The hardest part of choosing your new Toyota is that there are so many terrific options, all beautifully designed, reliable, well-engineered, and safe. The easy part? You guessed it - there are so many terrific options, all of them beautifully designed, reliable, well-engineered and safe.

For all the reasons you chose to purchase or lease a Toyota, Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is here to help protect and support your decision throughout your ownership experience. Starting from day one, you’ll appreciate our friendly, next-level customer service, and account management tools like our highly capable Toyota Financial Services app, available for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play. 

We’ll even help you keep your Toyota in tip-top mechanical shape with our range of Vehicle Protection Products, like Prepaid Maintenance, Tire & Wheel Protection and Vehicle Service Agreements (VSA). Our promise to you is to deliver exceptional customer service that matches the exceptional quality of Toyota vehicles.

Now that we’ve got the nuts and bolts out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks. How the heck to choose the Toyota best for you? A good first step is to think about your lifestyle and how your day-to-day driving needs might help you narrow down your choices.

Here are a few lifestyle factors to consider when choosing your Toyota:

Consider your commute. Does your daily routine include a long commute to work or school? Maybe you’ve got kids to drop off and pick-up, regular after-work commitments like the gym or a volunteer gig, or even stops at doggy daycare to make. If this sounds like you, fuel efficiency is going to be important to you.  

The Toyota Prius has been a commuting champion for decades and was recently named one of the best commuter cars by U.S. News, thanks to its great mileage – 57 mpg in the city and 56 mpg on the highway. The RAV4 Hybrid’s premium materials and emphasis on comfort make it a good choice for those looking for a little more creature comfort and its 219-hp hybrid engine has up to a 46 combined estimated mpg. The Toyota Crown is a dynamic combination of elements: a sleek sedan with the cool contours of a sports car, plus its available MAX Turbo Performance Hybrid powertrain gives you up to 435 miles of combined range, including up to 420.5 miles in the city and 464 miles on the highway.  

How much space do you need? If you regularly pack your buddies, your dog, and your family and all of the gear that comes with them into the car, having enough space is a pretty big deal. Our roomiest option, the Toyota Sequoia, seats as many as eight with cargo capacity of up to 120.1 cu. ft. The Toyota Highlander, Highlander Hybrid and Grand Highlander also seat up to eight, with cargo capacity between 84.3 – 97.5 cu. ft.

Are you an outdoor adventurer? If the great outdoors is your happy place, we’ve got you covered. Rugged terrain is no match for the Toyota 4Runner, with its muscular design, enhanced suspension and loads of room for gear. If you’d like a tough, bold vehicle with a refined driving experience on or off-road, the Land Cruiser is a great choice. Toyota Tacoma drivers love that it’s one of only two trucks on the market available with a manual transmission and V-6 engine, giving you up to 278 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque. It’s a comfortable, stylish mid-size truck that can pull up to 6,800 lbs (about the weight of an elephant) behind it.

Where do you live? If you’re a city dweller, consider a compact-sized car, something easy to park on the street, and nimble enough to maneuver through traffic. Great choices for you might be Corolla or Camry. Both are available in hybrid models, fun to drive and stylish.

Safety Matters. Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) is a part of every new Toyota vehicle. TSS is a combination of safety technologies and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) engineered to address accident protection in three main ways. It works to prevent or mitigate frontal collisions, helps keep drivers within their lanes, and enhances night-time driving road safety.

Great technology matters, too. Every new Toyota model comes with a state-of-the-art infotainment system on a range of different sized touchscreen displays. Whether you choose a base-model RAV4 or a Tacoma with all the bells and whistles, you’ll enjoy the same connectivity and convenience. Toyota’s Audio Multimedia system has it all - entertainment, convenience, and connectivity for you and your passengers. With Toyota’s standard compatibility for Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™, you’ll have full control of your favorite smartphone features like handsfree calling, messaging, app control, maps, music and much more.

Mind your budget and protect your investment. Whether you decide to lease or buy (learn more about the benefits of each here), your friends at TFS are here to help you take great care of your new Toyota. Which Toyota fits your budget? To figure out how much you should spend on your new Toyota, start by looking at your monthly income, after taxes. Generally speaking, no more than half of your income should be dedicated to ‘needs,’ and the other half to things you want, plus savings. From your ‘needs’ half, subtract what you pay for housing, utilities, groceries, childcare and insurance. You’ll also subtract things like student loans and credit card payments. Now that you know what you have to work with, decide how much of the remaining funds you’d like to use for your monthly auto budget, which will include monthly payments, fuel or charging costs, maintenance and things like tolls or parking. Check out our ThoughtFuel blog post that breaks it all down for you.

Budgeting month-to-month is easier when costs are fixed (the same each month) rather than variable. That can be tricky when it comes to planning for maintenance and repairs. Your friends at TFS have created a way to help ‘fix’ the cost of routine maintenance and more, including Vehicle Service Agreements (great for unexpected issues); Guaranteed Auto Protection (may help protect you from paying out-of-pocket in the case of a total loss); Prepaid Maintenance Plans (locks in today’s prices); and Tire and Wheel Protection (protects you from damage caused by eligible road hazards).

Time to make your choice. You’ve done your research, now it’s time to head for a dealership to choose your new Toyota. Before you go, complete our online credit application. Since you’ve factored in key pieces of the puzzle – like budget and lifestyle needs – test driving your top choices will help you make the final call. You’ll learn which vehicle suits you best, and the friendly folks at your local Toyota dealership can help you make sure that your new Toyota will meet current and future needs with confidence.