Growing up, my best friend’s dad, I’ll call him Frank, was an actuary for a large human resources company. When I finally learned what an actuary was, I couldn’t imagine anyone else better suited to the job than Frank. This is a guy who played Sim City and kept detailed notes in a series of notebooks in order to optimize his city.
The family very generously took me to Disney World with them one year, and I got to watch my friend’s dad try to apply the principles of actuarial science to making it the most efficient trip. Does fun equate with efficiency? Not quite, though, in fairness to him, I spent very little time waiting in lines. The flipside of this is that we ate dinner at like 4:15 pm every day.
He was already relatively successful by the time I met him, and as a marker of that success, he bought himself a nice car. That this nice car was a first-generation Toyota Avalon fits with Frank’s whole so-normal-its-weird vibe.
The Avalon is gone, having essentially been replaced by the Toyota Crown. On paper, this is a sensible vehicle that offers a lot of features for only a near-luxury price. It’s build-sheet efficiency achieved in the strangest way possible, which is very Frank. It’s also a car that makes none of the normal choices, which makes it weird in a very me way.
It’s possible the Toyota Crown is the only vehicle that fits in the very narrow ellipse in the Venn Diagram of what he likes and what I like.
[Full disclosure: Toyota delivered this to me with a full tank of gas and a snow brush, which was nice.]
The Basics
Engine: 2.4-liter turbo inline-four hybrid with 61 kW front/58.6 kW rear motors
Transmission: Six-speed ‘direct shift’ eCVT
Drive: All-wheel drive
Output: 340 combined horsepower, 400.4 combined torque
Fuel Economy: 29 MPG city, 32 MPG highway, 30 MPG combined
Base Price: $54,990
Price As-Tested: $55,465 (including $1,135 shipping/handling)
Why Does This Car Exist?
This is an extraordinarily good question and one, realistically, no one will ever be able to give me a good answer for. Was the market clamoring for a successor to the AMC Eagle? Probably not. Is a tall, crossover-like vehicle that doesn’t look like a crossover or come with a hatch a proper replacement for the Camry-but-a-little-bigger Avalon? I don’t think so.
Here’s what Jason got out of Toyota when he went on the launch for the Crown back in 2023:
They did say that their target buyers would be “young empty nesters,” a group that I imagine is composed of people in their mid 30s who set their children free in the woods because fuck it, too much work. I find this kind of a strange demographic, because the car feels far too roomy and big for a couple with no kids. This could easily be a family car, if desired. But, somehow we’ve all decided as a culture that almost everything needs four doors, so with that in mind, sure, young, sexy empty-nesters it is.
I’m glad that Toyota gave it a try. There was once a time when the premium subcompact crossover wasn’t a thing, either, and Buick rebadged a South Korean GM product and basically created an extraordinarily popular segment. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and Toyota took a shot here.
How Does It Look?
Usually, this is the easy part of the job. Aesthetic judgment is primarily subjective, so there’s practically no way to give a truly wrong answer. The only incorrect judgment would be the absence of a judgment. Do I have a judgment? I am indecisive.
This is the non-two-tone version, and I think it looks good. Kind of? It is proportionally strange, and this strangeness is best revealed in profile, where the we-put-a-sedan-body-on-a-crossoverness of the Crown is most obvious. If you just look at the top of the car, there’s an attractive greenhouse (the DLO, as designers call it) that kinks at the C-pillar. The rear has that strange crease, which is very Lucid Air. The front looks relatively normal in profile.
It’s that space in between the front wheel arch and the hood, and the rear wheel arch and the aft-most window that’s odd. There’s just, like, more space there than should be. It’s so novel in anything that isn’t an AMC product that’s older than I am, I lack the crutch of comparison.
Head-on, I’m on board. It’s modern and sleek in a neo-Toyota sort of way. The rear is a bit busy, but I’m from Houston, so I like a big butt if it can keep a beat. The profile? Huh. I’m gonna need 2-3 months to form an opinion.
What’s It Like Inside?
For all of the chances the Crown takes on the outside, it’s drama-free on the inside. I think the last generation of Toyota interior design was both somehow a little bland and a little busy, and this resolves both by being handsome and clean.
Toyota adopts the basic split two-screen setup that has become the default for most Western automakers. The 12.3-inch touchscreen at the center features the company’s Toyota Audio Multimedia system, which works well enough, but I mostly just used CarPlay.
Credit, also, to Toyota for having an excellent and obvious layout for its steering wheel:
I don’t love the push-pull transmission selector, but I adapted to it rather quickly. What I didn’t adapt to is that I couldn’t find a button to release the trunk. I didn’t want to look it up and gave myself the challenge of locating it. It never happened, so I just had to use the remote:
How Does It Drive?
If this were a crossover, I’d probably be giving it a lot of Mazda-like praise. With 400 lb-ft of combined torque, much of which comes from electric motors, it scoots. The transmission is also a big differentiator here, as it does this with a bit more theater than your typical Toyota hybrid.
That’s because this is the HybridMax powertrain, which is more similar to what you find in the larger crossovers than a Prius. The combo of a MacPherson strut-type front suspension and multi-link rear with a stabilizer bar is also fairly common, although the HybridMax does get slightly larger diameter stabilizer bars.
Again, for a crossover, it handles quite well. In this trim, you’re getting the eAxle out back, so there’s always at least some power going back there, as opposed to the basic hybrid.
Sitting behind the steering wheel, the high seating position makes you feel like you’re driving a crossover, but the car’s center of gravity is a little lower. Also, it’s a sedan. Right? I think. I think it’s a sedan.
For a sedan, it also handles well, but at more than 4,300 pounds, it doesn’t feel like a car. It seems like Toyota is trying to counter this with a steering wheel that’s equally heavily boosted. It works, mostly, but on some twisty back roads in Connecticut, the Crown’s ability to stay between the lines came at the expense of feel and communication. The car did what I wanted it to, but it wasn’t much of a conversation.
That would probably work for Frank. It doesn’t work as well for me.
I guess Toyota looked at what Subaru was doing so successfully with the Outback and thought it should do the same, but in its own strange way.
I Like It, But I’d Probably Like It Better For About $9,000 Less
Frank is a math guy. His life has always been numbers. I’m more of an emotional guy. I am motivated by feelings. That part of me sees the HybridMax as the only one to get, even if my fully decked out version is an uncomfortable $56,600 delivered.
That includes the upcharge for Bronze Age paint, the leather-trimmed seats, and all the rest. It feels nice in the Crown, and yet, no one would see it as a showy or flashy car.
I did go on Toyota’s configurator and built a Toyota Crown Limited with the non-Max hybrid system, and it was only $47,570, even with the extra charge for Supersonic Red paint. That’s $9,000 less in a vehicle that gets 13 MPG better fuel economy in the city than the one I drove.
If I’m buying this, do I care if it’s slower? I don’t think I do. Toyota doesn’t break down Crown sales by powertrain, but it does break it down by bodystyle. The Crown Signia, which looks like a crossover, outsells the sedan by 2-to-1.
I’ll try to get the Signia version in the base hybrid to see if that’s maybe the one for me, although a strange part of me likes the sedan better because it doesn’t look like anything else you could buy.
As a postscript ot this, the next car Frank bought was a Lexus LX470. It’s not a vehicle I’d have bought new at the time, being too large and flashy for my high school tastes. Now? I’d rock one. Perhaps in time we’ll all look back on the Crown sedan the same way we do the AMC Eagle. Time makes weirdos of us all.
All photos Matt Hardigree
I like these but I think the crossover version is the one to get just cause it has a hatch.
I tend to like weird cars that most American’s don’t as well. I loved the Merkur XR4Ti, liked the Honda CrossTour and I like the Crown.
I suppose the bean counters and marketing gurus decided there was a segment of the population who would be interested in this. If you feel you need a crossover, get one. If you know that a sedan is more practical from an actuarial standpoint, get a sedan. This is a sedan for people who need a hip point that is higher to get in and out of while not admitting they bought a blob-shaped crossover. The 2026 Honda Accord is as handsome and restrained as can be for most modern sedan shaped things go. In top Hybrid trim it’s about $40k. Yes it has half the HP of that $56k Werther’s Original lozenge on wheels, but it’s what an actual actuary should purchase.
Seems more Venza than Avalon?
You should have asked him why he worked for an HR company instead of an insurance company or an insurance consulting firm.
Crown Limited owner chiming in here. I consider this a luxury, lifted-sedan crossover. The step in height is tall, and definitely nowhere near a sedan. The interior space, features, and appointments are really high quality. My spouse and I are drawn to niche cars, and this definitely fits. We also wanted a trunk, since we didn’t want any electronics or luggage visible when we travel. We are not empty nesters and are aware that the back seat is way luxurious for our kids and dog.
Yes, the 19″ wheels are comically large. After two years, I am only barely used-to them.
The power delivery is good. The glass roof is fun. The electronics were cutting edge. The exterior trunk release location is a major fail. (They moved it over to make room for a central camera and proximity sensors. It is located at the top of the “W” in ‘Crown’.)
We love our “pretentious pod”.
It’s a shame that Toyota Doesn’t sell the Crown Sport in the US. It looks like a budget Macan/Purossangue and is actually attractive.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Toyota/comments/17hv4jw/2024_toyota_crown_sport_suv_phev/
The standard crown isn’t super appealing to me. But the Signia with the PHEV…that could be a winner.
This kind of reminds me of the Hot Wheels from the late 80’s/early 90’s with the oversized wheels (EDIT: it was the Speed Fleet line with the wheels in the top image: https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Ferrari_Testarossa_(1987).
While it tickles a little bit of the idea of driving a Hot Wheels car wish, it also has some of the visual weirdness of the early Mercedes crossover sedans but slightly better executed. They always manage to catch my eye, but I’m just not quite sure if it’s in a good way or bad…
We own a Crown limited, and I will never disagree with you that it always looks like the 19″ wheels were drawn on by a middle schooler. That said, it is a quirky car, and we love it.
I like how Toyota sends the wonky one to the US and keeps the pretty one for themselves xD
https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/toyota/39935774.html
Ohhh, that is pretty!
Dammit Toyota, don’t do this to us! Give us the good looking Crown and a Corolla Hatchback with a hybrid (that last bit is for me and no, the Prius isn’t close enough).
Give us the friggin’ Corolla WAGON with the PHEV, because the hatchback is severely cramped (for some reason, ever since the mid 90’s, the Corolla hatch has been decidedly smaller than literally every other manufacturer’s compact hatchback for whatever odd reason.
The wagon isn’t a bad looking car at all, but I prefer the smaller proportions of the hatch plus I honestly think it’s a great looking little car.
It’s just frustrating that they’ve hybridized pretty much every other vehicle in the lineup except THAT one…
*EDIT cards on the table, I’d prefer a PHEV but happily settle for a hybrid.
My hunch would be that the Prius engineers smacked the hands of the Corolla hatch team and said ‘Don’t you DARE sell the hybridized hatch in the NA market!’ I’ve learned that manufacturing engineers are weirdly protective of their products. Ergo, things like why Jeep’s team threw a big enough fit to can the off-road oriented Grand Caravan with a Jeep derived AWD system back in the 90’s, etc. ad nauseam.
Though the current Prius is admittedly a very cool and insanely practical design, and according to several of my car guy friends whose spouses have them… drive WAY better than they should. Toyota really listened to their customers, for once, and actually dialed in a bit of spritely-ness into the Prius. It ain’t no GR, but it won’t bore you to death like the earlier iterations. I see a lot of them on the roads here in metro Denver, and I actually like the design.
Still rather a PHEV Corolla Wagon but I think the other Corolla engineers and the Prii Guys would erupt into clamoring and screeching like furious baboons…
Holy CRAP that looks good!!!
Still disappointed this fastback is not also a hatchback (right, Jason?), but its looks have grown on me, and I love this bronze color. Altho marketed as ‘crossovers’ I like them most for not being just another lifted 2-box design, and their rarity makes them interesting. I’m not surprised the wagon outsells the sedan 2-to-1, a friend just got a Signia last week, and he reports the eCVT is better than expected, but I have yet to experience it.
This is the car I’ve been trying to get my older, retired, single, um daddy friend to look at. His awesome LS430 blew a head gasket a couple years ago. He likes his ES replacement but its too low, kinda cramped, and his knees are getting creaky. (he says it’s “sporty” lol)
Is he single or is he your daddy friend? Those are two very different things.
both!
I like how this piece was crafted. The context of a very peculiar man and his tastes as the backdrop is playful and while I’m sure it’s been done before, I enjoy it. Cars like this aren’t really about passionate driving experiences or lust for something beautiful. They are cars for real people who have quirks and odd traits. Seeing how the Crown (in my opinion) is indeed a bit of an oddball, I think that framing the piece up like this makes perfect sense.
This is writing, this is interesting, this is what creates a human connection and an emotional response. I don’t really care about this car and unless it falls into my range of heavily depreciated but still good (but since it’s a Toyota, it never will) I will never buy it. Getting me hooked in and enjoying the writing about a car that I have zero interest in is a job well done.
Agreed. I had this sitting in an open tab for the better part of a day because I’m not particularly interested in the car. Once I started reading it drew me in.
I think I am squarely in the demo for this. I own a Prius, but for my next car I think I want something a bit “nicer”. I also don’t feel the need to spend the money on a Lexus. Traditionally the Avalon was discussed by car mags as basically a Lexus with a a Toyota badge, so if the Crown still fills that role, great.
My Prius is going on 13 years old, so maybe the new Prius will be sufficiently “nicer” in my book and $10k cheaper, but I’ll also check out the Crown Signia and see if it is worth the extra coin and reduced gas mileage.
While I generally prefer the utility of the Signia vs. the Crown Sedan, the biggest hurdle for me is the black plastic trim they put on the Crown’s doors that I think just looks out of place. I’d have to buy the Crown in black to make it go away, but I’d rather buy this bronze color or their dark blue “Storm cloud” color.
I love the phrase “basically a Lexus with a a Toyota badge” I have never thought of a Lexus as anything other than a Toyota with a different badge 🙂
My friend from the UK told me how the Crown is Toyota’s flagship around most of the world, and they are commonly used to perform limo duty, picking up executives at airports and such. This explains why the backseat space has more priority than trunk space.
You can hate on the plastic on the sides, but I saw a brand new Mercedes crossover with these on there. Also, do people complain about the same thing on the Macan?
I actually noticed it on a Macan in traffic the other day and also didn’t like it.
Porsche does allow you the privilege to pay them to paint it body color.
A buddy of mine bought a used Macan S and pointed out that upgrade on his.
I don’t think the Toyota Crown is as much a version of Subaru’s Lifted Everything mantra as it is a stab at a bargain-edition entry-lux Mercedes / BMW “coupe” small crossovers, the GLC and the X6. Marketed to couples of the upper middle class in their 50s in their conspicuous consumption era with a lot of travel time on their hands. And sure, every one of these vehicles in the segment is an oddball, but the Crown is the cheapest one by far.
I had a similar observation that the Crown is a better executed version of the early Merc/BMW (I forgot BMW did this too) crossover sedans.
I like weird cars too. But is this weird? Hmmm. Can’t imagine choosing this, but I guess I’d keep it if I needed a car and an elderly relative died and passed it on.
I mean, that’s probably the best way to get hold of a nice used Toyota. Depending on how fond of the relative you were, of course.
What if your a whole household of weirdos who drive weird cars, then is this normal? I (asking for a friend, lol)…
Am I the only one who thinks that those wheels just look way too big, at least from the side view? Other than that, it’s the kind of weirdness I could go for. Apart from the young empty-nesters, I could also see it being sold to older retirees like me, who need a nice sedan to cart folks around in when they come to visit but who will have another car that’s either more economical or more fun to drive on more of a daily basis. (We have an Accord for that purpose.) And yeah, north of $50K is a lot, but isn’t the average new car going for somewhere around $50K now?
I strongly dislike both this and the wagon version. It feels like a car designed by a committee who couldn’t agree on a purpose and just sort of lumped as many things together as possible. I never liked the Avalon but I understood its role. I don’t get the point of this.
I think they messed up when they tried to Americanize it for North America.
I like this and yet cannot clearly articulate why. It is funky and unlike anything else on the road (the Crown Signia sibling by comparison is stunning but more conservatively styled).
I would buy the lower trim all day. I do not need the power and appreciate the efficiency, space, and comfort.