Toyota Coaster Reviews

We’re missing out on some of Toyota’s best vehicles.Toyota is the world’s biggest carmaker and the best-selling brand in Australia by a country mile.One of the reasons for its success is its vast range that covers more buyer types than any other brand.That doesn’t mean it has a car for everyone, there are still models in its global range that would be a hit Down Under if they ever arrived.Here are three of the must-have Toyota models for Australia.Toyota FJ LandCruiserLast year Toyota broke the internet when it revealed its sub-$45,000 mini FJ LandCruiser.It is the size of a RAV4, but with the off-road ability of a HiLux. Australians would love it.Unfortunately, the FJ LandCruiser has been ruled out as it is fitted with a petrol engine that does not meet our emissions regulations, according to former Toyota Australia VP of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley.“It’s just about regulations,” he said.“We’re moving to Euro 6 emissions standards. That’s the reality.”The door has been left ajar for the FJ to head our way in the future, though.Hybrid versions are to be built in India for domestic and export markets later this decade, according to reports.Petrol-electric power would put it back on the menu for Australia, and Indian production would likely keep the price below $50,000.Toyota AlphardThe people-mover segment isn’t dead, it's just completely dominated by the Kia Carnival.But you don’t have to look far to see a grey imported Toyota people-mover humming around the suburbs of Australia’s big cities.The Alphard is already made in right-hand drive for Japan and other South East Asian markets. Not to mention, its luxury Lexus LM sibling is also on sale in Australia.The Alphard is a big, boxy-styled, roomy and luxurious hybrid-powered family-hauler that would appeal to big suburban families looking to tap into Toyota's reliability and low running costs.The Alphard is a bit premium, but there is the sportier looking Vellfire and the smaller Voxy and Noah people-movers that could also work well.Your move Toyota.Toyota's mini uteThis one is hot off the presses.A little Corolla Cross-based ute has been spotted testing in Brazil.The company has been linked to a new SUV-based ute for some years now, with some suggesting it could be based on the Corolla Cross or even the bigger RAV4.This model is Corolla Cross sized, uses hybrid power and is a lifestyle-focused ute in the same mould as the Ford Falcon and Commodore utes of the past.So think suburban workhorse rather than weekend adventurer.For now it is expected to be a Latin America model, but North American executives have also hinted at a SUV-based ute to battle the Ford Maverick. This would likely be bigger than the one spotted and based on the RAV4 instead.

The Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and RAV4 are typically Australia’s most popular cars in any given month. But what other cars are having a great 2026?We’ve scoured the latest new car sales data to reveal the cars that are off to a storming start in the first five months of this year. For our list we’ve tried to focus on cars that have shown at least double-digit sales growth and have sold at least four-digit volume, so we avoid niche models that are coming off a very low base.We also deliberately avoided focusing on electric vehicles, as we have previously written about the EVs that are enjoying a sales boom in 2026.This is by no means a comprehensive list, and there are several models that are enjoying huge growth from brands such as BYD and Chery, but we’ve limited it to one entry to highlight more brands.Chery Tiggo 7 Pro - up 200.2%Choosing a Chery to put on this list wasn’t an easy task, as the brand is enjoying a bumper year with total sales up more than 84 per cent. The compact Tiggo 4 Pro remains the brand’s sales leader, with more than 11k sold already, but the Tiggo 7 is the clear star performer in terms of growth.With sales tracking more than 200 per cent up, the Tiggo 7 Pro has moved from also-ran to serious contender in the intensely competitive mid-size SUV market. It’s still well-short of the class-leading Toyota RAV4, but only the related Jaecoo J7 (up 427%) and BYD Sealion 7 (up 297%) have experienced more growth so far this year.Kia K4 - up 103.5%Reports of the demise of the hatchback appear to be exaggerated. While small SUVs remain incredibly popular, Kia has demonstrated that the right small car (as the K4 is both a hatch and sedan now) still has plenty of appeal.The South Korean brand has sold 3850 examples of its Cerato-replacement so far in 2026, more than double what it managed this time last year, when the hatch was not available.BYD Seal - up 92%The Atto 3 and Sealion 7 EVs are also enjoying good years, and the new Sealion 5 and 8 plug-in hybrids are both off to a good start, but for this list we’re highlighting the under-rated Seal EV. Under-rated because, like the hatchback, sedans are supposed to be in terminal decline.And yet, BYD has managed to almost double the sales of its mid-size sedan in 2026, with 1885 sold year-to-date. This actually makes it one of the brand’s worst-performing models, only further highlighting just what a successful year BYD is having.For the record, sales of the Sealion 7 are up 297%, the Dolphin is up 115% and the Atto 3 is up 85% (despite being the brand’s longest tenured model). Everything is looking rosy for BYD so far in 2026.Toyota Camry - up 48.3%It’s not exactly the glory days for the Camry, 5221 sales in five months is small fry compared to its past, but it remains an under-rated sales performer for not just the brand. Combined with the Seal, these two very different sedans have almost single-handedly kept the family car segment afloat in recent years.Every other existing model in the mid-size sedan segment is down in 2026, but the Camry remains the automotive equivalent of a cockroach - impossible to ever count out.Hyundai Palisade - up 37.1%This was a borderline inclusion on the list, as Hyundai introduced a new generation Palisade in late 2025 so the comparison to last year’s sales is against the out-going model. But given the huge price jump from the old model, plus a small range, it suggests Hyundai’s biggest SUV is finding an audience.Aside from the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and GWM Tank 300 (see below) the Palisade is the only other large SUV to meet our criteria, further underlining its strong sales performance so far this year.The addition of a more-affordable Elite trim grade, to go along with the initial flagship Calligraphy, plus the introduction of the more-rugged XRT Pro variant later this year may help the Palisade to continue its momentum.GWM Tank 300 - up 26.9%As mentioned above, the Tank 300 is another standout performer in the large SUV segment. The Chinese brand’s off-road capable offering has grown in recent times to include a diesel and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) alternative for buyers, which has clearly helped to expand its appeal.The relative struggles of the bigger Tank 500, which has only sold 529 units this year compared to 2228 Tank 300, is a clear demonstration that not all Chinese models sell in big numbers simply because they are cheaper than their rivals.The Tank 300 has therefore done enough to convince buyers to give it a chance and if this growth continues in the second half of the year it could become a key model for GWM.

This car will change everything you thought about the humble Toyota Corolla.On the eve of the Corolla’s 60th birthday, the Japanese giant has confirmed the GRMN Corolla is headed Down Under.Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said the new GRMN Corolla is the best of both worlds.“This is truly our GR philosophy in action, and has produced an astonishing high-performance driver’s car that is as at home on the racetrack as it is on the road,” he said.It takes the already red-hot GR Corolla hot hatch, and turns the dial all the way up.Spawned from Japan’s Super Taikyu race series and tuned and tweaked at the Nurburgring race track in Germany — dubbed the Green Hell — the GRMN is the brand’s most driver-focused Corolla of all time.The GRMN has just two seats and a rocket of a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 221kW and 408Nm.It has upgraded front and rear suspension and fatter Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber for improved performance on track.Toyota has optimised the all-wheel drive set-up for improved torque delivery and tweaked the power steering to give more feedback during high speed cornering.The Corolla GRMN is leaner than the standard manual GR Corolla, having lost 40kg. There is also a unique instrument panel for greater driver concentration and GRMN design touches throughout.Exterior updates include bonnet and fender ducts for increased ventilation, front side spoiler and large rear wing with five step adjustment for increased aerodynamics.It is only available in two colours: matt black or khaki.Toyota Australia said the Corolla GRMN will arrive in limited numbers from 2027.

Toyota's new mini ute has been spotted on public roads.Following on from the reveal of the little FJ LandCruiser, the company has now shrunk its ute.The Japanese brand has been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that have led to a small SUV-based ute, and now there is proof it is really happening.Brazilian outlet BlogAuto has captured a small camouflage ute undergoing testing, some digital renders from kdesignag on Instagram give us an idea what it could look like without camouflage.and it is believed to be based on the Toyota Corolla Cross compact SUV.That means it is likely based on Toyota’s TNGA-C platform, which also forms the base for the Toyota Corolla, Prius and C-HR, too.Using that platform means the ute could have petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options.US outlet AutoNews first broke news of a Corolla-based ute in the works in 2024.It claimed sources said a Corolla-based ute would debut in 2027. At the time Toyota US’s Chief Operating Officer Mark Templin said the company was looking at a small ute, according to The Japan Times."We could really do well in that segment, so we’re trying to do it,” Cooper Ericksen, a senior vice president in charge of planning and strategy at Toyota Motor North America, said in a separate interview with The Japan Times. "It’s a matter of timing,” he said.SUV-based utes have had a renaissance recently, following the segments decline earlier this decade when vehicles such as the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore utes were hits Down Under.The Ford Maverick in the US is the best example. It is based on the Ford Escape SUV and has been a runaway success in North America.Unfortunately the Corolla Cross-based ute appears to be a Latin American model only for now.However, Toyota is also thought to be working on a larger RAV4-based ute recently.Toyota’s North American Chief Executive Officer Tetsuo Ogawa said it is definitely a consideration.“But for the compact truck? Definitely, we have such demand,” Ogawa said in an interview with AutoNews. “A RAV4-based pickup is an opportunity for us, and the dealers are waiting. “Maybe they say we need today or tomorrow, but it takes time.”

Thousands of Toyota Prado large SUVs have been subject to an urgent recall in Australia due to a digital driver display software error as per a notice from the Department of Infrastructure. It affects 13,042 Prado 4WDs from the 2024 to 2025 model years. “Due to a software error, the instrument cluster may fail to illuminate the visual engine oil pressure light, engine coolant temperature, electrical charge, and other critical safety information,” the notice read.“Failure of the instrument cluster to display critical safety information or warning indicators may increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”Toyota Australia said the recall was part of a global campaign, but there have been a small number of reported occurrences in Australia. The notice went on to say affected owners will be contacted by Toyota to make an appointment at a dealership, where the issue will be rectified free of charge. The software update will also be available via an over-the-air (OTA) update, which can be completed through the multimedia head unit.This issue also affects nearly 2600 Lexus SUVs models, which are the GX 550 and UX 300h.The Prado remains one of Toyota’s best-selling models in Australia, trailing only the HiLux ute and RAV4 SUV. 

Toyota has signalled to the world combustion engines might actually be the future, with its debut its hydrogen combustion powered TR LH2 racecar on the track at the Le Man 24 Hours next week. Hydrogen-powered vehicles have generally meant using fuel cells immersed in the liquid gas to generate electricity for an EV.  The Toyota Mirai is an example of this.Toyota’s latest appearance at the famous Le Mans endurance race will showcase its latest development of hydrogen combustion. Yes, not electric, but loud and angry, and importantly, relatively clean combustion.Toyota’s TR LH2 Prototype won’t actually compete this year at Le Mans on June 13, but it will perform demonstration laps to let the world see and hear what it can do. The specifications of the TR LH2 have not been made public, but we know it has a hybrid set-up and uses the same chassis as Toyota’s actual entrant in the endurance race this year - the TR010 Hybrid Hypercar.Rather than combusting petrol to drive its wheels the TR LH2 ignites hydrogen, but still uses pistons and mechanical elements in the same way conventional engines do. There are some key differences. The hydrogen is stored as a liquid, the only problem is the fuel tanks need to be kept at -253C to keep it from turning into a gas. As with petrol, when the hydrogen is injected into the cylinder it’s ignited and explodes pushing the piston down, and in turn drives the wheels.Hydrogen combustion engines can be clean, with the only emissions being water and some carbon dioxide. It can also release toxic nitrogen oxide if the engine doesn’t reduce the emissions of these particles. Toyota is working on advanced hydrogen combustion engines that do reduce these emissions, and the TR LH2 is a work in progress of this technology.It’s not the first time Toyota has flexed its aptitude for hydrogen combustion in motorsport. In 2023 the car maker entered a GR Corolla H2 Concept powered by a liquid hydrogen combustion engine in the Japanese Super Taikyu racing series. And before that in 2022 Toyota entered a GR Yaris H2 in a demonstration run in a round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the Ypres Rally.The Le Mans 24 Hours race takes place from June 13-14, with the TR LH2 making its demonstration laps on June 11.  

BYD has finished second in Australia's new-car sales race for the second consecutive month, delivering more vehicles than long-standing household names like Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Mazda, and trailing only Toyota in terms of total sales.

Toyota cancelled another of its upcoming electric vehicles last week -in this case it was its luxury arm Lexus and the LF-ZC sedan leaving it even more exposed to the premium Chinese EV assault.So, are we seeing the fall of an empire here with Toyota or does the Japanese giant have a secret plan?Toyota's axing of the Lexus LF-ZC sedan isn’t surprising, it’s very much in keeping with the company’s change of plan to pursue hybrids rather than EVs in the short term.In 2021 Toyota held a global address announcing that it would launch 30 new EVs by 2030. Well, we are now only about three and a half years away from the end of the decade and Toyota has only launched about three and a half  EVs - the bZ4x, Toyota HiLux, C-HR, and the longer version of the bZ4x - the Touring. The reason is a change of direction. Two years ago Toyota revised its plans and decided that the uptake of EVs wasn’t as strong as many had expected and decided to double down on hybrids instead.The decision made sense - the world was experiencing a slow down in the adoption of EVs and Toyota delayed pouring A$100 billion into the development of 30 new models.Toyota Australia's Vice President Sales at the time Sean Hanley told CarsGuide in January 2025 that the company had read the market accurately after all.“The plain truth is that demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in markets around the world is not living up to the hype,” he said.Hybrid sales were booming and Toyota changed plans and went back to doing what it had pioneered - hybrid powertrains. But March 2026 saw the world change again with the war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz being blocked and preventing oil from being shipped through the channel. About 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the channel and by the second month of the blockade the world’s petrol and diesel prices skyrocketed, particularly in Australia which sources its refined fuel from countries such as Malaysia which are supplied with oil from the Middle East.With this turn of events consumer interest in electric vehicles picked up again.Sales of EVs had gone from being down year-on-year by 61.9 per cent for cars (sedans and hatches) and down 12 per cent for SUVs in January 2025 to up by 77.4 per cent for cars and up by 150 per cent for SUVs.So why is Toyota still axing EVs? Well, never underestimate Toyota. The brand may look like it’s suddenly behind the eight-ball after a huge geopolitical change and it may also look like the victim of a surprise attack from a multitude of appealing Chinese electric offerings from brands such BYD and Zeekr, but Toyota is the world’s biggest car manufacturer and you can bet it either has a plan… or it can buy one.There are several possible plays going on here in my opinion.First, Toyota is probably banking on the spike in EV interest to fall once the conflict is over and believes consumers will return to hybrids. This is probably the most likely scenario, although I doubt people will return to buying petrol and diesel cars now without thinking about it as they did in the past. The fuel crisis has been a major catalyst in the switch to EVs.A second scenario is that Toyota is close to a solid state battery breakthrough and is holding off EV development until an affordable and practical example can be made, but this seems less likely.Toyota finding the solid state holy grail of batteries seemed like a possibility five years ago but Chinese carmakers such as Chery, BYD and battery maker CATL are reportedly already testing the tech in prototype form before an expected market launch between 2027 and 2030. When the solid state battery breakthrough comes it will be thanks to a Chinese carmaker - with recent commentary from Toyota itself placing doubt on the idea of the technology ever being ready for mass production.And third, which is probably going to happen, Toyota may decide to take the vehicles it produces in joint-ventures in China  and launch them globally.Toyota already has two major joint ventures in China - one with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and the other with First Automotive Works (FAW).Toyota-GAC models include the bZ7 fastback along with Chinese versions of the bZ3X and bZ4X.And before you scoff at Chinese Toyotas, just look at the bZ7. To my eyes this is one of the most beautiful Toyotas from the past decade which isn't hard considering the brand is famous for making what some people consider whitegoods on wheels.And with the changing of the guard in Australia, Toyota locally now appears to have decided which plan to go they'll pursue.Toyota Australia's new Vice President of Sales, John Pappas has a slightly different take on the situation than his predecessor and appears to be embracing the possibility of the company using its global manufacturing reach to sell cars into the future. “So the beautiful thing, the benefit of being such a global company like Toyota, and being in around 180 markets all around the world, and having so many manufacturing plants, that enables us to assess - whether it's sourcing of the vehicle, spec, powertrain.”  The future may prove to be a bit of scenario one to start and then into scenario three with Chinese made Toyotas. Either way the world’s biggest car brand has plenty of options to survive and thrive.  

While Japanese brands increasingly turn to Chinese partnerships for more affordable and globally competitive models, it doesn’t always work out.According to Nikkei Asia, GAC, which recently launched in Australia and has some of the biggest name joint-venture partners in China, is in trouble.The Guangzhou-based automaker, which counts Toyota and Honda as long-term partners, has been losing money on every single vehicle it sells as it has recently been trying to fight in an aggressive Chinese domestic price war with BYD and others.According to figures published by Nikkei Asia, at one point the company was losing the equivalent of  A$1714 on every single vehicle sold under its own branding. In its annual results announcement for the full year of 2025 reported to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, GAC said its subsequent loss in revenue was due to “intense competition in the automobile industry,” earmarking risks to the future of its business from “increasing survival pressure on automobile enterprises and entering the high-speed shuffling phase of survival of the fittest”.GAC said the level of competition was directly eroding its profit margins, and with Chinese brands approaching 70 per cent sales proportion in the local market, it was placing pressure on joint-venture brands.GAC’s annual results documents also revealed some realities of the Chinese market that is directly contributing to the big push for longer-range plug-in hybrid models, which are increasingly making their way to Australia.“Technical requirements for vehicles eligible for tax reductions and incentives has been raised. The pure electric mode range and energy consumption standards for plug-in hybrid (including range-extended) passenger vehicles have been further tightened,” the company said.“If a company lags in R&D or supply chain fails to meet the standards, its main models may not comply with the new regulations, resulting in the loss of subsidy eligibility or market access To meet stricter safety, range, and environmental standards, enterprises’ mandatory investments in areas such as battery materials, thermal management systems, and low-carbon manufacturing processes will continuously increase. At the same time, the phase-out of purchase tax subsidies has directly reduced profit margins per vehicle, presenting severe challenges to the overall profitability of the industry.”As a result, GAC said the company’s operating profit had declined for two years straight, and had recorded a loss for the first time since listing with the exchange in 2010.Nikkei Asia points out the company had been heavily discounting its Aion-branded vehicles (two of which are sold in Australia - the UT hatch and V mid-size SUV) to keep up with the aggressive discounting of rivals, but was failing to meet volume expectations.The bleak competitive landscape comes as GAC’s long-term joint-venture with Honda is due for renewal by 2028 after 30 years. Honda-branded JV vehicles in China have experienced a slump at the same time as its Japanese parent recorded its first ever financial year loss for the 2025 Japanese Financial Year off the back of expensive global EV investments (amounting to the equivalent of $12.5 billion AUD), which have subsequently been cancelled and written-down.Honda executives have reportedly been taking meetings with GAC, and are yet to make a decision on the future of the partnership, according to Nikkei Asia.It is in stark contrast to Nissan, for example, which is only leaning further into its comparatively successful joint-venture with Dongfeng (with which Honda also has a joint-venture), which has netted a range of well-received models with big global potential, including the N7 sedan, NX8 SUV and Frontier Pro ute.GAC/Honda don’t have plans to export cars to markets like Australia. GAC's joint-venture with Toyota has been more successful in China, and has launched in right-hand drive markets such as Hong Kong.Market troubles in China have only been good news for the Australian market, with many brands seeking higher-margin markets to soak up production capacity and bolster profits, which is part of the reason our new car landscape has become so crowded and competitive.

Australia’s most popular SUV will get plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power ahead of schedule. The new Toyota RAV4 PHEV will start from $58,840 (before on-road costs), making it roughly $15,000 more expensive than the car's base standard hybrid variant ($45,990). The cheapest all-wheel drive variant starts from $63,340, while the range-topping GR Sport spec costs an extra $3000.It is competitively priced to PHEV rivals the Mazda CX-60 ($63,790) and the Mitsubishi Outlander ($57,290), but it is substantially more than the BYD Sealion 6, which starts at $42,990.This new PHEV variant could give Toyota a leg up on mid-size SUVs such as the self-charging hybrid- and internal combustion-powered Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage.The news comes after the brand’s long-awaited new-generation RAV4 finally launched Down Under after initial supply delays, with wait times remaining at three-to-six months. This PHEV RAV4 will go on sale at the end of June, which is roughly a month earlier than previously anticipated as Toyota looks to turn around a tough sales return in 2026 without its big hitter SUV.FWD variants of the RAV4 PHEV will be powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and front-mounted electric motor, producing 201kW. AWD variants add a rear-mounted motor, increasing power to 227kW.All RAV4 PHEVs are equipped with a 23kWh battery, offering a fully-electric driving range of up to 121km on the FWD, with AWD at 113km, according to WLTP standards. When the battery is fully charged, the RAV4 has fuel efficiency of 0.7L/100km. It can DC charge up to 80 per cent in roughly half-an-hour. The battery has a vehicle-to-load capacity of 1500W, meaning there is capacity for small appliances to be powered.One of the key differences on the RAV4 PHEV compared to the standard hybrid is that is has larger brake discs. The GR Sport RAV4 has a 20mm wider track and also gets performance front dampers, a stiffer chassis and more responsive steering. 2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV pricing Australia