the overall design was not what people were looking for. For some reason, Toyota was stuck in the design theme of cramming an engine underneath the driver. This was not a design type people were seeking on minivans any longer. Even Ford had moved on.

Nevertheless, the Previa trudged on for the early part of the 1990s. There were some interesting features such as a turbo package and an AWD package. Had the design been a little bit different the Previa would have been a better-selling model.

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8: 1992 Toyota Paseo

Toyota had a few coupe models on the market around the early part of the ’90s, so why they felt the need to chop the Tercel is beyond us. The Paseo didn’t bring any new performance to the table, and the car was extremely small. Performance was lethargic although the car did have better styling than the bland Tercel. Later on in life, the Paseo was given a refresh with a new fascia design but it was too late.

The car just didn’t connect with the buyers that Toyota had hoped for. There was stiff competition from the Honda Del-Sol and other fun-to-drive cheap cars on the market. In a world with tons of compact cars, the Paseo just didn’t present enough of a choice for consumers.

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7: 1993 Toyota T100

This truck was a project from the executives at Toyota to try and launch a full-sized truck in the states. The Hilux was immensely popular, but sadly, the T100 just didn’t catch on. When it came to design, the truck was just plain ugly. Lacking the full-size characteristics that you’d expect a truck to have. Instead, the T100 was sort of in the middle, which at the time wasn’t in style. The Dodge Dakota later did this but in a nicer package.

There is no denying that the Toyota T100 was a massive failure for the company. People just didn’t connect with the truck on any level. With an underpowered setup and a lack of options the T100 just didn’t stand out from the crowd. Toyota later innovated with the Tundra full-size pickup truck which incorporated a V8 engine.

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6: 2012 Scion IQ

Drivers were not quite sure what Toyota was thinking with the Scion iQ, other than the fact that it was a filler model. The Scion brand was in dire straights at this point and Toyota decided to rebrand the Smart ForTwo is a Scion model. Aimed at buyers who spend a lot of time in the city, this was an extremely tiny car. It was also a huge departure from the traditional format that Scion had been going with for years prior.

What was initially a brand that was aimed at young consumers who wanted individuality, now lacked an identity. Sales for the Scion iQ were about as poor as you could get. Few buyers were intrigued by the new model as most didn’t want to deal with such a small vehicle.

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5: 1999 Toyota Camry Solara

After the failure of the Paseo, you’d think that the company had learned a lesson. The Toyota Solara was released in 1999 to again try and appeal to people who wanted fun cars. However, the convertible version of the Solara was sold with a weakened frame that caused a rigid ride. Aside from that most of the car was cheaply put together and a departure from the traditional Toyota quality drivers were used to.

Few cars have sold as poorly for Toyota as the Solara has, nevertheless the car remained for sale until the 2008 model year. The second generation of the car was slightly better, but overall, the Solara was a failure for the company.

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4: Toyota Echo

There were few cars Toyota released that were more universally hated than the Echo. This egg-shaped compact car was released during the start of the new millennium and Toyota was once again trying to appeal to younger buyers. The car was nothing more than an updated version of the Tercel. But quality was still very poor and the fit and finish were not what you’d expect from a Toyota model.

Sales were extremely poor and the Echo was sold for a few years until there was a refresh on it. Two models of the Echo were available, a two-door and a four-door model. Toyota managed to sell another version of the car that was called the Yaris later on.

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3: 2001 Toyota Prius

The second generation of the Toyota Prius became one of the best-selling and most popular cars of all time. But a few years before that success was the short and stubby egg-shaped Prius that many have forgotten about. Do you remember this weird-looking little car? Probably not, as sales for it were almost abysmal. Toyota tried to market the Prius at a time when cars like this were still very new.

The only competition for the car was the newly released Honda Insight, which also lacked in features and capability. It’s amazing to see just how far hybrids have come from these early days of being vehicles that were fairly limited to drive and own.

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2: Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota earned some credit by pushing alternative energy vehicles long before it was fashionable. But the first-generation Toyota RAV4 EV was bulky, expensive, and had limited range. The vehicle was sold in very low numbers in California and a few other states. Toyota would show the vehicle off at different trade shows and you could lease one as well. With a limited driving range and expensive repairs, the first-generation RAV4 was just not practical.

Later on, Toyota added modern features and a redesign to the model, which just recently was discontinued after almost a decade in service. It’s interesting to look back and see just what Toyota went through with these first-time designs.

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1: Toyota Tundra Terminator T3 Edition

Japanese automakers have had a tough time selling full-size pickup trucks to consumers who were loyal to domestic brands. So how did Toyota consider improving the sales of the first generation Tundra? Slap a Terminator sticker on the front and paint it black, of course. The Toyota Tundra Terminator T3 Edition was released to coincide with the movie released in 2003. The brand figured that the product placement would give the truck some much-needed visibility and toughness.

Unfortunately, the finished package was nothing more than a paint scheme and a higher price tag. There were 850 of these models manufactured in the total run. Toyota hasn’t since done another type of product placement like this one, and that should be a sign it regrets ever building this model.

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20 Vehicles Toyota Definitely Regrets Making

20: Sera

19: Cavalier

18: Prius C

17: Mega Cruiser

16: Land Cruiser (Outdated)

15: Scion XD

14: Venza

13: Crown Majesta

12: Lexus CT

11: Master Ace

10: Lexus HS

9: 1991 Toyota Previa

8: 1992 Toyota Paseo

7: 1993 Toyota T100

6: 2012 Scion IQ

5: 1999 Toyota Camry Solara

4: Toyota Echo

3: 2001 Toyota Prius

2: Toyota RAV4 EV

1: Toyota Tundra Terminator T3 Edition

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