2026 Toyota Crown Expert Review
Reviewed by Alex Leanse
A legendary nameplate in Japan, the Toyota Crown now serves as the brand’s flagship four-door, replacing the discontinued Avalon in the U.S.
The modern Toyota Crown is a large, upscale sedan offered with a choice between two hybrid powertrains. Rivals to the 2026 Crown include the Honda Accord, slightly smaller Toyota Camry, and Hyundai Ioniq 6.
Looking for the Crown SUV? It’s called the Crown Signia and you can find it here.
What’s New
- For 2026, the Crown carries over unchanged from 2025.
- These were the changes on the 2025 Crown:
- A heated steering wheel and heated and ventilated front seats became standard equipment
- The Platinum model gained rear-wheel steering, a power-adjustable steering column, a power-operated trunklid, and a head-up display.
- The dark-hued Nightshade trim was introduced, as well.
What We Think
Being weird doesn’t necessarily make a car bad, but the 2026 Toyota Crown succumbs to detrimental strangeness. This large hybrid sedan just doesn’t really make a lot of sense compared to other, better options from Toyota and other automakers.
As a design statement, the Crown succeeds with its bold proportioning, subtle sculpting, and unusually tall stance. Inside the cabin, material quality and finishing is more premium than in typical Toyota models, yet not as luxurious as a Lexus. Additionally, there’s an abundance of foolproof, user-friendly physical buttons in addition to big digital displays.
Driving the Crown is fairly forgettable. Aside from some gritty engine noises it’s reasonably refined but also not interesting or engaging. Toyota’s driver-assist features are reliable and useful. Fuel economy is good, although not leading. What stands out most about the Crown is its packaging; despite the generous exterior measurements, the cabin feels unduly cramped.
When Toyota’s other hybrid models like the Camry, Corolla, and Prius—or even the SUV-ish Crown Signia—offer higher efficiency and better driving manners, the Crown is an odd choice. It’s not bad, but you really have to dig the design to drive a 2026 Crown.
Performance and MPGs
Every Crown model has an AWD hybrid powertrain. In the Crown XLE, Limited, and Nightshade, a 2.5-liter I-4 joins with a CVT automatic and two electric motors to produce total output of 236 hp. With this powertrain, 0–60 acceleration takes 7.1 seconds. Fuel economy comes in at 42/41 mpg city/highway.
Performance increases in the Platinum trim, which has a turbocharged 2.4-liter I-4 with a six-speed automatic and electric motors. These combine to make 340 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, which cuts the 0–60 mph time to 5.7 seconds. However, fuel economy is reduced in the Crown Platinum, to 29/32 mpg.
We like the 2026 Crown Platinum’s responsive powertrain, but its higher price might keep most buyers to the more efficient setup in the XLE, Limited, and Nightshade models.
Crown vs. Crown Signia: What’s the Difference?
Think of the Crown Signia as a crossover version of the Crown sedan. Although it’s arguably more of a tall wagon than a true SUV, the Crown Signia provides much more interior passenger and cargo space than the standard Crown.
The Crown Signia’s exterior looks different, but its interior design and features are essentially identical to those of the Crown. Only the 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain is offered in the Crown Signia, not the more powerful turbocharged 2.4-liter hybrid setup.
Given the Crown sedan’s compromised packaging, we’d suggest the Crown Signia instead. Pricing for the Crown Signia starts slightly higher than the Crown, at about $45,000.
Safety Ratings and Features
The Toyota Crown received a five-star overall crash safety score from NHTSA for 2025. It also earned Top Safety Pick status, the second-best designation awarded by IIHS. Like most new Toyota models, the 2026 Crown comes equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite of driver-assist and active safety features.
These features are standard:
- Front automatic emergency braking
- Rear and side cross-traffic alert
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane-keep assist
- Adaptive cruise control
- Automatic high beams
Higher-end models gain rear automatic braking, front cross-traffic alert, lane-change assist, and a hands-free driving system for traffic jams.
Cargo Space and Interior Room
Although the Crown’s interior measurements seem sufficient on paper, from inside the cabin the lack of space is very evident.
Technology
All 2026 Crown models are equipped with dual 12.3-inch digital displays for the driver’s gauge cluster and infotainment touchscreen. The touchscreen is compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s a wireless charging pad cleverly integrated as a slot below the dashboard, and five USB ports dispersed throughout the cabin.
On the XLE trim a six-speaker audio system is included, while trims above that get an 11-speaker premium arrangement from JBL. Phone-as-key functionality, a 360-degree camera, and a head-up display are optional or included depending on trim.
Which 2026 Crown Trim Level Is Best?
Despite the Crown Platinum’s extra power, it’s no more fun or better to drive than any other version.
Given how well-equipped the standard XLE model is, that’s the version we’d pick. It has heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a wireless charging pad, dual 12.3-inch displays, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a variety of driver-assist and active safety features. The 2026 Toyota Crown XLE starts at approximately $43,000.
