When rumours about the 16th generation Crown would be turned into an SUV crossover leaked out last year, it sounded to me that it was the end of a long story. The new crossover would be just a Crown by name, a trick to keep the long serving nameplate (since 1955) exist. So it is a shock to see Akio Toyoda standing in front of not just a new crossover but 4 different looking cars carrying the same "Crown" label at the press conference today. While none of them can be said carrying the bloodline of traditional Crown, they do start a new chapter and hopefully could secure the future of the brand.

The old Crown has to be put into grave, because there is simply no market prospect for a non-German mass production luxury sedan these days, especially when sales is bounded in Japan. Even though Crown was famous in its home market, there are simply too few customers to keep it profitable. In its hey days, it sold more than 200,000 units a year, but that dropped to only 22,000 by 2020.

But the new generation should be different. When Hiroki Nakajima, the boss of Toyota's mid-size cars division, presented his proposal for the 16th gen model to Akio Toyoda 2 and a half years ago, Toyoda thought its evolution was too mild and requested his guy to come up with a more radical proposal. Nakajima came back with not one but 4 cars, including the leading proposal of an SUV crossover. Surprisingly, they were greenlighted by Toyoda.



So here comes 4 different Crowns. The first to reach showrooms from this fall will be the SUV crossover. It looks like a jacked-up sporty sedan, with a streamline shape, sexy waistline yet offering crossover kind of high ride height and elevated seating position (about 100mm higher than conventional sedan), which brings a commanding view on the road that motorists love these days.

The other 3 body styles will be launched in the next one and a half years following the crossover. These include Sedan, Sport and Estate (see pictures below). The Sedan looks a bit like Toyota Mirai in shape. It is a conventional sedan, targetting at traditional customers of the nameplate, many would be used as company cars and driven by chauffeurs. Sport is a very sporty-looking SUV, striking enough to shame Aston Martin DBX and obviously targetting at younger customers. Meanwhile, Estate is a more conventional, space and utility-oriented SUV. They greatly expand the customer portfolio of Crown.

But most important, with heavier investment, the Crown would be sold globally again. Toyota plans to sell them in 40 countries and capture 200,000 sales a year. The crossover will arrive North America before the end of this year, taking the place left by Avalon sedan. The last time Crown was sold in the USA was exactly 50 years ago.



At the moment, it is not known if the other 3 Crown variants ride on the same underpinnings. Car and Driver suggests that the Sedan might be derived from Mirai thus is rear-driven, while the Sport looks to be a smaller car, probably derived from another platform. Anyway, we'll know soon.

Regarding the Crossover, it rides on the TNGA-K platform of Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES, so goodbye to longitudinal powertrains and rear-drive, welcome transverse engine driving the front wheels and an electric rear axle. Suspension is expectedly MacPerson struts up front and multi-link setup at the rear, while AVS adaptive dampers will be available to top trim.

Unlike the aforementioned platform-mates, the Crown Crossover won't be offered with V6 engine. There are still 2 powertrain options, but both are 4-cylinder hybrid. The base powertrain is basically the same as as that of Camry Hybrid and ES300h, consists of 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine and Toyota's traditional hybrid system with a planetary CVT and 2 motors. It offers a combined 236 horsepower, is oriented to fuel efficiency and smoothness rather than performance. Expect 38 mpg in EPA combined cycle. A small electric motor is used at the rear axle to offer 4WD functionality, but only when under demand, such as slipping. In normal driving, the car is front-driven.



The top powertrain employs a 2.4-liter turbo four, while the hybrid system is completely different. Instead of planetary CVT, it uses a 6-speed automatic transmission with a multi-plate wet clutch so that it should offer quicker response. There is only one electric motor up front, housed within the transmission casing and does the job of both propulsion and regeneration, so not quite as energy effiicient (expect 28 mpg combined). A more powerful, water-cooled electric motor is employed at the rear axle. This means it can provide permanent 4WD that the base powertrain cannot. Combined output of the system is said to be 350 horsepower in Japan or 340 in the US, accompanied with 406 lbft of torque. Both powertrain options employ Toyota's bipolar NiMH battery pack mounted under the rear seat.

Strangely, neither full electric nor PHEV version is planned. It might be a tough sell in Europe. In fact, I suspect it won't be available to Europe.

The Crown crossover measures 4930mm long, 1840mm wide and 2850mm in wheelbase, a bit longer and wider but shorter in wheelbase than the outgoing generation. Its height is 1540mm, 85mm taller than before, but not as high as most other SUV crossovers. Though without figures, the sleek roofline and full underbody panelling should keep aerodynamic drag low.



With standard hybrid powertrain, rear axle motor and old-school NiMH battery, they won't be lightweight (again no figures are available at the moment). I suspect even the 350 hp model won't be perceived as a performance car. After all, the Crown is supposed to be a luxury car. No matter how radical or different it looks now, its substances barely change. Maybe Akio Toyoda is right. What defines Crown is not its shape, powertrain layout or engine configuration, but the fact that it aims to bring luxury motoring to the mass market. From this perspective, the 16th gen just works in the way as the 1955 original. A great nameplate is saved today.

Crown Sedan:



Crown Sport:



Crown Estate: