2023 Toyota Crown SUV?
Here comes the all new 2023 Toyota crown. Yes, it’s an SUV, sort of. Lately in the car market, many people people all over planet earth seem to be having a sort of an SUV rush. Statistics have it that in 2020, over 30 million SUVS were sold. Believe me, that’s a lot of SUVs. This also means that other car types like saloons and hatch backs are not having good days with sales reducing drastically over the years as many people move off to SUVs. Well, Toyota and many other manufacturers seem to be taking quite a notice of this. This then seems to be the reason why Toyota has decided to bring us a merger between an SUV and a sedan. Confused? Well, let me explain. The new Toyota Crown actually does come in four body types with Toyota having decided to make the Crown name a family of their flagship cars. Okay, more on that later. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here.
Exterior
As shown in the pictures above, the new Toyota Crown does seem a bit unusual; in a good way. Well, looks are subjective but I personally like what’s happening here. The front fascia is blessed with thin headlights giving it a mean-angry look. 21 inch wheels dress the platinum trim giving it a very stately look. Other trims get 19 inchers. Much of the grill located below the lights does give off some nods to the well known Toyota Avalon, which by the way the crown replaces as the flagship model. Remember the Avalon? Well let me help you a bit. Here comes the Avalon below.
Toyota Avalon
Remember now? The lower grill does seem quite similar apart from a few tweaks here and there; which is a good thing actually. The Avalon does deserve a graceful send off to be honest. The new Toyota Crown now has a 4 inch lift from terra firma; which is one of the many SUV characteristics adorning it. Although pictures might not do it much justice, its aesthetic presentation is being likened to SUVs like the BMW X4, Audi Q3 sport back because of that sloping roof line. Most notably, the new Crown does not have a lift back tail gate like many of the fore mentioned models. You know, those tail gates that open fully with the rear glass? Like the Volkswagen Arteon’s tail gate. It has always been a trend for such designs but Toyota seems to have skipped that party with the new Crown.
The Crown comes in three models namely XLE, Limited and Platinum with all versions getting all wheel drive. Sounds familiar? Yes, most SUVs come with all wheel drive setups as well. The new Crown is also based on Toyota’s new global architecture (TNGA-K) platform with a few tweaks to favor stiffness. The platinum model which is the fully loaded trim gets adaptive variable suspension which means the suspension can be adjusted depending on drive mode selected.
There goes what I was talking about earlier. The rear three quarter view does give off the gist of what Toyota was doing. The rear lights are designed to contemplate the front lights with the same slim minimalist kind of design. It sure does look like an SUV. Actually, Toyota calls it the Crossover.
Interior
Enough of what people see. Let’s talk about what you will be seeing if you decide to buy the new Toyota Crown. Well, that’s a nice looking interior, isn’t it? The Crown’s interior is not as complex as we are used to seeing these days with many new cars. You are immediately greeted with two 12.3 inch screens with one being a digital instrument cluster for the driver putting out clean and crisp graphics for the tachometer and speedo along with other functions like driver assistance alerts and more. The other screen is a 12.3 inch display for the infotainment which comes with Toyota’s latest software interface. Apple car play and android auto are integrated on all models and are all wirelessly connected.
Engine and transmission.
The Toyota Crown comes with two hybrid power trains. Most of Toyota’s recent projects are seen to be favoring electrification. Not just for small cars or mid-size SUVs, but also for large and in-charge full-size SUVs and pick-up trucks like the new Sequioa and Tacoma for the American market respectively.
The new Crown in XLE and Limited trims come with a 2.5L four cylinder engine mated to an electric CVT with three electric motors. This engine produces 236 horse power. The platinum gets the new hybrid system which Toyota refers to as the hybrid max which utilizes a 2.4L turbo charged engine and an electric motor on the rear axle giving a total output power of 340 horses. The hybrid max system is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission with all wheel drive being standard for all powertrain setups as earlier mentioned.
For more details on the all wheel drive system, the basic 2.5L hybrid system gets an all wheel drive system named the E-4 AWD system which can split drive power 100 percent front and Zero rear or 80 percent rear and 20 percent front.
The hybrid max all wheel drive system named the E-4 advanced AWD system can split drive power 70 percent front and 30 percent rear or 20 percent front and 80 percent rear.
Safety and driver assistance features.
Toyota has equipped the new Crown with their latest and greatest suite of driver assistance features which is the Toyota safety sense version 3.0 with full speed dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist, lane tracing assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic monitoring and hill start assist.
The fully loaded platinum trim model gets an advanced hands free parking feature which can control the car’s steering wheel, brakes and shift gears automatically when engaged.
Fuel economy
Toyota estimates that the base hybrid system which has the 2.5L four cylinder engine is well able to return up to 38 mpg while the hybrid max’s 2.4L turbo four popper is claimed to deliver up to 28 mpg. EPA results however are not yet confirmed and this could change quite a bit. Check in with me after a few days we see what EPA has to say about economy. We can however anticipate better fuel efficiency in the long run as we know Toyota does know a thing or two about hybrid power trains as seen in the past.
The Crown Family
Toyota Crown Models
Toyota recently unveiled four models under the crown name with the one we have mentioned above dubbed the Crown crossover. Next we have the Crown sport which has a striking exterior seeming to promise lots of performance and handling but as it is, not much is known about it and only time will tell what Toyota has up its sleeves for this good looking model. The next model in line is the sedan. This is actually what most of us were used to. This car as described by Toyota is well suited for chauffeuring and luxury drives. More like an BMW 7 series competitor? Maybe. The last model, the estate, is designed to offer ultimate versatility for cargo and occupant opulence. Toyota has it that these models will be rolled out in succession over the next year and a half. That can only mean that we will have to wait and see.
Well that’s it for me today. We can only wait to get more infor about this models in the coming months. One thing for sure is, Toyota could have a volume seller on their hands.
