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When I was in middle and high school, the “cool kids” didn’t find you “cool” if you didn’t show off the latest limited-edition Nikes, a jockey and horse from Polo Ralph Lauren, or the bright red ‘box logo’ of cult skateboarding brand Supreme.
I didn’t go to some snobby prep school, but I remember that the “rich kid” a grade below me got tired of the Louis Vuitton Neverfull they used as a book bag for the year. Come September the next school year, they returned with a more expensive Goyard tote personalized with a hand-painted monogram of their initials.
Cars are no different. The societal pressure to “keep up appearances” can influence people to spend more than they can afford on a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi.
Toyota may have its elite Lexus brand, but its most opulent vehicle offers luxury car features without the scorn of a luxury car badge or an excessive price.
This is the Toyota Crown. It is an unusual, comfortable luxury sedan that will rewrite your idea of luxury.
A luxurious beginning
First introduced in 1955, the Crown sedan is notable for being the first Japanese car to hit the streets of the United States.
Imported and sold from 1958 to 1972, the Crown didn’t fare much success in the United States compared to Toyota’s subsequent models, but it was later known as one of Japan’s swankiest rides.
For much of its history, the Crown’s extensive list of features and upscale styling attracted a discerning buyer class in the land of the rising sun. It became a preferred ride for government officials and business people and has appeared as the chariot of choice for organized crime figures known as the Yakuza in Japanese movies and TV.
The Crown’s influence is reflected in the names of the Toyotas we know and love today. Camry is derived from ‘kan-muri,’ the word for Crown in Japanese, while Corolla means ‘small crown’ in Latin.
Today, the Crown is the name for Toyota’s swankiest North American offering and its most excellent value for money.
Unusual, aggressive styling
The Toyota Crown’s design features some very edgy styling, but on the outside, keen observers would notice that, unlike most “sedans,” the Crown sits very high for a car of its shape.
Besides giving it a unique look, the Crown’s raised suspension offers some quality-of-life improvements you overlook until you get behind the wheel of a different sedan.
First, the increased ride height makes getting in and out of the Crown much more accessible and less painful on your body than in most other sedans, especially those from luxury marques.
In contrast to other low-slung four-doors, the extra inches put you at eye level with all the crossover SUVs Americans tend to drive. It is not as high as a Chevy Tahoe, but seeing the faces of drivers behind the wheel of CR-Vs, Explorers, and other family cars initially felt weird, but it put me at ease the longer I drove.
Under the hood of this Crown Platinum is a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine. Combined with its two electric motors, it generates 340 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, which is transferred to pavement through a standard all-wheel-drive system.
In bumper-to-bumper traffic or at cruising speeds around town, the Crown floats at a gentle pace. It is eerily quiet, which is in large part due to the electric motors.
But the moment you put your foot down, the turbocharged motor and electric motors work together to pin you back into your seat and make you rethink all your biases about hybrids.
Zero to sixty miles per hour takes just 5.7 seconds, and the car can reach a limited top speed of 130 miles per hour. This car is fast, and it feels the part, too.
Though this car’s raised suspension can feel like a tall SUV, it feels sharper around tight corners, especially when switched to Sport + mode.
The Toyota Platinum version of the Crown is equipped with Adaptive Variable Suspension, which adjusts itself on the fly to ensure a smooth ride. In Sport + mode, the trick suspension system works alongside other bits of the car to “[provide] an emphasis on steering response, flat cornering, and a sense of stability.”
My only criticism about this car’s driving feel is that you feel its weight through its controls.
This car weighs 4,343 pounds, around the same as the Toyota Highlander. The acceleration pedal needs more give to reach a proper cruising speed.
Once you get there, the Crown feels like automotive bliss, the feeling you get when you sink into a La-Z-Boy.
A luxurious interior
Upon instinct, the first thing that comes to mind when people think about Toyotas is that their interiors are nothing more than cloth seats and cheap plastic.
I admit, the Toyota Crown is no match to the wood, aluminum, real metal, and Birkin bag-type leather of a Bentley, but for a car with a Toyota badge in the middle of the steering wheel, it feels more expensive than what it is.
The buttons may be plastic, and the headliner may be cloth, but the seating area is finished in very high-quality leather. Sure, it may feel like the leather from a Coach bag, but it is a considerable step up from the interior of a base-level Camry.
On a hot summer day, the Crown Platinum is an incredibly cool place to sit. The car has a dual-zone climate control system with rear seat vents, but the front seats are heated and ventilated.
One of my favorite toys, which I spent quite a bit of time with, was the “Advanced Park” system. I found it effortless to use in parallel parking situations and in the conventional parking lots of malls and other establishments in the suburbs. It is so easy to use that you might forget how to park a car without it.
The car we drove was a 2024 model, but for 2025, the Crown Platinum has a heads-up display that projects onto the windshield and a power trunk that opens when you kick underneath the car.
Cons
This was my first time driving a vehicle with regenerative braking, and it took me a very long time to get used to its behavior.
When you lift off the gas pedal, the car’s electric motors capture the kinetic energy from braking and convert it into electrical power that charges its hybrid battery.
It’s an excellent technology that will save fuel in the long run, but I would rather sacrifice five or even 10 miles per gallon for a car that drives “normally.”
During one of my first drives out with the Crown, I took it on a particular driving road in “the sticks” filled with little kinks and corners. Long story short, I regretted this decision for reasons that will sound incredibly gross if I continue writing about it.
Regenerative braking prevents you from coasting or “letting off the power.” If you want the Crown to replicate the way a “normal car” feels, you have to keep your foot on the accelerator, on the power, or else you’re met with the equivalent force of stomping on the brakes way before your mind can force your foot to touch the brake pedal.
It is not a good recipe for someone who gets motion sickness.
Also, the raised ride height provides many practical advantages that make it extremely capable and comfortable on the road. However, it is the one deciding factor that keeps me from loving this car wholeheartedly.
Although the design language of this car leans towards being very angular, the looks aren’t polarizing. It’s no Tesla Cybertruck, but it’s still weird enough to trigger the one cortex in other people’s brains that says, “Why?”
It’s one thing to have a nice car, but having a “weird car” feels slightly different if you do not accept things for what they are.
This car rejects conformity to provide something deeply comfortable for its occupants, but its looks may turn off most buyers before they give it a shot.
Reflection
But for what it’s worth, that particular point of weakness is also the Crown’s biggest strength.
Audit & Supervisory Board Member
George Olcott
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