Next-Gen Toyota Crown Details Unveiled – 3 Body Styles, PHEV Options Available

Throughout its history, the Toyota Crown has always been the brand’s upmarket mid-size saloon. However, due to the gradual popularity drop of sedans nowadays, the automaker has decided to go another route in continuing the Crown’s legacy.

For its sixteenth redux, Toyota has decided to take the SUV route, launching the all-new Toyota Crown in the form of a lifted fastback for the North American market. Beyond this new crossover shape, Toyota has also kept a few things under its sleeves regarding the other versions of the new Crown, until now.

Toyota has revealed today that the sixteenth-gen Crown will also come in three other versions, namely Sport, Sedan, as well as Estate. The former two versions are poised to make its Japanese debut later in Fall this year, while the wagon version will make theirs in 2024.

All three versions will come with hybrid powertrain, with the sedan being the sole version to get a hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) powertrain, with the other two granted with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version each. While the exact details on the powertrain options are yet to be disclosed, we’ve learned that the Sedan will be the sole model to come with a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) option, while both the Sport and Estate will come with all-wheel drive (AWD) configuration.

As for the underpinnings, all four next-gen Crown models are based on Toyota’s latest TNGA platform – the same platform used in several ‘civilian’ models like the Corolla Cross Sport and the new Prius, as well as performance-oriented ones like the GR Corolla. This, in turn, promises all the new Crowns to have excellent driving performance and better stability.

In terms of styling, all four Crown models feature a somewhat familiar design language, with the most notable differences being the body style itself. While the sedan rides on staggered wheels setup measuring 19- and 20-inch, both the Sport and Estate model rock the bigger 21-inch wheels as standard.

As for the interior, all three upcoming models boast a similar-looking cabin design, with all of them sporting the five-seat configuration, as mentioned earlier. While the Estate and Sedan variants are shown to sport a more elegance and classy interior design, with the latter even featuring wood veneer trims, the Sport version rocks a more sporty-oriented design, primed with dual-tone red and black finish – a la Toyota GR.

Dimension-wise, the Sedan version is the biggest among the three upcoming models revealed, measuring 5,030 MM long, 1,890 MM wide and a wheelbase of 3,000 MM flat – making it slightly bigger than its ‘low-market’ twin, the Toyota Camry.

The Estate version, on the other hand, sits in the middle of the pack, measuring 4,930 MM long, 1,880 MM wide and a wheelbase of 2,850 MM.

The smallest amongst the bunch is the Sport version, only clocking 4,710 MM in length and a wheelbase of 2,770 MM. In spite of its shorter length, this lifted hatchback has the same width as the Estate, which makes it the sportiest version of the three – as its moniker suggests.

The sixteenth-gen Toyota Crown is set to be sold in more than 40 regional markets across the globe, with its home market – Japan – being the first in line to get them. The automaker projects a total sales volume of 200,000 units globally by 2024, where all four versions of the Crown will be available.

Whether our Malaysian market was included in those 40 countries list remains a mystery, but judging by the past, Toyota Malaysia has never brought in the Crown into our local market officially. But, given the popularity of some special Toyota models in our market, perhaps it is finally time for UMW Toyota Motor to officially launch this upmarket mid-size vehicle into our local market space.