Well the main reasons for me are - reliability and easy and cheap maintenance. If you look at reliability car surveys all Japanese come in first 10 , while German are in 20-25 range, which I experienced my self with German cars. Germans OK till 100k miles, then you have serious issues, while Toyota runs forever if maintained correctly. I had Carina e, Yaris, Auris, now - all I ever changed was light bulbs, oil, filters, wipers, tyres, fluids. The only downside of all Toyota's is soundproofing - really rubbish comparing with Germans, but I would think it is deliberate to keep the weight down.