The Toyota Crown returned to America earlier this year with two hybrid powertrains, and it appears a plug-in hybrid variant is on the horizon.
According to MotorTrend, Toyota President Akio Toyoda revealed the news during a dealer meeting in Las Vegas last week. Little is known about the model at this point, but it’s expected to adopt the Prime moniker just like the Prius plug-in hybrid.
That’s not much to go on, but the Crown comes standard with a hybrid powertrain that consists of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, two electric motors, an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission, and a newly developed high-output bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery. Toyota hasn’t released performance specifications, but the Japanese variant has a combined output of 231 hp (172 kW / 234 PS).
First Look: The 2023 Toyota Crown Is A Quirky, Crossover-ish Sedan That’s Replacing The Avalon
Buyers looking for more power can upgrade to the Crown Platinum, which features an all-new Hybrid Max powertrain. It has a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, a front electric motor that helps to maximize torque production, a rear eAxle, and a six-speed automatic transmission with a hydraulic multi-plate wet start clutch. This setup should give the model 340 hp (254 kW / 345 PS) and a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of 5.9 seconds.
Unfortunately, the focus on performance comes at a cost as the Crown Platinum is expected to have a fuel economy rating of 28 mpg. That’s 10 mpg less than the other Crown variants.
The plug-in hybrid Crown will presumably be the most powerful and it’s possible the model could use a Hybrid Max-based powertrain. That remains to be seen, but we could potentially learn more details in the coming weeks.
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