Has Toyota's Styling Gone Too Far?

Hey Toyota, I’m very happy for you and Imma let you finish, but we need to talk about where the styling is going on some of your mainstream models. Perhaps it all started with the updated Camry, with its unfinished-looking grille, and we became slightly concerned. Maybe it was just a one time thing.

Related: How New Is the New 2016 Toyota Avalon?

Then the refreshed Prius c and Prius v showed up late last year, and we wondered about the Prius v’s new nose job … to say it was aesthetically challenging might be a little kind. But then, right around the Los Angeles Auto Show, we saw what had happened: The hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai was unveiled, and we realized that somehow this abomination had either infected the rest of the lineup with seriously unpleasant sheet-metal angles or it was the culmination of all those other designs.

What is it that gets our goat? It’s the new vertical slats on the front of the 2016 Toyota Avalon, the Prius v, Prius c (above) and Camry. This element is permeating the lineup, and it needs to halt right where it is before things go too far over to the Mirai look, which is an utter mess.

Perhaps you’re trying to prove that you can sell a lot of cars regardless of their aesthetic unpleasantness, in which case the road you’re on is likely to end up at that destination. But the Avalon looked just fine the way it was, as did the Prius v — changing styling to ape the Mirai hasn’t helped them in the slightest.

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with the looks of your big sellers named Corolla, RAV4 and Highlander.

If you’re really looking for inspiration for the rest of the lineup, may we instead suggest the FT-1 concept car? That has gaping grilles done right!

Cars.com photos by Evan Sears, Cars.com photo illustration by Paul Dolan