Stylish Crown brings AWD to the family sedan …
Old-timers will recall the surprise and innovation stirred by American Motors in 1980 when it introduced its Eagle, a tall station wagon featuring all-wheel-drive.
New idea and, well, it ultimately reshaped the car world into the crossover and SUV world.
Could Toyota’s Crown do the same, but in reverse, for sedans?
Crown replaced the Avalon sedan in Toyota’s fleet about a year ago and stirs the car market as sedans are not all that popular these days. Yet Crown is a full-size car with AWD. Like the Eagle experiment, Crown takes an endangered part of the market and adds the one feature that nearly every buyer demands, AWD. Clever huh?
Even better, Toyota has styled Crown so it’s a sharp-looker with pointy beak-like nose and smoothly rounded rear end along with fastback profile. Add to that Toyota’s vaunted hybrid system to extend fuel economy and, well, there’s not much to turn a buyer away. Maybe price, but more on that later.
I mean Crown rides higher so splits the difference between easy sedan entry and taller sitting position for better all-around visibility. The AWD makes Crown steady on its wheels during slippery winter weather too, and there are four drive modes including Sport so one can add a little zip to dry-weather driving.
Ride quality resembles a large luxury sedan and Crown is easy to handle, especially compared with most SUVs. Although many mid-size to compact crossovers handle this well. For the record the Crown has a fairly large turning radius, so one won’t be doing quick U-turns on narrow neighborhood streets. Still, settling into a highway cruise is a delight, naturally aided by smart cruise control and lane departure assist.
There’s also a feature known as Active Cornering Assist that smartly brakes whatever wheel is needed to improve cornering at speed. This helps Crown snuggle into corners better and aids stability.
Power is a bit meek for such a sizable sedan though. This was the new Nightshade model, third of four trim levels and features 236 horsepower from its 2.5-liter I4 hybrid with a couple electric motors. That seems like plenty and certainly that will run the Crown up to highway speeds under heavy acceleration.
Yet the car seems to struggle a bit when pulling away from a stop with both hesitation and plenty of engine growl and groan. Seems the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) isn’t giving it much low-end torque. A turbo likely would smooth things out and bump up the power too.
Naturally a hybrid is mostly beneficial because it drinks less petrol.
This I4 hybrid impresses on that count. It’s rated at 42 mpg city and 41 highway on regular fuel. I managed 36.1 mpg, pretty impressive for a large sedan with AWD. Last year I’d managed 30 mpg with the higher-horse 2.4-liter turbo hybrid Crown, and it kicks out 340 horsepower when mated with a smoother 6-speed automatic. Your choice, but power was much better in the turbo trim, a top-end Crown Platinum model.
Inside the Crown feels near luxury level (extremely quiet) although styling is pretty bland, black dash and gray leather seats with just a tiny touch of brown piping at the seatbacks top. Lighter gray stitching helps give the seats some visual highlights and there’s a subtle bronze satin chrome trim around air vents, on slim dash trim, and on a bit of the shifter knob. The console top is black gloss too.
Instead of Nightshade maybe this interior should be known as the Dark Knight.
There is a twin-panel panoramic sunroof overhead that lets in daylight, much needed during our dreary winter days. The pano roof is standard on Limited, Nightshade, and Platinum models.
Seating is comfortable with well-formed seats that provide ample lateral support. Front seats are powered plus heated and cooled, and the steering wheel also is heated, standard now on all Crown trim levels. Heated rear seats also are standard on the Nightshade.
Toyota’s info touchscreen is a fine 12.3-incher and easy to adjust. Below that are all of the climate controls including automatic settings for the heated seats and steering wheel. No treasure hunt for adjustments inside the screen as on so many new vehicles.
I like Toyota’s deep pocket wireless charger for cell phones. Nice to just slot a phone in where one can see it in front of cup holders.
Safety equipment? Yep, Toyota has a full bevy. Oh, and an advanced parking system, otherwise known as a self-parking feature that aids parallel or backing into a space.
Rear seat room also is pretty generous although the swoopy rear roofline could limit headroom for taller than average adults. NBA wannabes may prefer the front seat.
If one is planning a lengthy trip with four or five adults there’s plenty of cargo space for luggage. The Crown’s trunk is 15.2 cubic feet. For history buffs, that’s roughly what an old Ford Taurus used to have, and that was among the largest sedan trunks for many years.
Pricing, as alluded to earlier, is on the high side, IMHO, for the Nightshade. It starts at $49,860, including delivery. The test car added a lot of minor options from illuminated door sills at $345, to side puddle lamps at $165, even a dash cam (but why?) for $375. Total damages were $51,158, about $6 grand more than the average car price.
Going for the base XLE lowers entry price to a bargain $42,535 as AWD is standard. But most will probably want the better-equipped Limited at $47,045. Move up to Platinum and you’ll pay at least $56,085.
Some of you may still prefer an SUV or crossover and Toyota has you covered. It offers a Crown Signia on this same platform, but it looks more like an SUV and starts in the mid-$40,000 range. All things for all people!
If that’s not trucky enough for you there’s the Highlander, Grand Highlander, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, and the monster Sequoia.
Note too that a few other manufacturers offer AWD sedans, but mostly smaller ones. Crown is a king-size version.
FAST STATS: 2025 Toyota Crown Nightshade
Hits: Handsome sedan, good ride quality, responsive handling, and standard AWD. Supportive heated/cooled front seats, heated wheel, quiet interior, wireless charger, panoramic sunroof, big screen, easy controls and dash layout. Big trunk and solid safety equipment.
Misses: Feels underpowered for size, plus fair amount of engine noise. Big turning radius.
Made in: Aichi, Japan
Engine: 2.5-liter I4 hybrid, 236 horsepower/332 torque
Transmission: CVT automatic
Weight: 4,013 lbs.
Length: 196.1 in.
Wheelbase: 112.2 in.
Cargo: 15.2 cu.ft.
MPG: 42/41
MPG: 36.1 (tested)
Base Price: $49,860 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $45,471
Major Options:
Illuminated door sills, $345
Mudguards, $155
Side puddle lamps, $165
Dash cam, $375
Rear bumper applique, $69
Carpeted floor mats, $189
Test vehicle: $51,158
Sources: Toyota kbb.com
Photos: Mark Savage
Savage On Wheels 
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