UPDATE 8/3/23: This assessment has been up to date with take a look at outcomes.

No person ever argued in regards to the Toyota Avalon, which was universally described as “completely good.” However Toyota, in case you have not seen, is not content material with inoffensive competence. So it changed the Avalon with the 2023 Crown, a jacked-up four-door coupe-roof sedan that appears like a 1999 Subaru Legacy SUS and a Native Motors Rally Fighter had a child. The truth that this factor succeeds the Avalon reveals loads about Toyota company tradition proper now, which we think about as Rumspringa in Toyota Metropolis. What’s going to it construct subsequent, and can it’s the results of a dare?

The Crown—a nameplate that dates to 1955 in Japan—is 3.7 inches taller than a Camry and twice as extroverted. The high-riding stance is generally posturing, provided that the Crown’s floor clearance is just 5.8 inches, only a tenth of an inch greater than the Camry’s. However its non-compulsory 21-inch wheels look concept-car huge on a automobile this dimension, and the Platinum mannequin’s out there two-tone paint brings some Maybach angle to the near-luxury-sedan section.

The Crown’s two out there hybrid powertrains differ in additional than simply energy output. It is actually like there are two Crowns—the bottom XLE and Restricted for individuals who would possibly really be changing an Avalon, in addition to the Platinum Hybrid Max fashions that step openly into Lexus territory by way of pricing and efficiency. All-wheel drive is commonplace both approach, with the XLE and Restricted utilizing a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with three electrical motors to ship a complete of 236 horsepower via a repeatedly variable transmission. The rear axle is electric-only—there is no driveshaft—and its motor makes 54 horsepower and 89 pound-feet of torque. That is sufficient, Toyota tells us, to make sure that all-wheel drive stays out there in any respect speeds, though we will not think about the rear finish is doing a lot in the event you boot it at 80 mph. This powertrain is not the fanatic alternative, mustering a 7.2-second 60-mph time and a 15.5-second quarter-mile at 91 mph in a Restricted take a look at automotive, however the 4063-pound Crown did common a powerful 42 mpg whereas in our care (a 275-pound-heavier Platinum mannequin solely managed 28 mpg). Curiously, whereas the revised 2023 Corolla Hybrid will get a lithium-ion high-voltage battery, the upmarket Crown includes a nickel-metal hydride unit with an estimated 0.6 kilowatt-hour of usable capability.

The non-compulsory Hybrid Max powertrain, out there solely within the Platinum, extra carefully aligns the Crown’s efficiency with its daring sheetmetal. A turbocharged 2.4-liter 4 groups up with two electrical motors to ship 340 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Within the Max, the water-cooled rear motor makes 79 horsepower and 124 pound-feet and is at all times engaged (the bottom powertrain goes front-drive till the rear wheels want traction). Stacking the positive factors, Toyota bolts the turbo 4 to a six-speed automated that makes use of a moist clutch as an alternative of a torque converter. Whats up, silky rev-matched downshifts. Intriguingly, the clutch will enable a high-rpm launch-control mode, which Toyota says is within the works and would possible drop the Platinum’s present 5.1-second 60-mph dash even decrease. Hold the pedal down via the quarter-mile, and that benchmark is dispatched in 13.8 seconds at 101 mph.

The Platinum trim additionally will get adaptive dampers that make the Crown a surprisingly prepared companion when the highway will get twisty, although its 0.83-g of grip across the skidpad barely beats the Restricted’s 0.82 g. When a nook looms on the finish of a straight, the Crown calls for an early stab on the brake pedal, given its trucklike stopping distances from 70 mph—189 toes for the Platinum and 191 toes for the Restricted, each of which rolled on 21-inch all-season tires. For reference, the final Tundra Restricted pickup we examined stopped from 70 mph in 185 toes.

Inside, the Crown’s cabin is not flashy however is impeccably assembled with high quality supplies. It seems to be as if a scuffed driver’s seat bolster may be the one inform when the odometer hits 200,000 miles. The Platinum’s leather-based entrance seats are heated and ventilated, and the rear seats are additionally heated. The smooth climate-control panel, instantly under the 12.3-inch touchscreen, would look completely at dwelling in a $100,000 Lexus. The one letdown is the 11-speaker JBL audio system within the Restricted and Platinum (XLEs get a fundamental six-speaker system). The JBL sounds as if 10 of its 11 audio system may be tweeters, and sure, we checked the settings and tried completely different vehicles. Toyota says the system was “acoustically tuned for Toyota Crown to match distinctive automobile traits,” so perhaps meaning it expects the Crown demographic to take heed to crime podcasts and NPR. Not less than it is fairly hushed inside when the stereo’s off: The Restricted registered simply 67 decibels at 70 mph, and the Platinum dropped the noise degree to 66 decibels.

The Crown is constructed solely in Japan, on the Tsutsumi plant, and maybe Toyota hopes that the Crown would possibly seize a couple of potential homeowners seeking a signature anti-brand-snob Toyota luxurious expertise. Crown pricing begins at $41,045 for an XLE and ranges as much as $53,445 for a Platinum. Is that too costly for a Toyota sedan?

We might say not, however the Crown’s worth proposition is up for debate as a lot as its model. Toyota hopes to promote about 20,000 Crowns a yr within the U.S., which is a wholesome purpose however not one which calls for mainstream conformity. Perhaps you hate the way in which the Crown seems to be—that is effective. Toyota is totally conscious haters gonna hate, and it really would not care. If we’re bickering over the Crown, we’re speaking in regards to the Crown.

To that time, you do not provide two-tone paint in the event you’re searching for unanimous consensus. That possibility, solely out there on the Platinum, brings a gloss black hood, roof, and rear decklid, set in opposition to extroverted lower-body colours like our take a look at automotive’s Bronze Age hue. The 2-tone paint prices $550 further, and we would say it is obligatory. However we would be glad to argue about it.

Senior Editor

Ezra Dyer is a Automotive and Driver senior editor and columnist. He is now primarily based in North Carolina however nonetheless remembers methods to flip proper. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and as soon as drove 206 mph. These details are mutually unique.