Toyota's Flagship Crown Sedan Returns After 50 Years as a Lifted Hybrid 'Crossover'

Toyota tries to reinvent the full-size sedan with the 2023 Crown, by making the gap between sedan and crossover even smaller.

One of Toyota’s oldest nameplates is coming back to America later this year. This is the 2023 Toyota Crown, a flagship that is doing its best to blur the lines between crossover, coupe, and conventional sedan.

The Crown has been in the Toyota lineup since 1955 when it was called the Toyopet Crown. It was sold here for several generations, from 1958 through 1973, but was replaced by cars better suited to American car buyers’ wants.

Now it’s back, and it looks like it will be replacing the Avalon. The full-size sedan Toyota has been sold here since the early 1990s.

Crown Blurs Sedan Line With Tall Height

In Japan, Toyota will have four different Crown variants, including the Sport coupe, Sedan, and Estate. We’ll get just one, the fourth version called the Crown Crossover.

Though it’s called a crossover there, Toyota is still calling it a sedan stateside. Why? Because the proportions are definitely those of a sedan, including a coupe-like roofline, low hood, and — maybe most importantly — a trunk.

But the new 2023 Crown will be tall by sedan standards. Somewhat disguised by the 21-inch wheels, the Crown has a taller ride height and ends up with a roofline 4 inches higher than a Camry.

That makes Crown 60.6 inches tall, splitting the divide between Camry and Venza. Toyota calls the height “unique,” saying it offers better visibility as well as easier entry and exit.

We can’t help but think of Subaru’s Sport Utility Sedan version of the Outback or Volvo’s S60 Cross Country. Though this Toyota seems better integrated when it comes to the additional height where those were largely suspension lifts and body cladding.