Let’s all give the awesome 2024 Toyota Crown Sedan a royal welcome, shall we?
The Toyota Crown crossover, Crown Sedan, Crown Sport, and Crown Estate all made their first appearance in July last year. The first to be unwrapped at that same event was the crossover type, and fast forward to the middle of last week, the sedan has finally made its appearance as well. What you see here is the actual production unit which, on the outside is not much different from the event held last year. This time, we get a better look at what’s in it so without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Toyota Crown Sedan is the 2nd of 4 different new Crown models
Photo: Toyota
Now in its 16th generation, Toyota seems to have planned something rather unique for the Crown. Yes, the Sedan still exists – as we can all see here – but alongside it will also have a crossover (which, again, was the first to be launched), a “Sport”, and an “Estate”. We’re here for the sedan today, of course. After all, that is what the Crown has always been, and we’re glad Toyota’s put as much effort into this as with the other models.
Photo: Toyota
Despite being labeled a sedan, it takes on more of a fastback look. Slim headlights with an LED DRL spanning the entire width of the front end make it look very elegant and sporty at the same time. The vertically-slatted bumper grill might take some getting used to, but it’s quite a novel take by Toyota and it does make the Crown sedan look more… stately.
The taillights likewise get a slim assembly treatment, with a pretty minimalist Toyota badge and a stylized C R O W N emblem finding their way to the rear. Of all the colors, we think it all comes together the best with the specimen you see in the photos.
As all Crowns of the past have been, this is still a massive car measuring 5,030 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, and 1,470 mm tall. It’s a Crown, alright.
Photo: Toyota
Inside you’ll find why this badge deserves to be in the upper echelon of Toyota models. The materials, the build, the design, and the look are all impeccably classy inside the Crown sedan’s cabin. Dubbed “Island Architecture”, the use of sleek and sharply angled lines plus the use of leather and dark faux wood panels up the elegance factor of this vehicle, so much so that it’s very comparable to Toyota’s more “upper crust” Lexus models.
Given its 3-meter wheelbase, that translates into a lot of room for passengers in the rear. Not much has been released as to what creature comforts can be found in the Crown sedan, but we do know that it has a 64-tone LED color switching positioned at both ends of the instrument panel, in the leg space of the front seats, and on the sides of the rear door trims, as well as relaxation features (we can assume heated and cooled seats and maybe even a massage function) and power sunshades.
Photo: Toyota
Two powertrains are available under the hood of the Crown sedan, and buyers can take their pick between a 2.5-liter Multi-Stage Hybrid System or a High-performance FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) system. The former most likely puts out the same as that of the Crown crossover, which might be in the region of 230-250 HP. As for the latter, it makes use of Hydrogen and a fuel cell and boasts of an 820-kilometer range with every 3 minutes worth of Hydrogen refill.
Optimized suspension settings and control over damping force with an Adaptive Vehicle Suspension system ensure that unevenness on road surfaces won’t bother occupants inside the Crown sedan, while also minimizing body roll on turns and vibrations from rough roads.
Photo: Toyota
So the important question is whether the Crown sedan will make its way to the Philippines. Frankly, that’s going to be a pretty long shot. We did compare it to a Lexus, but we already have a robust lineup of Lexus models locally. While the pricing of the Crown sedan (in Japanese Yen, and very roughly converted) does come within the range of a Lexus, we aren’t banking on this model seeing the light of day in the country.
For now, we can only stand on the sidelines and marvel at this awesome and extremely classy Crown; another model that Toyota whets our appetites with, only to be able to ogle at it from the opposite side of a monitor.
Or from the sidewalks of Japan if any of us ever make it there are see one in the metal.
