Toyota Crown Finally Returns to U.S. as Hybrid Upsized Sedan
After nearly five decades of absence, the new Toyota Crown is finally returning to the United States. The Crown is Toyota’s longest-running nameplate, having been in production since 1955. The first four generations were sold in the U.S. from 1958 to 1974 before it was replaced with the Corona Mark II.
Now, a dozen generations and 49 years later, it’s finally back.
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The all-new Toyota Crown is tough to classify — and the automaker knows it (“sedan or SUV?” it asked in a teaser video). In the official press release, Toyota calls the Crown a premium sedan with a “higher ride-height design,” but it’s more than just lifted. Is it a fastback SUV? A crossover wagon? A cross between a sedan and a crossover?
Let’s call it an upsized sedan. Our guess is that as traditional sedans continue to fall out of favor with the average consumer, the new Crown’s body style will gradually become the standard rather than the anomaly. But for Toyota, the true standard is luxury. In Japan, the Crown has always been synonymous with top-end opulence, and in the U.S., it will be the most comfy and technology advanced Toyota sedan you can buy.
The Crown arrives for the 2023 model year as the replacement for the Avalon with two hybrid powertrains, standard all-wheel drive, two-tone paint options, available features like heated and ventilated leather-trimmed front seats, and the company’s latest suite of driver-assistance systems.
The cabin is utterly first-class. A 12.3-inch infotainment touch screen is standard across the lineup and supports wireless smartphone connectivity, Wi-Fi, cloud-based navigation, and over-the-air updates. The car also features an 11-speaker JBL sound system as well as a Toyota AI assistant that responds to wakeup phrases like “Hey Toyota” and “OK Toyota.”
While not dire, Toyota Avalon sales were steadily declining since 2013 before the automaker announced the car would be discontinued. In 2020 and 2021, fewer than 20,000 examples were sold in North America, down from nearly 100,000 in its heyday. Toyota’s decision to bring back the Crown as a replacement shows the company’s commitment to mainstream sedans even as other automakers abandon them entirely — though with a higher starting price than the Avalon, the Crown seems to be geared toward more affluent buyers.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.