When the all-new 6th generation Toyota Crown made its global debut in Japan in July 2022, four different body styles were shown - two SUVs (a lower ride height Crossover and a higher ground clearance Sport), a Sedan, and an Estate. Today, a second higher ground clearance SUV-coupe style 2023 Toyota Crown Sport has gone on sale in Japan.

The previously sedan-only Crown was the quintessential car for corporate Japan. The Crown model line has since been transformed into a 4 models-big family, vastly expanding the Crown’s customer base beyond the black suit types.

The two remaining Crown models, the more traditional Crown Sedan and ski resort-visiting Crown Estate will join in November and the next year respectively.

Compared to the Crown Crossover, the driver-oriented Crown Sport is 210 mm shorter (4,720 mm long), 40 mm wider (1,880 mm wide), but since it has a 15 mm higher ground clearance (160 mm), the Crown Sport’s roofline is also 25 mm taller (1,565 mm tall). The wheelbase is also shortened from 2,850 mm to 2,770 mm.

Unlike the Crown Crossover, which is offered in Japan with two engine options – 2.4-litre turbo hybrid (T24A-FTS) and 2.5-litre naturally aspirated hybrid (A25A-FXS) - the Crown Sport is only available with the latter hybrid. A plug-in hybrid variant with the same 2.5-litre capacity will join the line-up in December.

Unique to the Toyota Crown Sport is a sound-regulating ceiling feature – a first for Toyota. It works by reflecting sounds within the cabin to create a space where occupants can communicate directly with each other to make conversations easier.

Further differentiating from the Crown Crossover is the Crown Sport’s four-wheel steering feature, which Toyota refers to as Dynamic Rear Steering (DRS).

Prices for the Toyota Crown Sport in Japan start from 5,900,000 Yen (~RM 187,000), which is about the price of a lower range variant Toyota Alphard. The Crown Sport’s price is also significantly higher than the Crown Crossover’s 4,350,000 Yen (~RM 138k).

For reference, a Toyota Alphard is priced from 5,400,000 Yen to 8,720,00 Yen (~RM 171k to RM 276k).

The previous generations of Crowns were mostly Japan-focused models, though a small number were also exported to China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong.

For this sixth generation Crown however, is a global model that will be exported to over 40 countries. Still, we don’t expect this model to be launched here as our market is too small for it to share space with a Toyota Harrier (from RM 274,000), not forgetting Lexus Malaysia's range of SUVs.