For a worryingly long time, Toyota really wasn't on the radar of enthusiasts. The MR2 and Celica died without replacement, as did the T Sport hot hatches, and any thoughts of a Supra resurrection looked optimistic at best; a little over a decade ago, the future was bleak for driver focused Toyotas.
Now look where we are. The GT86 arrived in 2012 to widespread acclaim, and its more powerful replacement is coming soon; the Supra came back, to the delight of fans across the globe; and the GR Yaris is nothing less than one of Japan's greatest ever performance cars. Remember that there's a GR Super Sport coming as well - Toyota is making a 1,000hp hypercar. Because, on the current run of form, why wouldn't it?
It seemed high time, therefore, to have a look back on some of the Toyota gems of old with its star having risen once again with enthusiasts. Let's not forget, after all, that this was the company that supplied Lotus with engines for so long (and still does, in the Emira), built three generations of mid-engined MR2, created one of the world's most iconic straight sixes and made a legend of the Corolla. While also making some very tedious cars, too, but let's not dwell on those for now - nobody is perfect. Here, then, are our top Toyotas to buy in 2021; we've included Lexus here as well, because as Toyota's luxury brand it only seemed right. It means more V8s, too...
Up to £2,500...
Don't worry, your memory isn't playing tricks on you. In no comparison test, drive or long-term review was the Corolla T Sport the cream of the hot-hatch crop when it was introduced in the early 2000s. It wasn't as fun to drive as what Renault Sport could produce, nor as rabidly fast as a Focus RS, and only £500 cheaper than a Honda Civic Type R. Which, somehow, had more torque than the Toyota, at fewer revs as well. Really.
So, why recommend it? A few reasons. First is that 2ZZ-GE engine; criticised when new for a lack of torque in the 1,250kg Corolla is exactly its appeal now. Low-rev pulling power is boring - 190hp at 7,800rpm is exciting, especially in something this innocuous. Second is that legendary reliability, which had to feature in a story about Toyotas at some point. If you're going to buy an old, cheap hot hatch, who better to have supplied it? That affordability is another string to the Corolla's bow - this 90k-mile car is £2,495. It's hard to think of how to get 8,250 revs and six gears for less money. As the combustion engine continues its managed decline, so the appeal of screamers like the 2ZZ - even in a Corolla - continues to increase. Keep the oil topped up with the expensive stuff and watch out for a weak clutch; otherwise, fill your boots - if you can find one...
Up to £5,000...
Hopefully a split decision can be excused here. Because with both the Celica and MR2 of the mid-2000s available for around £5,000, the pair had to feature in this list.
The Celica made a far more natural home for that memorable 1.8-litre engine than the Corolla, combining the rampant appetite for revs with a more incisive chassis. It still looks the part, too, undeniably Japanese but ageing better than might have been expected. At least the ones without the daft rear spoiler. This one is still sub-100k miles, comfortably under £5k and surely ready for a few more years motoring yet.
As for the MR2, it suffered the same fate as so many other roadsters of the time - the buying public preferred the Mazda MX-5. Which was easy to understand, given the Toyota's famous lack of any space for anything, anywhere. Now, however, as a weekend sports car, it's far more enticing - the MR2 is mid-engined, weighs less than 1,000kg and, from the 2003 facelift, comes with a six-speed manual gearbox as well. It would be hard to imagine a better small roadster formula. This one is technically £6k rather than £5k, but benefits from just 60,000 miles of use and the rare hardtop. They're on offer for much less, too.
Up to £10,000...
A change of tack for this price point, though another double header. The Lexus LS is perhaps as known for its terrifying depreciation as it is its peerless luxury. That said, so significant was the first one to Lexus - and the wider luxury car landscape - that it's being recognised as something of classic, and appreciating as a result. Which means that, for £10,000, buyers can choose from either a mid-2000s LS with 80,000 miles, or an original that's a decade older but with similar mileage. Which is it to be?
The LS460 will boast more performance and more equipment, while the LS400 has (relative) simplicity and the OG status on its side. Both should still provide super plush, spookily refined motoring, because that was why Lexus built them. However, with literally twice as many automatic gear ratios as the original (eight versus four), an LS460 should be an even more opulent cruiser. Without the curio classic appeal of the original, a later car from the 2000s might be the cannier buy - this 2006 car has never failed an MOT, dating back now to 2010. It's AOK on the numberplate - AOK in reality, too...
Up to £15,000...
Is there anything more to be said about the Toyota GT86? Actually, there is. It was more than two years ago that low mileage, uncrashed, manual '86s could be bought for £10k. Great, we all thought - they'll be down to £7,500 soon enough and, before you know it, the £5k GT86 will be a possibility.
Only that hasn't happened. The cheapest standard GT86 on PH currently is for sale at £13,705; the current situation, and the imbalance between supply and demand, means all cars are a bit pricey now, but it's clear the '86 hasn't continued on the downward trajectory some expected. It doesn't look like they'll be less than £10k for a while yet.
Why has this happened? Confirmation of a replacement GR 86 may have helped, vindicating the idea of a naturally aspirated, lightweight, rear-drive Toyota coupe; the modest sales has kept it rare, which will always help as well. Perhaps, if we're being optimistic, used buyers have already woken up to the fun on offer, and that the GT86 experience is deemed one worth paying for. Again, it's one that perhaps better suits a used buy than new; a three-year-old car still has two years of warranty, a thrashy engine is less irksome when it's durable, and £15k after 45,000 miles - as this one costs - is a whole lot more palatable than £30k new. Maybe the arrival of a new GR will depress values a tad, but it won't make these great little cars any less fun.
Up to £25,000...
Consider this one a little creative. So rare is the IS F that, for the moment, there isn't an IS F for sale on PH or CarGurus. However, when we featured one in February, a late, facelifted car was £24,995 - so it's the perfect fit here.
It's more than its price that makes the IS F eminently recommendable. It was Lexus's first sports saloon but you wouldn't have known, the F having the performance and dynamic ability to keep the established German opposition honest. Perhaps an M3 or C63 was better in extremis, though Lexus did a damn good job of nailing the basics first time out. The car got better with age, too, a limited-slip diff introduced with the facelift and suspension revisions taking the edge of what could be a fairly stiff ride. Budget permitting, the later the better is the way to go for an IS F.
It promises to be a blast, too, with that 5.0-litre V8 making in excess of 420hp and 372lb ft. Rarer than either the AMG or the M car and - let's be honest here - less likely to have been abused, the Lexus is surely more tempting now as a secondhand supersaloon than ever. Just ensure to run one with a healthy budget; Lexuses don't go wrong very often, but V8s need a lot of fuel. And, if it's being used properly, lots of tyres as well...
Up to £35,000...
Obviously, this had to feature somewhere. Yes, the Yaris GR is very much still in production and, yes, some used ones will cost more than their list price, as if the little Toyota was a Porsche GT car. But this list wouldn't be complete without it. Let alone being the best Toyota to buy at £35k; the GR is one of the best cars to buy at £35k full stop. Plus, well, this one has been driven 6,000 miles already - that counts as used to us...
With a waiting list stretching into 2023, the appeal of paying a small premium to get into a homologation Yaris now is clear to see. You'll currently pay anything from £34k to £40k depending on the seller and the mileage; given the GR hype shows no signs of abating (as well it shouldn't), the cars for sale a little above list shouldn't be a bad financial bet, either. It's worth remembering, though, that the GR isn't limited, and eventually more cars will be out there - they won't be £35k forever.
Even at that money, the Gazoo Racing supermini makes sense. The three-cylinder engine is a work of forced-induction genius, the chassis is capable and engaging, and there hasn't been a hot hatch that looks this good in ages. Toyota has restored a lot of lost hope with this Yaris, which is reason enough to have it here - but there are so many more besides. You don't want to wait until 2023 for something this good, do you?
Up to £40,000...
With our sensible hats on, the A90 Supra is the recommendation here. It's stylish, fast, decent to drive and seems to be holding its value well. This car is for sale at £40,995 after two years and 10,000 miles of use (including as a press car, no less - see it in action here), down from £54k new. It would be a buying decision very easy to recommend and understand.
But we're not doing sensible. Not entirely sensible, at least. Because if there's a chance to buy and own a Lexus GS F for £40,000, then you really must. Having suffered from savage depreciation when new, the few V8 bruisers that sold have settled around Golf R money, which looks good for such an accomplished supersaloon. This one has covered just 23,000 miles in five years, and is one of only two GS Fs in the country in Solar Flare Orange. Amazing there were that many, really - this black one is a similar price and mileage, and a bit easier on the eye.
The GS F's charm was like that of the IS mentioned earlier. Perhaps it wasn't as rampantly fast or scalpel sharp as the opposition, but it countered that with its handsome good looks, immense build quality and V8 rumble. Not many sold new, but a GS F is absolutely worth seeking out secondhand. Sachs Adaptive Variable Suspension became standard fit from the start of 2017, though the original passive items - also from Sachs - delivered a decent ride-handling compromise. As for concerns, they're as few and far between as might be expected from a used Lexus. But the same warning about consumables applies here as to the IS F, only now with a more powerful engine and a heavier kerbweight...
Up to £50,000...
What's so significant about it? Well, all Land Cruisers are special in their own way, but the 4.5 D-4D was a real icon of the breed. From 2012 until its demise in 2015, the final V8 diesel Land Cruiser offered everything that fans loved about the car: unstoppable off-road ability, enormous torque (479lb ft from just 1,600rpm) and the sort of feel-good experience that only eight cylinders can provide. However worthy, a four-cylinder Land Cruiser can't provide the same sense of satisfaction. Which is probably why a car launched at £62,285 in March 2012 can still command £50k 11 years later...
Yes, it won't be as serene as a Range Rover Sport or as dynamic as an X5. But with a Land Cruiser V8 you're going to get legendary toughness and the ability to get where no other car can. Long after those cars have expired and even longer after they've stopped being fashionable, the Land Cruiser will continue as a dutiful aide. Which makes this slightly gawky 4x4 very cool indeed. Might even be good value, too - you're never going to need another car again.
Up to £60,000...
Another gem from Lexus's recent past, early examples of the LC500 are now down to new Supra money. And look what you get for that: incredible styling, that endlessly enjoyable V8, an interior that will outlive the sun and the sort of exclusivity to make a 911-driver weep. There really is nothing else like it.
Sure, the LC500 isn't perfect. It rides a little stiff for something that looks like a GT, and long gear ratios in the 10-speed 'box can highlight the relative lack of torque. The interior is not the most user-friendly, either. As always, though, these flaws are an awful lot easier to overlook with tens of thousands of pounds off the list price.
The spec on this 2017 one is nice, the white paint contrasting with a carbon roof and red interior. It's covered just 27,000 miles in that time, and will have decades still in it; you only need look how many (far less desirable) SC430s are still rolling around to see that Lexus builds its two-door cars just as tough as the big saloons. Like those old cars, the LC will surely continue to depreciate, though we task you to find a four-year-old luxury coupe that's bottomed out in value already. For those that dare to be different, the LC should provide ample reward.
Sky's the limit...
Another category split across both the brands, and with good reason: both the Toyota 2000 GT and Lexus LFA are icons, revered across the world as two of the finest cars Japan has ever made. The values reflect that, too...
Unsurprisingly, there aren't any LFAs or 2000 GTs on PH at the moment - why would you sell at the best time of year to drive them? - but suffice to say you're going to need deep pockets whenever either becomes available. When we last featured an LFA in March, a dealer was asking £550k for a 4,000-mile car; RM Auctions sold a glorious 1967 2000 GT for $912,000 last October.
What makes them so special? The LFA is all about its engine, of course, a bespoke 4.8-litre V10 that could rev to 9,500rpm in a fraction of a second. That it was also divine to drive almost seemed like a fortunate aside next to one of the greatest engines ever made. Rare, exotic and also extremely odd - this is a Lexus, after all - the LFA is one of the supercar greats. Even if nobody ever thought it would be.
The 2000GT is one of Japan's renaissance cars, from that period in the late 1960s and early 1970s where its automotive industry stopped just producing basic transportation and made some truly extraordinary cars. The 2000 GT, with its svelte good looks and smooth straight six - with Yamaha input, just like the LFA 40 years later - was bold new ground for its maker. Alongside cars like the Honda S800, Mazda Cosmo 110S and Nissan 240Z, the 2000GT announced Japan to the car-enthusiast world in no uncertain fashion. But nothing did it in quite so much style as the Toyota, which is why one will cost you a million bucks. Good job it looks it.
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