I am in Spain right now for vacation and a few Uber drivers I took told us they don’t like Toyota vehicles because they break down too easily here and prefer Mercedes for their reliability particularly for their bigger vehicles like vans. Feels funny since in the USA it’s usually the opposite.
It sounds like some marketing focused on Europe that give them that reputation.
In South America, 99% of tacos are Corollas from the 80s and 90s. So it sounds weird when you mention that you want a Corolla, because everyone thinks of those taxis, not the 2020+ models that are amazing machines.
Still, all of those taxis served in Japan 30 years ago, then sent to Mexico or other mid market before arriving to our countries as “transformers” (because the steering wheel was on the right and we’re transformed to the left). So the actual reputation is of a reliable as hell of a car.