2023 Toyota Crown: Review — Cars.com
2023 Toyota Crown: Review — Cars.com
The new Toyota Crown is stylish, smooth-riding and quasi-sporty — but ultimately a confusing new offering from Toyota that’s sure to appeal to someone. Who that might be remains a mystery. Watch the video for our take on the 2023 Toyota Crown.
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Content
0.54 -> - Ladies and gentlemen and
non-conforming persons,
2.97 -> welcome to the Great
Toyota Experiment of 2023.
6.93 -> That's this, the new 2023 Toyota Crown,
10.56 -> and it's meant to replace the Avalon
12.9 -> in the Toyota showroom going forward,
15.15 -> the Avalon being the big full size sedan.
17.61 -> But when we first got a
look at this new Crown
20.13 -> at the Detroit Auto
Show about a month ago,
22.32 -> we were a little bit befuddled
23.52 -> as to what exactly we were looking at.
25.65 -> Is it a Sedan?
26.58 -> Is it a high riding crossover coupe?
28.77 -> Is it an SUV?
30.48 -> Is it all of these things,
or none of these things,
32.25 -> or something completely different?
33.87 -> It was a little unusual,
and that's not something
37.17 -> that you expect from Toyota.
38.76 -> Well, we've actually had our first drive
40.47 -> of the new '23 Crown, and
I'm afraid we've actually
43.71 -> still come away just as
Crown-fused as before.
47.04 -> We talked about the
styling of the '23 Crown
49.44 -> in our up close video from
the Detroit Auto Show,
52.23 -> which you can find on our site as well,
54.36 -> but it bears looking into one more time,
56.94 -> especially out here in the
sunlight where you get, I think,
59.58 -> a much better look at
how this thing appears
62.34 -> out in the real world, and I have to say,
64.74 -> I think it's fantastic.
66.18 -> This is such a different
design from Toyota,
68.88 -> something that we don't
really expect from Toyota,
71.01 -> which is really more
associated with things that are
73.89 -> a little bit more mundane,
a little bit ordinary,
75.9 -> a bit more mass appealing
than something like this.
79.35 -> Now, this being the Platinum model,
80.85 -> it's got a couple of interesting features
83.04 -> most notably being this bi-tone paint job,
86.04 -> black over bronze on this one.
87.48 -> There are four different color
options for this lower level,
90.45 -> if you want.
91.29 -> You've also got 21-inch
wheels on some fairly thin
95.61 -> Turanza tires here, so
more about what that does
98.79 -> to how it handles in a little bit.
100.89 -> But overall, this thing
really does look dynamite.
105.33 -> It's unlike anything
else on the road today,
107.82 -> and from a company like Toyota,
that's kind of unexpected.
112.05 -> As much as the exterior
is a serious departure
114.63 -> from the current Avalon,
the interior is also
117.801 -> just as big a change.
120.03 -> It's not as big as it looks in pictures.
121.92 -> The Crown looks like
it's a very large sedan
124.26 -> with lots of room inside in
all of the pictures and video,
127.29 -> nut once you get in it, you
realize that this is really
129.6 -> a mid-sized vehicle.
131.04 -> It doesn't have the same level of space
133.29 -> that the Avalon does,
either in width or length
136.14 -> or especially in height.
138.24 -> My head is hard up against the headliner
141.36 -> and this emergency grab
handle, despite the fact
144.15 -> that I have the seat all the way down.
145.65 -> Now, yes, I've got a little
extra cushion for the pushin'
148.05 -> in the back, but still, this is not as big
151.11 -> as you would expect it to be.
152.7 -> The material quality,
however, is really quite good.
155.31 -> The upholstery looks good,
156.27 -> you've got nice piping here
on the Platinum trim level.
158.91 -> You've also got the 12.3 inch touchscreen
161.01 -> with the new Toyota
Audio multimedia system,
163.56 -> which is a lot better than
Toyota's systems in the past,
166.77 -> but still has a couple of
quirks in that, you know,
169.26 -> you can only do one thing at a time.
171.15 -> If you're on navigation,
you're on navigation,
172.83 -> if you're on music, you're on music,
174.12 -> if you're on phone, you're on phone,
175.44 -> and given the real estate
that this screen has,
178.26 -> you'd expect There to to be
some kind of split screen
180.57 -> multi-function capability,
which there isn't,
183.06 -> which is kind of strange.
184.2 -> Toyota has opted, however,
to not put everything
187.08 -> into this touchscreen, such
as the actual hard buttons
189.78 -> for the climate control,
which we love, quite frankly.
193.02 -> It looks a little old school,
194.43 -> but frankly, to have actual hard buttons
197.4 -> for things like the seat
heating and cooling,
200.1 -> the actual climate control
itself, top notch in my book.
203.73 -> The rest of it, well, the styling is good,
206.4 -> the comfort is okay.
208.68 -> Like I said, if you're a
bigger or taller person,
211.08 -> you're gonna have to take
a long drive in this thing
213.21 -> to make sure that you are
going to be comfortable in it,
215.49 -> because it's not as big as the Avalon.
219.21 -> If you are expecting an Avalon replacement
222.18 -> with the new Crown, I
think you're gonna be
224.46 -> a little disappointed,
because this does not
227.79 -> feel like an Avalon in most ways.
232.02 -> Instead of a big floaty, cushy,
full size sedan meant for,
237.54 -> hmm, let's be honest, older
folks who have typically
241.44 -> bought that model, instead
you've got what Toyota
245.34 -> is billing as a performance
sedan, meant to go up against
248.584 -> the Kia Stinger and the Nissan Maxima,
253.38 -> both of which are not expected
to be around much longer.
256.92 -> So pretty soon, Toyota
might have this field
258.75 -> all to themselves.
260.19 -> But what they've created here
is just a little bit unusual.
265.14 -> This is the Platinum trim
with the Hybrid MAX system,
269.85 -> which is Toyota's first specific
performance hybrid system,
273.93 -> as they're calling it.
275.04 -> And it does have plenty of
torque, it's got plenty of pep.
278.82 -> It's got a turbocharged 2.4
liter four cylinder engine
283.92 -> mated up into the hybrid system,
and it makes 340 horsepower
286.95 -> and 400 pounds feet of
torque, which is a lot.
290.1 -> But then you consider
that this thing weighs
292.62 -> over 4300 pounds, according to Toyota,
294.78 -> so it's a heavy sedan, a heavy car,
297.857 -> which kind of balances
out all of this power.
300.84 -> Yeah, plenty of power, plenty of torque,
302.82 -> really decent responsiveness.
304.74 -> Perhaps most interesting
is that it doesn't use
306.69 -> an electronic continuously
variable transmission.
309.18 -> The lower trim levels
do, but when you opt for
311.76 -> the performance Hybrid MAX version,
314.37 -> it uses a six speed dual clutch automatic,
317.182 -> and that's actually kind of interesting.
319.77 -> It's very responsive, plenty peppy.
322.92 -> You definitely get that
feeling of electric torque,
326.49 -> that immediacy of speed,
which is quite nice.
329.58 -> Toyota says that it'll do zero
to 60 in about 5.7 seconds,
333.3 -> which is nothing to sneeze at,
335.88 -> but in terms of it being
sporty, I really don't feel it.
341.22 -> The steering feel is
accurate, but it's not.
343.8 -> There's really no feedback happening
346.11 -> through the wheel at all.
346.95 -> It doesn't feel like an
aggressively sporty situation,
349.83 -> and I've got this thing
in the sport plus mode.
352.71 -> The Platinum level with
the Hybrid MAX powertrain
356.01 -> has a bunch of of different
adjustable drive modes
358.83 -> that you could choose from,
and sport plus is sportier,
364.161 -> but it's still a big heavy sedan.
368.31 -> It's got a decent amount of body roll,
371.34 -> and there's not a lot of
great steering feedback,
373.77 -> so you can drive it relatively quickly,
376.53 -> but honestly, you can also
drive the Avalon quickly,
381.541 -> and it feels kind of about the same.
384.63 -> It is quiet, I'll certainly give 'em that.
387.6 -> The hybrid powertrain
does allow it to operate
390.27 -> in electric mode more
often than you might think,
394.02 -> and that definitely contributes
395.4 -> to this overall sense of quietness.
396.78 -> There's very little road or wind noise,
399.06 -> and that's especially
impressive, given that you've got
401.67 -> these optional 21-inch
wheels on this trim level
406.5 -> with very thin performance tires,
408.72 -> so the ride quality on broken
pavement, when we've actually
412.41 -> been able to find some
here in rural Tennessee,
415.23 -> has been, hmm, a little uneven,
418.38 -> until you put it into the comfort mode,
420.27 -> which actually does smooth
things out quite a bit.
423.36 -> So the suspension that
comes with this trim level
426.66 -> does actually make a difference
428.07 -> in terms of how the
vehicle rides and feels.
431.52 -> Where you really feel the mass
of the vehicle is in braking.
437.04 -> You push the brakes, they'll stop the car,
439.38 -> but you realize you're
gonna have to push them
440.97 -> a little bit more, because
you've got a lot more momentum
443.67 -> coming into a corner
then you thought you did,
447.72 -> because there is a lot
more mass to this vehicle
450.9 -> than you realize.
452.88 -> So yes, this great experiment of Toyotas
456.27 -> is still a little bit baffling.
458.52 -> If they're trying to make
something that's a Maxima
461.52 -> or Stinger competitor,
those vehicles are low.
465.36 -> You're sitting lower, it's
got a lower center of gravity.
467.88 -> It's meant to be a sport sedan.
470.1 -> This, you're specifically
and intentionally
473.01 -> sitting higher than you would.
475.11 -> It's four inches taller than a Camry.
477.3 -> So the driving position is a lot higher
480.585 -> off of the road surface,
which doesn't necessarily
484.11 -> lend to a more sporty
attitude or orientation,
488.1 -> which makes me think that it's...
489.93 -> As a competitor for those two cars,
491.46 -> it's a little unusual to
try and compare 'em with,
493.89 -> but what else can you
compare this thing with?
496.89 -> It's kind of a field all its
own, an entry all its own,
502.17 -> a segment all its own, because
there's really nothing else
505.56 -> quite like it on the market right now.
508.08 -> So what exactly are we looking at?
509.76 -> That is the overall question,
and the answer seems to be,
513.21 -> well, it is exactly what it appears to be.
515.64 -> It is a big-ish sedan that
has some qualities of sedans
519.39 -> and some qualities of SUVs and crossovers.
522.03 -> It has a high performance
hybrid powertrain,
525.12 -> but still gets decent fuel economy.
527.07 -> It's got standard all wheel
drive and it costs anywhere
529.53 -> from around 40 grand up
to the high $50,000 level.
533.61 -> And is this something that
people getting out of traditional
536.79 -> Avalon sedan are really
going to want to get into?
540.12 -> I have a hard time believing
that one, but I think, again,
543.09 -> that's kind of the point.
544.62 -> Even Toyota isn't entirely sure
546.72 -> who's going to go for this thing.
548.04 -> They've said that they
really only expect to sell
550.02 -> about 20,000 of them a year,
552 -> which is an absolutely minuscule amount
554.25 -> for a major automaker like
Toyota to bring something
557.46 -> like this to market for
such a small volume.
559.32 -> So they're gonna be following very closely
560.97 -> to see who goes for the new Crown,
562.86 -> and we're gonna be keeping
an eye on that as well.
565.77 -> If that happens to be you
567.06 -> and you are interested in a new Crown,
568.71 -> you can look everything
up about at cars.com.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBZZ87d_6vg