How Toyota Perfected the Hybrid – And Why Rivals Still Can’t Catch Up

Seems simplistic and one sided. It doesn't go into how a power-split system is better than a parallel one, for example. In that matter, it ignored Toyota now making parallel systems with conventional transmissions. Also ignored the fact that Japan had a Low Emission Vehicle(LEV) program going back to the 1970s that Toyota was part of, and provided basic research into hybrids, to make it sound like the Prius came out of thin air.

 

I’ll give Toyota credit for sticking with it, even though they stole the idea from that russian engineer, and threw up all over themselves with hydrogen dreams

 

For a 5 minute read, the referenced article is significantly on point. Toyota's big win was the ecvt transaxle with almost zero reliability problems and their complex networked controls which are almost bulletproof. All at a very affordable price when the gen2 was released in 2003, 23 years ago. A few years later the gen2 had become a Hollywood status symbol and had long waiting lists due to high gas prices. I owned two of these with absolutely no problems.

Certainly Toyota had issues in other areas including their power electronics, brake by wire systems and their widespread low tension ring fiascos which hit a crescendo in gen3s. But Toyota stood behind those items for most new car buyers, leaving the current used buyers to suffer.

But those issues were largely gone by 2016 and today you can't buy their bread and butter Camry, Rav4 or Highlander vehicles without a hybrid system.

My prediction is the Tundra's Hybrid Max deviation won't last long and is primarily available for power rather than efficiency.

 

Many 2025 & 2026 Camry users (Gen 5 hybrid) would disagree. My 2025 is OK but many have had issues with front axles and axle seals becoming noisy. I believe there is a parts shortage on the axles now.