Toyota Crown Sport is a Crossover We’d Love to Have
Toyota has officially introduced the second of four vehicles that will make up the new Crown lineup, at least in Japan. Called Crown Sport, it’s a sleek crossover that looks very much like the concept we saw last year and addresses our biggest complaint about the Crown we have here: the missing rear liftgate.
With a long and low-slung body, voluptuous curves and large 21-inch wheels, the Crown Sport is vaguely reminiscent of the Ferrari Purosangue (the striking red exterior obviously makes the comparison more credible). In terms of size, it’s 260 mm shorter, 40 mm wider and 25 mm taller than the existing Crown.
We’re particularly interested in the rear end, which features a sporty hatch design and slightly raised roofline—attributes that will aid with cargo, enhance versatility and provide more headroom for rear-seat occupants. Toyota wasn’t specific about interior dimensions, though.
The company did say that it emphasized easy ingress and egress. What’s more, the Crown Sport boasts Toyota's first “sound-regulating ceiling,” which reflects sounds within the cabin to create a quieter environment for all passengers to communicate with each other.
When it comes to powertrain options, customers in Japan will have a choice of two hybrid systems. The regular one is shared with the North American-spec Crown model, while the plug-in hybrid variant uses a newly developed, large-capacity lithium-ion battery that “provides extended EV range without compromising on interior space.” Again, no specs were made available.
As mentioned up top, two more Crown derivatives are coming. These include a more conventional sedan to be released in November and a large SUV to follow in 2024.
So, which one do you prefer, Crown or Crown Sport? The latter will eventually be sold in markets outside of Japan, but we have yet to hear from Toyota about a possible launch in Canada.