3 Ways the 2024 Toyota Crown is an Unusual Sedan
The Toyota Crown came out last year, replacing the Avalon atop Toyota’s sedan hierarchy. With a choice of hybrid powertrains, the Crown offers a good combination of power, ride comfort, and efficiency.
Although these attributes sound a lot like what the Avalon featured, the Crown is nothing like the sedan it replaces. Below we’ll cover three ways the Crown is quite unique from most anything else on the road today.
The Styling, Obviously
The Crown’s styling is an easy one here. With SUV-coupe-like styling cues, yet a sedan body, the Crown has a bit of an identity crisis. Despite the sloping rear roof line, there is a tradition trunk, that has a short deck, but a large rear opening. The cladding and rugged looks are also in contrast to the Crown’s car-like 5.8-inch ground clearance.
If Toyota’s goal was to create something that would garner attention on the street, the Crown has succeeded. It even has multiple two-tone paint options for a bit more visual presence.
AWD, But No Rear Driveshaft
Having all-wheel drive in a sedan is no longer a novelty like it once was. It’s becoming more and more common place in the market. The way Toyota achieves power to all four wheels in the Crown is a bit unusual though.
The front wheels are powered by a combination of a turbocharged gas engine paired to an electric motor. There is no mechanical, physical connection between the front engine/motor and the rear wheels. The Crown does not have a middle driveshaft. Instead, the rear wheels are powered by a separated motor to add traction in slippery situations.
In fairness, this isn’t wholly unique to the Crown, as Toyota uses a similar set-up in plenty of the brand’s hybrid vehicles. Still, when it comes to large sedans using gas or hybrid set-ups, not having a driveshaft, yet getting power to all four wheels, isn’t that common place.
The Wheels and Tires
The final oddity has to do with the Crown’s wheel and tire package, especially on the Platinum trim level. When opting for the top-of-the-line 2024 Toyota Crown Platinum, the wheels are upgraded to 21-inch diameter alloys. That alone is a bit unusual for a sedan, as sizes over 20-inches are usually reserved for SUVs.
But what really makes it an oddity is the size of tire attached. Large wheels usually have wide tires, somewhere in the 255-325 mm range in terms of width. The Crown has skinny 225/45R21 tires which are quite narrow for such a large wheel. We’re hard press to think of any vehicle that wears such a combination other than the Crown.
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A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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I’m a Hyundai guy and I have an SUV, but I really like some of Toyota’s New designs a lot. And this Toyota Crown is my fav’ of these New designs. I will certainly take a test soon on this great looking sedan!
After owning more than 80 cars in my life, German, Italian, British, Korean, Swedish and American I bought my first Japanese car, a Crown Limited for a daily driver. For the last 18 years I've driven VW Passat TDIs until I could not get them any more and then switched to a new Passat gasoline car. Sold it and bought the Toyota. What an AWESOME car. We drove many miles a year and fuel economy is important both for cost and for lower pollution. The Crown is the best. beating the TDIs For 5,000 miles we consistently get 45 mpg with the best at 53 on a tank and the worst at 42. It is comfortable, roomy, plenty of power to pass other cars while traveling at 70. The only negative thing that I can mention is the engine noise is noticable. Dan Perry