Toyota Crown – that previously stood for a notchback model in the upper middle class with a high level of comfort. But that’s now over: Last year, the Japanese broke with this tradition and presented the Crown Crossover (see video under this paragraph), a successor with a hatchback body and SUV design elements. Another surprise followed just a short time later: Toyota is expanding Crown into a sub-brand with a noble attitude, which after a short period of getting used to it will offer a quartet of models: In addition to the crossover, this consists of the Estate Type as a classic family SUV, the Sedan Type as Sedan with fuel cell option and the Sport Type.
Contrary to what the name suggests, this is not a coupé or even a sports car. The Crown Sport Type is a mid-range SUV whose design appears to mix elements of the new Toyota BZ4X electric SUV with borrowings from the Porsche Macan and various Genesis and Lexus models. As with the other representatives of the sub-brand, the front hood slopes sharply towards the front and extends far down, which is why the designers have relocated the radiator grille to the front apron. The headlights have a two-part cut and are even narrower than on the Crown Crossover.
More of a country road than off-road
With an external length of 4.72 meters, the Sport Type is the shortest member of the Crown line-up and, at 1.57 meters, slightly taller than the crossover. The three latecomers hardly differ in width (1.88 or 1.89 meters), only the crossover is a little narrower (1.84 meters). The fact that the wheel arches do not have plain plastic planks, but are painted glossy black, underlines that Toyota positions the Crown models higher than those of the parent brand. And 21-inch wheels make it clear that this SUV should feel more at home on country roads than off-road. The extended roof spoiler also fits in with this. Six plain and five bicolor paint finishes are available for the Crown Sport Type.
All Crown models offer five seats; the Sport Type presents strongly contoured armchairs in the front row. In the interior, the driver information monitor and the 12.3-inch infotainment screen merge to form a wide-format display landscape. If desired, things can be colorful and elegant here, with one special feature: While the driver’s seat is designed in black so that nothing distracts from driving, the accent color behind the center console is intended to create a relaxed atmosphere. The steering wheel is covered in perforated leather with accent embroidery. The transmission selector lever sits as a stub on the center tunnel.
Crown Sport as HEV and PHEV
The Toyota Crown Sport Type uses the group’s TNGA-K platform and offers two different hybrid drives: either as a brand-typical serial hybrid or as a plug-in variant with an externally rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The electric motor is paired with a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine. An additional electric motor on the rear axle ensures all-wheel drive. The SUV also receives rear-wheel steering and an assistance package with which, among other things, it automatically decelerates before corners and supports the steering process, pushes itself largely automatically through slow traffic or moves into and out of parking spaces remotely.
Toyota Motor Corporation
The Toyota Crown Sport Type, built at the Tsutsumi factory near the city of Nagoya, will come onto the market in Japan in autumn 2023. To sell its new sub-brand models, the manufacturer is setting up its own flagship showrooms, which are appropriately named “The Crown”. Initially, the SUV is only available in the Sport Z model version with serial hybrid drive, which is available from 5.9 million yen (currently the equivalent of just under 37,500 euros). It is also available through Toyota’s all-inclusive subscription model Kinto; Here the monthly fees start at 66,550 yen (422 euros). The sales target is 700 copies per month.
Europe is probably looking down the tubes
The question that remains to be clarified is what international perspective the Crown sub-brand will take. When it was presented, Toyota promised to introduce it in around 40 countries and regions. Japan is definitely one of them, and the crossover is also coming onto the market in the USA. China would also be an obvious choice, because Toyota already offers an SUV here, the Crown Kluger, which bears the name but is actually an adapted Highlander. Toyota is also likely to concentrate on the Asia-Pacific region with the new Crown models. They almost certainly won’t come to us. “A market launch in Europe does not appear to be included in the product plans,” said a spokesman when asked. In this country, the focus continues to be on battery-electric FC models, of which five more will be introduced by 2026.
Good approach. These are interesting cars that you could also imagine in Europe. Superfluous. Their position is already occupied by the Lexus models.
Toyota is diversifying its offering in the home market and introducing the new Crown sub-brand there. Their design highlight is the sporty hybrid SUV with the Sport Type suffix, which will soon be rolling out to dealers in Japan. The model will most likely not come to Europe.
2023-10-12 04:04:33
#Toyota #Crown #Sport #Type #SUV #beauty #denied
