2023 Toyota Crown will be offered with two hybrid powertrains that are primarily FWD but can engage AWD when needed
Toyota Crown is not a stranger to Americans but it is a stranger to Americans. Confused? Most Americans don’t recall the Toyopet Crown which was the first Japanese car to be exported to America ever. This was in 1958 though and Toyota doesn’t use the Toyopet name anymore as the world scoffed at it because it had ‘Toy’ and ‘Pet’ in it which weren’t associated with cars back then.
Americans are apt with Ford Crown Vic V8 that taxis and Police both use. We said Toyota Crown is not a stranger to Americans because they got it in the form of Lexus GS. Crown is Toyota’s second most premium sedan range below the Century range. The latter is more for dictators, prime ministers, presidents, ambassadors, top-dog businessmen and the likes.
Crown had been exclusive for South-East Asian markets, China and JDM. Toyota is now taking the 16th-generation 2023 Toyota Crown back to one of its biggest markets, USA. But due to current SUV obsession, Toyota is bringing it with a twist. Toyota has 4 vehicles under the Crown name and all of them couldn’t be any more different. One is a Crossover that was fully revealed inside out. While the Sport, Sedan and Estate are only revealed on stage.
Toyota Crown Crossover (S325)
Toyota Crown is traditionally a sedan till its 15th generation. But now, One of the models revealed is a crossover between an SUV and a sedan. It has a coupe sedan shape but with a raised ground clearance. It feels wrong, but at the same time, it feels so much right. Crown’s shape makes us wonder if Rolls-Royce should have taken the same coupe sedan with raised ground clearance design instead of the “three-box” shape with the Cullinan SUV.
Another failed attempt on this design theme that we can think of is Volvo S60 Cross-Country. We are yet to see if Toyota’s implementation takes the same route. It gets attractive dual-tone colour themes which along with the front shape, makes it look smart.
From the side and the rear, it gets a coupe roofline that neatly ends in a weird-looking rear. Instead of explaining more about this bizarre form factor, we will let you decide for yourself with the images below.
Specs & Launch
2023 Toyota Crown Crossover is almost 5m in length and is based on the TNGA-K platform that also underpins Camry, Avalon, Venza, RAV4, Sienna MPV and their Lexus counterparts. It comes with XLE, Limited and Premium trims. XLE and Limited trims get a 2.5L naturally aspirated petrol engine with two electric motors coupled with an e-CVT and E-Four AWD system. This hybrid powertrain is capable of 38 MPG (around 19 kpl) of fuel efficiency.
The Premium trim gets a 2.4L Turbo petrol unit with electric motors coupled to 6-speed torque converter and E-Four Advanced AWD system that mimics RWD dynamics. This powertrain is capable of 28 MPG (around 15 kpl) fuel efficiency while making 340 bhp.
All 2023 Toyota Crown variants will get an acoustic glass, panoramic sunroof, 11-speaker JL Audio system, 12.3” touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and OTA updates and a few ADAS features. The nose-to-tail black stripe mimicking a Rolls-Royce colour scheme is only reserved for top-spec Premium variant. Toyota hasn’t revealed pricing yet and we expect it to be launched in 2023. Toyota India is highly unlikely to bring this to our shores because it would be less profitable than a, say, Fortuner.
