Growing up in the 80s, the Toyota Crown was the alternative to the Mercedes for the up class.

Everything about the Toyota Crown was very American, except a v8 engine. However, it was reliable. The straight 6s and V6s were the mainstay, but they had their own unique swag about them.

The Crown became the go-to car for the political class; government ministries acquired lots of them for their top executives.

Toyota lost the title of the biggest automaker a few months ago, but it looks like they are poised and determined to take back the crown with the “Crown”.

In Toyota’s estimation, this is the time to bring back this iconic name. It’s been off the international market, living in the shadows of its home, Japan.

With the Avalon retired and Toyota seeking a return to the top, it has settled on the Crown to do the business.

The new Crown is taking on the competition with a twist. A largish size sedan-style car with SUV ride height, something that other automakers have teased but never had the guts to pull off sans Volvo.

Toyota reckons with American auto buyers hung up the new on SUVs to the extent that big names; ford have left that segment altogether, it can calve a section of that market for themselves with this new class of vehicle

2022 Toyota Crown.

The new crown on the whole looks like an Avalon replacement with a dose of SUV dna. It manages to do that with almost 10 inch ride height and rubberized cladding around the wheel wells and door sills. The silhouette also has a pinch of fastback in it.

The new Crown will come in three variants; XLE, Limited and Platinum. All models will run hybrid powertrains, but only the top-spec Platinum model gets Toyota’s new Hybrid Max setup, which pairs a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with a single electric motor on the rear axle for a combined 340 horsepower. The XLE and Limited models get a less powerful 236-hp hybrid system that uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and three electric motors. the XLE and limited will have CVT transmissions whilst the platinum gets a six speed automatic transmission.

The crowns will also have two options of wheels; 21-in. machined 10-spoke alloy wheels with black accents and a 19-in.

You can expect all the latest safety and tech found in the latest Toyotas; 12.3 inch touchscreen infotainment system featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Another 12.3 inch screen is implemented into the driver’s instrument cluster.wireless phone charging, USBs, onboard WIFI, 11-speaker JBL system.

During the announcement Toyota showed off several concepts but apart from the crown a few off them looked just a few months to production. Looks like there’s more to look forward to.

The Crown will also feature 360 cameras, proximity sensors, adaptive radar cruise control, automated emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, automatic high-beam headlamps and many more.

Driver instrument cluster

Driver’s cockpit

The car market has been challenging recently, we here at Ryde are anxious to see how this new Toyota Crown can shake the industry when it hits the market.