Last night, Toyota unveiled an all-new 2-row midsize SUV with a hybrid drivetrain, standard all-wheel drive (AWD), and a name that links the company’s future with its history. Meet the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia.
Toyota says the name is “based on the term insignia,” in case you’re terested.
Wait, Isn’t There Already a Toyota Crown?
Americans are just getting used to the Toyota Crown since the company introduced a high-riding sedan under that name last year. But Japan knows the Crown as an entire lineup of cars. In Japan, the Crown name adorns two sedans and two SUVs.
In the U.S., it will soon appear on one of each.
The Crown is a large sedan with an SUV’s ride height. The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia will be entirely SUV.
Toyota says the Crown Signia will reach dealerships in 2024, but the company has given no hint as to price.
Refreshingly Not a Boxy Pretend Off-Roader
In size, it’s a typical 2-row midsize crossover. More family-oriented than Toyota’s other midsize SUV, the rugged 4Runner, the Crown Signia wears much the same nose as the 2025 Toyota Camry that appeared alongside it.
In a year when most SUV designs are leaning on boxy and rugged, it’s smooth and sleek — from the A-pillar back, it’s almost the offspring of a Lexus RX and a Porshe Cayenne. As if to lean into that luxury a bit, Toyota will sell just two trim levels — XLE and Limited, each well-equipped enough to steal a few pages from the luxury car manual.
That near-luxury theme continues inside.
Plush Interior for a Toyota-Badged Car
Inside, a high transmission tunnel cradles the front passengers in separate tubs.
The Crown Signia’s cabin wears more upholstery — leather on the Limited and SofTex synthetic leather on the XLE — than most mainstream cars. Both front-seat riders get 8-way power adjustments. The rear seats, Toyota says, are “lounge-like,” though still a bench rather than buckets.
The dashboard seems to wrap around the front passenger’s seat thanks to a leather arch without a twin for the driver. “Elegant finishing touches like bronze-finished trim and color-matched, soft-touch panels on the doors” continue the almost-a-Lexus theme.
A 12.3-inch display faces the driver, with a matching touchscreen in the center managing entertainment and climate functions. An available subscription service adds voice commands, but Toyota hasn’t revealed its pricing. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
Standard Hybrid, AWD
Mechanically, the Signia rides on the same platform as the Toyota Sienna, Camry, and Highlander, so it should be a serene highway cruiser not meant for true off-roading. But all-wheel drive (AWD) is standard, and every Crown Signia is a hybrid.
Under the hood sits a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to two electric motor generators, good for 243 horsepower and “a preliminary manufacturer-estimated combined 36 mpg rating.”
A separate rear-mounted electric motor powers the rear wheels. The AWD system can send up to 80 percent of its power to the rear, “which helps suppress front wheel slip during off-the-line starts,” Toyota says. In normal driving, 100% of power goes to the front wheels.
Partial automation includes Toyota’s Traffic Jam Assist system, which can handle some driving duties under 25 mph to ease driving fatigue under limited circumstances.
Could Be the Second of Many
It seems odd for Toyota to add another SUV to its lineup, given the brand already sells one in nearly every market segment and two in several. But, before the Crown Signia’s arrival, Toyota lacked a true 2-row midsize entry other than the rugged, aging 4Runner.
In 2023, most SUV designers have gone for rugged in their products, with even the family-favorite Honda Pilot developing an image as a brawny off-roader. That creates an opening for a soft, luxe, plush family cruiser with crossover ride height and real SUV storage space.
In fact, it might resemble nothing so much as the Toyota Crown sedan. That makes it sound like it will just cannibalize sales. But Toyota has long sold a whole lineup of Crown vehicles successfully in Japan. The same approach might work here as a subset of near-Lexus, premium Toyota vehicles.
If the Crown Signia catches on, look for a smaller Crown Sport model in a year or two.
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