The Toyota Crown may seem like a brand new model to us, but in reality… it’s been a staple of the Japanese automotive market since the mid-50’s. Marketed as a mid-size luxury vehicle, it first hit our shores after a decades-long hiatus, as a sorta sleek, lifted, mid-sized luxury crossover inspired sedan. Big pros are sharp exterior styling, excellent fuel economy with a combined rating of 41 mpg, and an extremely quiet, smooth ride. Often described as a bigger, more comfortable Toyota Prius. Which we mean as a very good thing.
Areas of weakness would include a small trunk and not so powerful 2.5L 4-cylinder engine that only makes 236 combined system horsepower. For a larger, heavy sedan, you won’t find neck snapping acceleration in the 2023 Toyota Crown. The Platinum model is billed as the ‘high performance’ model since it gets a turbocharger. The addition of the forced induction helps it produce a much more respectable 340 hp. This may seem like a big number, but the 6-speed automatic CVT transmission is geared for smooth, polite acceleration more than aggressive, raw speed.
While the extra 104 hp is nice, you’ll sacrifice over 150 miles of fuel range. Even though both models have the same 14.5-gallon tank. Something to strongly consider when weighing the benefits of both. Way more performance or way more range. Sorry, you can’t have both. The 2023 Toyota Crown is a rare offering these days. The combination of a large 4-door sedan, that’s AWD and offers a hybrid powertrain feels increasingly rare outside of the high-priced luxury sedan market. In this regard, the Crown stands unchallenged in many respects. The combination of soft, quiet comfort, with a spacious interior and a distinctly styled exterior are a great start. Add in AWD with crossover-like ground clearance and excellent fuel economy in the non-turbo model, and suddenly you have a reliable Toyota with undeniable appeal.
Price as tested: $50,020.00
