13 Cars That Prove Toyota is an Enthusiast Brand

For the most part, we associate different car brands with different types of vehicles. Jeep does rugged off-roaders, Dacia does affordable mass-market cars that offer great value for money, Porsche does rear-engined sports cars and other luxury vehicles with a focus on performance, and so on.

Toyota is also associated with a lot of things, most of those being reliability, reliability, and reliability. While Toyota has established itself as making some of the most bulletproof cars on the road, it’s not the first thing most people think of when they think of enthusiast cars, with a handful of exceptions, of course. Actually, there are so many exceptions like that, it’s just enough to make us consider Toyota an enthusiast car brand.

Supra (Mk4)

We start with an obvious one. Extremely obvious, in fact. The Mk4 Toyota Supra, one of the greatest cars ever produced, has transcended fandoms and what it truly means to be a car enthusiast, as even people who are not into cars and those who are into cars for the hype absolutely love the Mk4 Supra.

Set aside all the Hollywood fame and tunability, and the recipe for the Mk4 Supra is really simple: a big six-cylinder under the hood, RWD, a manual transmission, and they all combine together to create a great handling sports car with some grand touring prowess.

GR Yaris

The best part about the GR Yaris is that Toyota didn’t actually have to make it at all. The rally class that the GR Yaris competes in doesn’t require any sort of homologated road car, but Toyota built it anyway, proving that three-pot engines are awesome in the process.

A bespoke three-door body shell, a turbocharged three-cylinder engine that now makes over 300 hp, giving it an obscene specific output, a manual or automatic transmission, and a bespoke AWD system with configurable torque splitting make the GR Yaris one of the finest handling hot hatchbacks. Ever.

Corolla T-Sport

This is a small treat that only Europeans got to enjoy. The E120 Corolla took on a slightly different form in Europe and Australia, being available as a three-door and five-door hatchback alongside the conventional sedan. The hatchback version also got a hot version, the T-Sport.

Souped-up by TRD, the T-Sport used the same 1.8-liter 2ZZ-GE engine that you might find in a Lotus Elise. Sure, it only had 180 hp, but thanks to the VVT-i system, it revved to over 8,000 RPM. A hot hatchback by Toyota in the early 2000s? Who would have thought…

Tacoma X-Runner

Replacing the flop that was the S-Runner, the Toyota Tacoma X-Runner was quite an interesting offer. Unlike the other Tacoma variants, this one was all about having fun driving on the road. This was a time when street trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning were still very popular.

The X-Runner only made 245 hp from the bulletproof 1GR-FE 4.0-liter V6, but thanks to various handling adjustments and a true six-speed manual, it was actually really good fun to drive. In case you did want more power, though, there was a factory supercharger kit.

GR86

What else could be better proof of a car brand being focused on enthusiasts than a proper RWD lightweight sports car? The GR86 has been around for a couple of years now, replacing the super successful (GT)86, aka the Scion FR-S. It’s one of only a handful of new cars that still has soul.

Like the previous one, the current car is another Subaru joint venture, and it uses a slightly more powerful boxer four-cylinder. A standard manual transmission and dreamy chassis tuning go to show that sometimes, oodles of horsepower isn’t what you need at all.

MR2

Toyota’s first attempt at a midship runabout two-seater was a highly successful one. If you can handle the snap oversteer that plagued some of them, the Toyota MR2 is a fantastic mini Ferrari, but without any of the Ferrari drawbacks.

Built across three generations, the MR2 was all about handling, low-weight figures, and style. That was especially true of the first two generations and their pop-up headlights. While the MR2 has been retired for over two decades, Toyota subtly keeps bringing up an MR2 revival. We can only hope.

Celica GT-FOUR

Adorned with the iconic Castrol livery, the Celica GT-FOUR delivered a roundhouse kick to its competitors on the world rally circuit, until the FIA banned Toyota from competing in the mid 1990s.

In truth, the Celica GT-FOUR first appeared back in 1986, but the ST205 is the most well-known version. With quad headlights and the three-spoke wheels, it’s unmistakably an icon. With an unfathomable 245 hp courtesy of a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, it’s no surprise that the GT-FOUR is still a legend even to this day.

GR Supra

No one thought it would happen, but over half a decade ago, Toyota did it: they revived the Supra. The GR Supra uses quite a bit of BMW hardware under the skin, but it’s proof that Toyota wants to keep the sports car flame alive.

All of the right ingredients are here, including a RWD platform and a six-cylinder engine. Early GR Supras were automatic only, but recently, a six-speed manual joined the lineup. It may not be quite like the Mk4, but the GR Supra is a great sports car in its own right. In fact, it’s a nearly perfect car.

Lexus IS500 F Sport Performance

This one doesn’t have a Toyota badge, but it is absolutely a testament to Toyota’s wish to keep enthusiasts coming back for more. The latest Lexus IS may be based on an aging platform, but it offers something the previous one never had.

The latest IS500 F Sport Performance is the only current compact luxury sedan to offer a V8 powertrain. That’s paired up with RWD and a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission, resulting in a compact sedan that elicits nothing but giggles while you’re driving.

Soarer / Lexus SC (Z30)

The Mk4 Supra was the flagship two-door car in Toyota’s North American lineup, but there was one more way to have 2JZ, RWD thrills. The Toyota Soarer, one of Toyota’s flagship coupes in Japan, would eventually arrive in North America as the SC300.

As well as offering a nearly identical 2JZ under the hood, the Soarer actually shared its platform with the A80 Toyota Supra. To make things even better, the SC offered one more powertrain that the Supra never got: the 4.0-liter V8 from the original LS. What a thing.

GR Corolla

We can’t skip this one. While North America doesn’t get the GR Yaris, Toyota gave the GR treatment to the Corolla for the US and Canada. A widened, sharpened exterior hides the same 1.6-liter turbo-three as the Yaris, but with even more power.

All that reaches the wheels through the same GR-FOUR AWD system and a mandatory six-speed manual transmission. Oh, and if you opt for the Morizo edition, you get a rear seat delete. Because race car.

Lexus LFA

It’s the car that introduced Lexus to the Japanese market. That’s all you need to know, right? Joking aside, the LFA is easily one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of the automobile, and easily one of the greatest supercars ever.

Powered by a sonorous 4.8-liter V10, the LFA may not be the fastest of supercars, but one thing is for sure: if you ever see, hear, or are lucky enough to experience an LFA in either the driver or passenger seat, you certainly won’t forget it.

Sprinter

The Toyota Trueno achieved icon status in the automotive world after a Japanese teenager piloted his father’s Trueno through the Japanese mountains when he wasn’t delivering tofu, more often than not sideways.

Unlike the Corolla, the Sprinter Trueno was RWD, and due to its lightweight figure and high-revving NA four-cylinder dubbed the 4A-GE, it was an absolute joy to drive, and it can absolutely turn you into a drifting pro.