Sedan or crossover? It is the 2023 Toyota Crown

The Toyota Crown is a long-standing nameplate that is as important as the Camry or Land Cruiser for the Japanese brand. Though the stately sedan did appear on our shores in the past, it could not replicate the success it still enjoys in its homeland. Now, the Crown is going international again, but with a catch. It is not a regal sedan anymore, but some kind of high-riding crossover coupe. Welcome, to the 2023 Toyota Crown.

Exterior design

The 2023 Toyota Crown seems to have a definite influence from the Toyota bZ4X EV crossover. Toyota offers it with a dual-tone paint job which allows you to have a different colour, not just for the roof but also for the bonnet and rear end. The top-end model of the 2023 Toyota Crown lineup, the Platinum Crown comes with 21-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels.

Interior

The Toyota Crown is a luxury offering in Japan, acting as a bridge between the standard Toyota and the luxurious Lexus. In China, it has even grown into its own separate brand. Hence, the 2023 Toyota Crown has a lot to do in the luxury department. For the top models, the seat upholstery of choice is real cowhide. The seats themselves come with heating and ventilation at the front and just heating at the rear. There is a standard sunroof as well.

The interior also gets a 12.3-inch infotainment system that has 4G capability, along with wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite will appear in all Crowns as standard.

Hybrid engine

Peel away the controversial skin, the 2023 Toyota Crown has some good equipment under it. The powertrain choices include two Toyota hybrid units. The base trims get a standard 2.5-litre four-cylinder unit, coupled with Toyota’s fourth-gen hybrid tech. An e-CVT is offered along with it as the lone transmission option. The fuel-efficiency figures are quite good as expected, at 6.18 litres/100 km.

Stepping up the game is a new Hybrid Max powertrain. This unit uses a turbocharged 2.4-litre engine and two electric motors. The total output of this system is 340 hp. But this increase in power comes with a drop in fuel efficiency. The fancier Crowns will sip 8.4 litres/100 km of fuel. The transmission used for this powertrain is a 6-speed torque convertor with paddle shifters.

AWD system

All trims get all-wheel-drive but the range-topping Platinum gets something special. It is the first vehicle to get Toyota’s E-Four Advanced AWD system that can route up to 80 percent of the power to the rear wheels. The Platinum also gets standard Adaptive Variable Suspension for better control over the body roll. It also adds two additional drive modes over the lower trims.

Toyota has not announced the prices for the 2023 Toyota Crown. We feel the Crown has a strong chance to reach our shores in UAE, Saudi Arabia and rest of the GCC as a replacement for the now defunct Avalon model.

Keep track of the latest prices and specs in the Toyota buyer guide.