Why You Should Own the 2023 Toyota Crown
Arstar William
Marketing Practitioner || Human Resource Information Systems Specialist
What Exactly is the Toyota Crown?
The 2023 Toyota Crown replaces the Avalon, but it's not your typical full-size sedan. Toyota has injected a bit of SUV DNA into this model, hoping to appeal to consumers who are increasingly leaning towards crossovers. The ground clearance is similar to a Toyota Camry, but the overall height is about three inches taller than a Honda Accord, yet six inches shorter than a Honda CRV. This makes it straddle the line between a car and a crossover, leaning slightly more towards the sedan realm.
One of the key features is its standard all-wheel drive, which is definitely more crossover-like. The higher seating position adds to this SUV feel.
Powertrain Options
The Toyota Crown offers two hybrid four-cylinder engine options, which is quite unusual for a full-size sedan.
All Crown models come with a CVT automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. Fuel economy is impressive, with the base engine achieving 42 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. Even the more powerful Platinum trim manages a respectable 30 mpg combined.
Rivals to the Crown(US Market)
The full-size sedan segment is shrinking, with many competitors being phased out. Rivals include:
Given the dwindling competition, most rivals to the Crown are now SUVs and crossovers. It remains to be seen if the Crown's SUV-inspired design can breathe new life into this segment.
Inside the Crown
Despite its quirky exterior, the interior of the Crown is fairly traditional for Toyota. The materials are nice, aiming for a near-luxury feel, almost touching on Lexus territory. The cabin offers a pleasant and comfortable environment with some unique features.
Gear Selector
The gear selector is a bit unusual. You move it left and down for drive, left and up for reverse, and just left for neutral. Park is a button marked "P," and there's also a "B" mode for engine braking, useful for downhill driving.
Center Console and Wireless Charging
The vertical wireless phone charger is a neat touch, preventing your phone from sliding around. The center console lid can open from both sides, making it accessible to both driver and passenger, which is a fun and practical feature.
Panoramic Sunroof
The panoramic sunroof spans the entire interior but doesn’t open. It has a bar over the front seats for structural support, making the front part of the sunroof quite small. It’s an unusual design choice, but it adds character.
Comfort Features
Heated seats are a given, but the Crown also offers ventilated seats and a heated steering wheel. The rear seats are not left out, with heating available there too, ensuring all passengers stay cozy.
Design and Dimensions
The Crown’s ground clearance is similar to a Toyota Camry, but its overall height is about three inches taller than a Honda Accord and six inches shorter than a Honda CR-V. It straddles the line between a car and a crossover, with standard all-wheel drive and a higher seating position. Its big wheels and higher beltline make it look taller, even though it’s not much taller than a sedan.
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Powertrains
The Crown offers two hybrid four-cylinder engine options. The base engine is a 2.5-liter hybrid with about 235 horsepower, standard in the XLE model, starting around $41,000. The Limited model, which starts at around $47,000, has the same engine. It does 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds, which is adequate. The top-of-the-line Platinum model starts around $53,000 and features a turbocharged hybrid four-cylinder engine with about 340 horsepower, doing 0-60 in about 5.7 seconds.
Interior Features
Inside, the Crown offers a near-luxury experience with nice materials and some interesting quirks. The gear selector is a bit unusual, operating differently from traditional shifters. There’s a vertical wireless phone charger, a trick center console lid that opens from both sides, and a panoramic sunroof with a unique bar placement.
One of the coolest features is the automatic heated and cooled seats and steering wheel. On a hot day, the car will automatically cool the seats for you—no need to adjust anything manually.
Tech Features
The center touchscreen is large and responsive, though not as advanced as some rival systems. It’s simple and intuitive, but lacks a comprehensive home screen. The gauge cluster screen is also a bit basic, but you can configure the columns and get an Eco score based on your driving efficiency.
Backseat and Cargo Space
The backseat is spacious, with plenty of legroom and decent headroom despite the teardrop-shaped roofline. Rear passengers get power ports, climate control vents, and heated seats. The trunk is massive, perfect for those who need to carry a lot of stuff, like golf clubs. There are also tabs to release the rear seats for more cargo space.
Exterior Styling
The Crown’s exterior styling is fairly generic, except for its raised sedan look. It has big 21-inch wheels and a lifted beltline for a taller appearance. The most unusual feature is the giant fake grille with no openings, just triangles for style.
Driving Impressions
Driving the Crown, the first thing that strikes me is how surprisingly dull and uninteresting it is. It’s clearly tuned for comfort, which makes sense given its market position as a replacement for the Avalon.
The Crown’s ground clearance is similar to a Toyota Camry, but it's about three inches taller than a Honda Accord and six inches shorter than a Honda CR-V. It combines car and crossover attributes, featuring standard all-wheel drive and a higher seating position. This mix aims to appeal to both sedan lovers and crossover fans.
Powertrains
The Crown offers two hybrid four-cylinder engine options. The base engine is a 2.5-liter hybrid with about 235 horsepower, standard in the XLE model (starting around $41,000) and the Limited model (starting around $47,000). It does 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds, which is adequate. The top-of-the-line Platinum model starts around $53,000 and features a turbocharged hybrid four-cylinder engine with about 340 horsepower, doing 0-60 in about 5.7 seconds.
All Crown models come with a CVT automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. Fuel economy is impressive, with the base powertrain offering 42 mpg in city driving and 41 mpg on the highway. Even the Platinum model with its more powerful engine gets 30 mpg combined.
The Crown’s exterior styling is fairly generic, except for its raised sedan look. It has big 21-inch wheels and a lifted beltline for a taller appearance. The most unusual feature is the giant fake grille with no openings, just triangles for style.
Driving Impressions
Despite its unique appearance, it feels like a typical sedan. The Limited model I’m driving has a 2.5-liter engine with about 235 horsepower, which results in a 0-60 time in the mid-7-second range. It’s not a fast car by modern standards, and the fun factor is essentially non-existent.
Toyota likely aimed to attract buyers who are moving away from sedans to crossovers by creating a vehicle that blends elements of both. However, the Crown doesn’t feel significantly taller than a traditional sedan. While it offers a comfortable and quiet ride, so do Toyota’s crossovers like the Venza and the Lexus hybrids, which also provide more practicality with their crossover designs.
Overall, the Crown is a good car that appeals to sedan enthusiasts.