Tokyo - The new Toyota Crown has been revealed to the world and not only has it spawned the sleek crossover model that drew considerable attention after pics of it leaked recently, but there’s a whole family of four distinct body styles.
The Toyota Crown nameplate has been around for 67 years, offering luxury motoring to select Asian markets, but the new series will have a greater global reach as Toyota says it will be rolled out to around 40 countries and regions, including South Africa. The Crossover model is expected to hit our shores around the first quarter of 2023, TSA says.
Toyota lists the four Crown models as the Crossover Type, Sport Type, Sedan Type and Estate Type.
All but the sedan model, however, are variations of the SUV theme, with the Crossover variant being the sleek fastback we saw in the leaks, while the Sport Type is a shorter and sportier SUV and the Estate a more practical looking high-rider.
The four models are based around the GA-K platform, featuring high-end components like multi-link rear suspension and adaptive variable suspension. Measuring 4927mm, the Crown Crossover is similar in length to the Lexus ES sedan and longer than the RX.
For now Toyota has only released details on this crossover model, which attempts to combine the design flavours of sedan and SUV in a sleek fastback design that certainly gets our thumbs up.
Although there have been rumours of an electric version making its debut at some point, for now Toyota is only mentioning two hybrid powertrains with on-demand all-wheel drive systems that use electric motors to power the rear axles.
The most exciting of these pairs Toyota’s 2.4-litre turbopetrol engine with two electric motors (one on the front and another on the rear axle) to produce an estimated 254kW. This flagship powertrain pairs with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Toyota is also offering a more affordable hybrid system that pairs a 2.5-litre normally aspirated engine with two electric motors and a CVT gearbox.
Given its positioning as a fully fledged luxury vehicle, Toyota is promising a quiet, immensely insulated “first class cabin” experience.
Included is a new 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system that allows over-the-air updates, cloud-based navigation and intelligent voice control.
There’s also a wide array of advanced driver assist features, which include semi-autonomous driving capabilities with traffic assist and remote-control parking functionality.