These Are the Toyota Crowns That Americans Are Missing Out On

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The crown we can’t have

The understated and beautiful Toyota Crown has been in the U.S. Toyota lineup for quite some time, most recently joined as a 2025 model by its station wagon-style companion, the Crown Xenia. Although the Crown was reintroduced in 2022 as a bold, high-back fastback that made a splashy return after a decades-long absence, U.S. buyers weren’t entirely familiar with the model.

With its nameplate dating back to 1955, the Crown is Toyota’s oldest and most legendary model. Over the years it has grown from a regular Japanese domestic market sedan to a luxury flagship sub-brand offering Toyota’s entire range of cars sold under the Crown banner.

Sounds cool? But like many cool Japanese products, not all of these special Toyota Crowns made it to the U.S. market. In Japan and other select markets, other Crown models in different body styles are available for different types of buyers. We’ll take a closer look at two different models: the Crown Sedan and the Crown Sport, two forbidden fruits that Americans are missing out on.

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The Crown sedan is Toyota’s best luxury four-door sedan Americans can’t own.

One famous Toyota Crown that American buyers have completely excluded is the Crown sedan. The pinnacle of the Toyota Crown. The current Crown sedan, sold only in Japan and China, is the one with the most direct lineage to the original 1955 model. After decades of sales, it has evolved into a proper luxury sedan for those who both enjoy driving and want to be driven.

Visually, the Crown sedan shares some visual cues with the pop-up Crown we get in the United States. The sedan’s front end has similar cues to the US-spec Crown, with unique Crown branding, a wide grille and slim headlights, though its features are far less bold and more subdued in comparison. Toyota themselves say the Crown sedan’s body is lower to the ground, embodying what they call a “new form” as designers aimed to avoid creating an “orthodox sedan”.

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One area where the Crown sedan looks rather unorthodox is under the hood. Unlike the U.S.-spec Crown, all Crown sedans are rear-wheel drive, with the option of an electric powertrain. Japanese can choose between Toyota’s 2.5-liter multi-stage hybrid system, or a high-performance hydrogen fuel cell system with a range of more than 820 kilometers per tank. According to the automaker, the latter powertrain can be used as an emergency external power source for homes or appliances in an emergency.

However, the sedan’s interior is where the real fun begins, as the cabin is spacious, quiet, and well-appointed, prioritizing rear-seat passenger comfort. Toyota says the Crown sedan’s long wheelbase is primarily optimized for rear passenger comfort. It has extra legroom, real wood and leather, and even an extra touchscreen integrated into the rear center armrest. What’s more, Crown’s adaptive vehicle suspension system is tuned to minimize the impact of bumps, potholes and even sharp turns on rear-seat passengers, providing a more comfortable experience.

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Crown Sport is a jacked-up luxury crossover that looks like a GR Corolla

While the Crown sedan is designed to carry on key parts of the brand’s heritage and bring luxury sophistication to a more discerning customer, the Crown Sport is something else entirely. It’s a Crown with a sports car spirit and a luxury plug-in hybrid SUV that’s probably one of Toyota’s most eye-catching models.

Exclusive to Japan, the Crown Sport is lower and more aggressive than the U.S.-market Crown, as it has a sleeker silhouette similar to a hatchback. Unlike the Crown sedan, the Crown Sport’s front fascia is very similar to that of the Crown Signia; with a huge lower grille and slim LED headlights shaped like a Prius. However, from a distance, especially in colors like red, the Crown Sport appears to resemble another of Toyota’s sporty products; the venerable GR Corolla, whose wide rear fenders and wheels give it a distinctly sporty stance.

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What’s particularly interesting about the Crown Sport are its powertrain options. Like the sedan, it comes with a 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, but Toyota also offers a plug-in hybrid version, which seems to be the more exciting option. The Crown Sport PHEV combines a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with front and rear electric motors to deliver a combined output of approximately 301 horsepower and approximately 56 miles of all-electric range.

Although it’s efficient, Toyota tuned the Crown Sport to actually be sporty. Toyota says the Crown Sport’s suspension, which uses front MacPherson struts and a rear multi-link suspension system, is specifically designed to “provide ground contact and damping forces so the driver can accurately understand the car’s intentions and reactions.” What’s more, the Crown Sport is also equipped with Dynamic Rear Steering (DRS), which helps make the car more agile at low speeds and more stable at high speeds.

Although the Crown Sport was originally intended to be sporty, Toyota didn’t equip it with a bulky cabin like a sports car. Its interior follows the same premium principles as other models in the Crown family, however, Toyota says its aggressively styled exterior is designed to help passengers get in and out of the car “gracefully.” Additionally, the Crown Sport features a sound-modulating ceiling that helps passengers avoid shouting during conversations.

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final thoughts

Although U.S. buyers are exposed to two different models of the Toyota Crown in the form of the Crown and Crown Signia, the bigger picture of the Crown brand seems to be missing, as it is viewed as something completely different in Japan.

Alongside the launch of the Crown Sport in 2023, Toyota is also launching The Crown, dealers that serve as bases for the Crown brand and will exclusively display the Crown range in their showrooms. Originally opened in Kanagawa and Fukuoka prefectures, these authorized dealers offer a more upscale experience than traditional Toyota dealerships. They feature special Japanese garden-style décor, seating areas, and even host social events for crown owners.

In the United States, its Crown models were launched as replacements for models that were about to be discontinued. Namely, the sedan-type Crown Avalon and the Crown Signia Venza. From a more logistical, product-planning perspective, introducing such a model could erode Toyota’s own true North American luxury project: Lexus. Although decided not to provide all crowns While protecting the Lexus brand, it also deprives American consumers of the opportunity to fully enjoy Toyota’s engineering and design expertise, making these two striking and unique vehicles – a gorgeous sedan and a sporty sports car – forbidden fruit.

This article was originally published by Autoblog on March 11, 2026, and first appeared in the Features section. Click here to add Autoblog as your preferred source.