2025 Toyota Crown

Is the 2025 Toyota Crown a Good Car?

"The Crown is a hard one to categorize, as its standard configuration employs essentially the same powertrain as the now hybrid-only Camry sedan — but its styling and features have upscale aspirations. There's also the Crown Hybrid Max variant, which starts in the mid-$50s (gulp!) and pumps out roughly 100 extra horsepower while sacrificing around 10 mpg combined. We find the Crown's pricing hard to justify when the Camry delivers even better fuel economy for less coin, but it's nice to have options, we suppose."—Ranked #4 out of 4 Midsize Hybrid Sedans

"The Toyota-Lexus family is all ate up with hybrid sedans, and it can be hard to keep them straight. Toyota isn't a luxury brand, of course, but the Crown aspires to get consideration from luxury shoppers with its daring styling and upmarket feature set. Under the hood, the entry-level Crown utilizes largely the same powertrain as the Lexus ES Hybrid, while the Crown Hybrid Max pumps up the volume with a 340-horsepower turbo hybrid power plant that features a conventional automatic transmission for a more precise feel. It's hard to see the Crown ever becoming more than a marginal player in Toyota's hybrid portfolio, but should you consider it alongside the ES Hybrid? Absolutely."—Ranked #1 out of 2 Midsize Hybrid Luxury Sedans

Which 2025 Toyota Crown Should I Buy?

MotorDonkey's proprietary vehicle data identifies every significant version of each model so that you can compare and decide. Ordered by price from low to high, here are the versions of the 2025 Toyota Crown that you need to be aware of, along with our expert analysis and recommendations.

1. 2025 Toyota Crown Hybrid (2.5 CVT AWD)

• Base Price: $41,440
• MPG Combined: 41
• Drive Type: All-wheel drive
• Engine: 2.5-liter inline-4
• Aspiration: Naturally aspirated
• Transmission: CVT
• Horsepower: 236 
• Torque: N/A
• 0-60: 7.2 sec
• Weight: 3,980 lbs
• Length: 196.1 in

The 2025 Toyota Crown XLE, Limited and Nightshade trims are equipped with the non-turbocharged 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, which isn't nearly as quick as the Platinum's "Hybrid Max" powertrain, but is dramatically more fuel-efficient — and cheaper. The non-turbo powertrain also uses a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that feels distinctly less pleasant while accelerating than the Hybrid Max's conventional six-speed automatic. Either way, it's worth noting that the Crown is a rather long vehicle, measuring about 1.5 inches longer than the three-row Highlander SUV.

2. 2025 Toyota Crown Hybrid Max (2.4T 6AT AWD)

• Base Price: $54,990
• MPG Combined: 30
• Drive Type: All-wheel drive
• Engine: 2.4-liter inline-4
• Aspiration: Turbocharged
• Transmission: 6-speed automatic
• Horsepower: 340 
• Torque: 400 lb⁠-⁠ft
• 0-60: 5.1 sec
• Weight: 4,343 lbs
• Length: 196.1 in

Not shy on the pricing front, the top-of-the-line 2024 Toyota Crown Hybrid Max starts at $54,990 in its mandatory Platinum trim. That's up about $1,600 from last year, when we were already wondering aloud about a $53k-plus Toyota sedan. But here's the thing — the Crown's "Hybrid Max" powertrain is a totally different beast from the hybrid system in the Crown XLE, Limited and Nightshade. It ditches the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine in favor of a much stronger 2.4-liter turbo four, and it swaps out the CVT for a six-speed conventional automatic. The result is 104 extra horsepower and acceleration that's night-and-day quicker. You also lose a whopping 11 mpg combined, but considering the impressive performance, 30 mpg combined — including 29 mpg city — is still pretty great. Try to think of other midsize sedans that deliver this level of all-wheel-drive performance and the Crown Hybrid Max's pricing might start to make more sense.