FILIPINOS know the Crown as a large Japanese luxury vehicle. Once the car of choice for government bigwigs and the corporate types. In Japan, the Crown is known for its luxury appeal and Yakuza-notoriety, but also for its mass transport roles as both taxis and luxury hotel vehicles.
The Crown’s innovation, edginess in terms of design and concepts as well as its bigness–from its massive dimensions to its large, gas-guzzling, powerful engines–were the reasons for its success.
Toyota relaunched the new Crown paying attention to its DNA of innovation and limit-pushing. It has been renewed as the brand’s flagship this time not only with the standard three-box design but with four variations to meet the diverse values and lifestyles of customers. The new series will be rolled out in about 40 countries and regions.
In designing the new Crown, the development team thoroughly reexamined what the “Crown” meant to its customers. This resulted in the pursuit of a “Crown for a new era,” resulting in four completely new models. The Sedan remains as the executive, chauffer-driven variant and still holds on to its more formal positioning. This is followed by the Estate which is a functional SUV with a mature atmosphere and ample driving space. The mainstay in the series is the Crossover hailed by Toyota as a new style in this vehicle segment that combines a luxury of a sedan and a versatility of an SUV. Finally, a performance-oriented Sport variant offers a sporty driving experience with an enticing atmosphere and an easy-to-drive package.
The Crown made its initial debut in 1955 as Toyota’s first mass-production passenger vehicle created with Toyota’s own domestic technology. It was the first independently developed luxury car in the early postwar period has been passed down to successive models of Crowns for the past 67 years. However, the times have changed even faster, and the Crown has become unable to fully meet the diversifying needs of its customers, and its presence as a flagship vehicle has become less significant.
All Crown variants share an excellent ease of entry and exit as well as high visibility are achieved by raising the hip point. The passenger-embracing interior design and the roomy cabin space make every seat feel like a first-class seat.
Also present in all cars are the new headlights and taillights, connected from left to right in a single straight line, and the side view that expresses sophistication through surface variation without relying on character lines, combine to create a simple yet refined and majestic design.
The Crossover has a stylish, coupe-like silhouette is combined with elevated styling that conveys a sense of strength, achieving both fluidity and dynamism and expressing a completely new form of a flagship vehicle for a new era.
Large-diameter tires are seen across that board but on the sedan it is more pronounced as it breaks with the convention. By applying innovations to the body structure in the Crossover and SUV variants, the balance of the spaces between the body and the tires, created a powerful style that is neither a sedan nor an SUV with the sense of stability.
Two types of powertrains with individual characteristics are employed. The newly developed 2.4-liter Turbo Hybrid System delivers a powerful yet comfortable ride, while the Series Parallel Hybrid System, which has evolved over the years, delivers a high-quality, smooth ride.
The hybrid system, which combines an inline 4-cylinder turbo engine that produces powerful torque even at low RPM, the latest eAxle electric powertrain that provides high driving torque, and a newly-developed bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery have been combined for the first time by Toyota. The hybrid system responds linearly to the operation of the accelerator by the driver creating a driving feel with a sense of comfortable acceleration.
“I am so excited to announce today, that this new Crown family of vehicles, will be offered not just in Japan, but globally for the first time. Customers from around the world, will now get a chance to drive this historic Japanese nameplate borne out of passion, pride and progress. A car that could very well be our crowning achievement,” Aiko Toyoda, Toyota Motor Ltd. President announced as he concluded the launch event.
