Toyota Unveils Details About Its Newest Crown Model — What Is It Like?

Toyota's Crown model is back and better than ever following a four-year hiatus.

The popular automaker recently unveiled the specifications of four new Toyota Crown models, which is the result of the company's "serious" reexamination of what "Crown" is.

Toyota's Crown model mostly fell out of the public's attention since its last model, the Toyota Crown 2.0, was released in 2018, per Toyota.

2023 Toyota Crown Details and Specifications

Toyota mentioned in its announcement that its upcoming Crown Crossover type is the result of its pursuit of a "Crown for a new era," which comes in the form of four completely new models, the Crossover type, Sport type, Sedan type, and Estate type.

The automaker stated that each model has its own unique feel while having the DNA of any Crown model: that of innovation and limit-pushing. It also added that these models are expected to meet diverse values and customer lifestyles.

For instance, the Crossover type is a new style that combines a sedan and an SUV, while the Sport provides drivers a "sporty" driving experience with an enticing atmosphere and an easy-to-drive package. On the other hand, the Sedan features a new formal design that meets "the needs of chauffeurs," while the Estate is a functional SUV with a mature atmosphere and ample driving space.

However, three of the four models will be released at a later time as the Crossover type will be the first to hit dealers' garages.

The 2023 Crown Crossover Type is equipped with an exterior design that conveys a "sense of strength" that screams fluidity and dynamism" while expressing a completely new form of a flagship vehicle for a new era.

The car's headlights and taillights are said to be connected, forming a single straight line to express "sophistication through surface cariation."

Furthermore, its tires feature large diameters that break the sedan stereotype. This feature, when combined with its body structure, makes the Crossover type's style neither a sedan's nor an SUV's.

Moving on to its inner machinery, the Crossover type comes with a basic 2.5-liter Series parallel Hybrid System that can reportedly achieve class-leading fuel economy and quietness while not interrupting the quality and driving performance supposedly unique to Toyota Crown models.

CNET mentioned that this setup is very similar to the one found in the current RAV4 Hybrid, but with some tweaks to make the Crossover type's horsepower at 236 while having a fuel economy at around 38 mpg combined.

Drivers can also choose to have the car powered by a performance-oriented 2.4-liter Turbo hybrid system, which combines an inline 4-cylinder turbo engine that allegedly produces powerful torque even at low RPM, and a newly-developed bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery.

This combination linearly responds to the accelerator's operation from the driver by creating a "driving feel" with a sense of comfortable acceleration.

Lastly, the Crossover type is built on Toyota's New Global Architecture K (TNGA-K), the same base used for the Camry, RAV4, Highlander, and Sienna.

The utilization of such an architecture means that the Crown has almost a low to no chance of seeing a Polestar2-battling, fully electric version of the tall sedan.

Toyota 2023 Crown Crossover Type Availability and Release Date

Toyota mentioned that the 2023 Crown Crossover type would be released around Autumn 2022 in Japan, while CNET believes that the car will be available globally near the end of 2022.

While Toyota didn't disclose a specific price for the Crossover type, Auto Blog places the car's price tag to be somewhere in a range of $43,000 to $50,000, along with Crown's three other models.