Toyota strengthened its leading role at the 2025 Colorado Auto Show in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver in mid-April.
Several hundred persons were lined from the second-floor doorway, down the stairs and out to the street when the show officially opened at noon on Thursday, April 17.
Among the first few showgoers into the main hall were Ryan and Heather Murphy of Silverthorne. After a glance at a Toyota, they were lured a few feet away to a Dodge Charger Daytona EV all-electric two-door, finished in “peel out orange” color, with 670 horsepower. Ryan Murphy said he is well-satisfied with his Range Rover, but both he and Heather were impressed with the variety of products on the show floor.
Earlier Thursday morning, among several press conferences was one in which members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP) announced winners of “best models” in four categories.
The long-successful Toyota Tacoma compact pickup edged the popular Ford F-150 as Truck of the Year. Improved ride and handling, attained through a redesigned multilink, coil-spring rear suspension, are noticeable with the new Tacoma.
Car of the Year is “a hot hatch that is just plain fun to drive – the Toyota GR Corolla,” said Sara Lacey, president of RMAP. One I tested last fall had excellent presence with a black matte grille, supersonic red exterior and triple exhaust – a pipe for each bore. Yes, it was a turbocharged 3-cylinder.
The dominance continued in SUV of the Year competition, won by a mainstay of Toyota’s luxury division, the Lexus GX. Even with the GX’s offroad prowess, that choice surprised many showgoers.
The Electric Vehicle of the Year honors went to the roomy Kia EV9. Last year’s electric choice was the smaller Genesis GV60. Accessing I-25 is a snap with the instant torque and quick acceleration of the EV9; its lane correction system is firm and very effective.
The big show received strong attendance over the Easter weekend. Hosting the affair was the Colorado Auto Dealers Association (CADA), headed by Matthew Groves, CEO and president, and Eric Beutz, chair of the auto show.
Toyota’s 19,000-square-foot display area, right up front to greet showgoers as they entered the main hall, was largest of all the individual areas.
Toyota outsold all other brands in Colorado in 2024 and its positive sales pace continued through the first quarter of this year, when it registered 7,166 in the sales column, followed by Ford with 5,932. Others in the top 10 were:
- Subaru with 4,802,
- Nissan 3,791,
- Chevrolet 3,363,
- Hyundai 3,039,
- Honda 3,032,
- Kia 2,701,
- Tesla 2,366 and
- GMC 2,103.
Nissan’s rise from 11th place to 4th during the first quarter is more remarkable in that almost 70 percent of its sales this quarter were of battery electric models, their owners taking advantage of government incentives.