With its debut taking place back in 1955, the Toyota Crown has led the premium car market in Japan with great success where it was seen a lost as a company car for the top management in many Japanese companies and even as limousines. And as a sedan that offers an outstanding ride and a quiet performance, the valuable experience gained along the years is definitely one of their strong points in producing the 14th-generation of this great Toyota icon.
Offered in two different guises like its predecessors, the Crown Royal and the Crown Athlete G are available in both rear and four wheel drive variants. And for this new generation model, the major components running this car has been updated by Toyota which includes a while new 2.5-liter hybrid system, suspension, and a number of new features like the Toyota Multi-Operation Touch.
While the conventional 2.5-liter V6 engine provides the Royal and the Athlete with a 200-horsepower and 179 lb/ft, the hybrid propulsion mated with an electric motor gives the four-cylinder a rise from 178-horsepower to 220 horses. But to those that prefers more power for this luxurious sedan can always go with the 311-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 which is only available with the sportier Athlete. The 2.5-liter V6s are paired to a six-speed auto while the 3.5-liter version gets the eight-speed auto.
As a luxury sedan, the Crown is packed with a myriad of features to give the occupants a better ride. Other than the new wood grain patterns and gold stitching, safety was not overlooked with the installation of Adaptive High Beam System, Panoramic View Monitor, Pre-collision System and Intelligence Clearance Sonar.
The price for the Crown Royal starts at 3,530,000 yen (RM 123,128), and could go up to 5,360,000 yen (RM 186,960) for the hybrid Royal Saloon G. The Athlete on the other hand is a bit pricey starting at 3,570,000 yen (RM 124,523) and reaching 5,430,000 yen (RM 189,401) for the hybrid Athlete G.
