"Because they work." My B.S. detector is going off, not that it might not be true, but it sounds like a sales pitch.

Looks like mixed reviews.

A basic, quiet toilet that works (and looks like that Carusoe) is the Kohler Wellworth, round bowl from the big box store. No complaits from this house, unless you need to upgrade to a slow closing seat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toilets

Toto is good; its expensive, replacement parts are expensive and not readily available. You can find as good a brand at the big box store at a lot cheaper price and spare parts are easily found.

Toto is a definite money maker for plumbers.
I installed Universal Rundle low flows in my own house eighteen years ago. No problems, easy as any other bowls to clean, still have the original internals. They are low price builder's models, though we did get custom colors.

Most toilets get occasional clogs, more of a user cause. The Rundles are a bit hard to plunge due to the trap delta shape.

Quiet also depends on the DWV. Cast iron is the winner if you have living space below the closet.

We were on the "higher-end" toilet search until our plumber told us they install the Gerber Viper toilet. They are much cheaper than Toto and the things are awesome!

I'm not a plumber, just a homeowner. Six years ago, as part of my remodel, I replaced my 3 1978 Eljer toilets (which all worked well, but used a lot of water) with Toto Drake, universal height, toilets.

The toilet uses 1.6 gal of water (today's model is down to 1.24 gal of water), and all it needs is a single flush to remove everything, every time. The water I've saved is amazing. And, I've never used the plunger on these toilets. They work, every time.

Not only do I really like the Toto Drake toilet, but so do my neighbors and friends, as they have replaced their toilets with the Toto...but they may have chosen a different style to reflect their decorating taste.

I recommend you visit the Bathrooms forum here on GW, and do a "search" for Toto. You'll pull up lots of threads with information about this brand of toilet, and the various models, posted by many, many GW users. I think you'll find this a helpful research tool.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toto Drake

I had three Gerber toilets that weren't worth...crap. I replaced them with Totos 4-5 years ago and have never had one of them get stopped up. I did have to replace one of the Toto flush valves, but they are readily available. In almost 40 years of home ownership, I've replaced and installed many brands of toilets, and none of them have worked as well as the Totos. They are a little more expensive, but you can get a Toto Drake for about $200 if you shop around. And that's not much money for something you won't have to replace or worry about. I place a high value on having a reliable toilet, especially when guests are visiting. Getting an economy toilet that may not work reliably or may have to be replaced in the future is false economy.

You want extensive toilet discussions? Go to Terry Love's site.

My three Toto Ultimate (one-piece) toilets are now 7 years old with no repair at all. Two clogs in all that time and only one required the use of the closet auger. In tests, the Ultimate does not show up as performing very well. I am pleased with mine. Typical refill is complete before I finish washing my hands.

I installed a Toto about a year ago. It's really been trouble free. The problem is that there is not a lot of water in the bowl - and you can get 'skid' marks.

Typically, water-conserving toilets have smaller "water spots" than older toilets because of the lower volume of water used with each flush. It's the trade-off for not wasting large amounts of water.

Bummer. I used to religiously get on here and point folks toward my favorite research source. Ten responses and no one's pointed out the best place to look:

CA Urban Water Conservation Council's MaP testing results!

Between my house and my parents, we have 4 Totos. One Drake, an Ultimate, an Ultramax, and an Eco Drake. I really like them, but my Ultimate (oldest) is my least favorite b/c I have actually gotten it to clog several times. They range in age from 8 years down to ~2 years. The 1.28gpf Eco Drake is really slick with it's dual-cyclone flush (only 2 big rim holes that start a whirl).

Many other manufacturers have caught up to Toto's performance, but you should do your research to see if they tested well. I've also specified some commercial models for construction projects. One project got 1.28-gpf American Standards that tested well, but I have my doubts having seen them flush in person. We may replace 5 in my office space soon, and the commercial Toto's are at the top of the list. If they made a commercial version with the dual cyclone, there wouldn't be anyone else on that list.

It also doesn't hurt that Toto's US headquarters is here in the ATL area.

Here is a link that might be useful: MaP Testing

I had a Kohler low boy type toilet installed by a plumber about 1 year ago... and it was not draining properly. Talking to a new plumber from Best 1 Rooter they said most of the low boy type toilets have the issue with poor drainage so I would tell you to stay away from those in general.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best 1 Rooter Plumbers