2026 Toyota Crown review: Oddball in the wrong ways

Mitchell Weitzman
2 hours ago
4 min read

2025 Toyota Crown Nightshade review | The Road Beat

2026 Toyota Crown review by The Road Beat

Words and pictures: Mitchell Weitzman

Looks should never singularly define a car, but when a car resembles the Toyota Crown, resisting judgment becomes difficult. Even though Toyota has had recent design successes like the Prius, the brand proves they're still not afraid to serve us something truly mortifying. The self‑pronounced aesthetician of the 20th century, Lord Henry Wotton, said, "...Real beauty ends where an intellectual expression begins," but in the case of the Crown, it lacks both beauty and nearly any remote sign of intellect.

Where does it all go wrong?

Crown feels like an answer to a question or desire that never existed. Continuing the lineage of the Avalon — once the preeminent affordably large sedan for retirees — the Crown has become a bulbous, lifted sedan that appears like a normal car infected by a benign tumor. A shame, because the last Avalon was genuinely great‑looking, and simply a great all‑rounder, full stop.

There's no hiding from the fact sedan sales have declined over the past decade as crossovers and SUVs now dominate new‑car purchases. Yet the solution to succeeding the Avalon was by no means making a normal car “a little more crossover‑like,” because the end result is one of the ugliest machines on sale today at any price.

2026 Toyota Crown Nightshade exterior rear three quarter

Toyota also hoped to make the Crown a more upscale experience — a nod to a name used in the past for its higher‑end JDM models and an attempt to capture some of the cultural buzz around Netflix's The Crown, as many Americans are serially obsessed with the British Royal Family. And upon first acquaintance and ingress, a glance around reveals what is easily one of the nicer interiors ever fitted to a mainstream Toyota car. But then reality crashes in: this “nice for a Toyota” comes at a wildly overzealous price — $49,900 as tested here for this 2026 Nightshade example, and prices can quickly creep to nearly $60,000 for other variants with essentially the same trimmings.

The end result is surface‑level luxury, with soft padding and what appears to be leather, but the moment you interact with the controls, buttons, storage compartments, or even the trunk release, you're reminded this is not a genuine luxury car — it's only posing as one. Compounding that, despite its enormous trunk, the Crown still omits a power‑opening and closing trunk — a classic luxury‑car hallmark and something that has even trickled down to Hyundai Sonatas.

Then there's the way it drives — so entirely unremarkable. The steering is mute and lacks immediate connection, the ride quality isn't all that plush and can bounce around when encountering mild freeway impacts, and if you aim its nose at a corner, you'll miss, thanks to body roll and pronounced understeer. Enter a sequence of tight, connecting turns even at a mild speed, and the lazy nature reveals a sloppiness the old Avalon didn't even exhibit.

Fuel economy of this hybrid only model is fortunately excellent for such a large sedan, averaging 36 MPG in mixed driving, but that comes at a cost to dignity. Under the hood is a 2.4‑liter four‑cylinder hybrid powertrain paired to a CVT, and the engine sounds absolutely atrocious when accelerating. Exacerbated by the CVT holding a constant droning and moaning RPM, the noise spilling from the engine bay is loud and obnoxious, entirely undermining its goal of being a luxury vehicle. Power further fails to impress, requiring a deep stab of throttle to merge onto freeways, at which point your ears beg for this hybrid to just be a full EV instead. It’s a terrible powertrain that lacks performance and delights only in fuel economy.

In true Toyota fashion, the Crown includes all the basic driver‑safety tech and gizmos as standard, but this is no longer a unique selling point — competitors offer the same. I do appreciate the availability of normal cruise control instead of solely the horrid radar version, and the center touchscreen is easy to use even if some of the settings are oddly organized ( like why is the screen beep setting not also under the sound menu?).

Like other recent Toyotas, the lane‑departure warning is more hazardous than helpful, as it likes to follow exit lanes, grab painted lines, and feel like it's working against you. Thankfully, it can be disabled, albeit indefinitely.

A bad Toyota, even by Toyota standards

Aside from its excellent fuel economy, there is nothing else to like about the Crown. And if economy is the goal— which means saving money is a priority — pocket ten grand and get a loaded Camry instead, plus it returns even better MPG. Worse still, despite the bulbous shape, cabin space never feels particularly generous, with less rear‑legroom than anticipated for the adults I ferried.

Between the embarrassing looks and dull, cumbersome driving experience, the Crown is an oddball that does nothing competently enough to make up for its drawbacks. Yes, Toyota offers the step‑up Crown MAX with increased power, but the dynamics don’t blend with the added power, and the price then approaches $60K — frankly a ripoff for a niche Toyota sedan. It will never be a crossover in any meaningful way, and if you want the visibility and ease of entry that comes with that form factor, just get a proper crossover. The Crown Signia is the far superior option in the Crown family itself, thanks to its wagon form factor, added utility, and actually decent looks to pair with the great mileage.

Other vehicles to consider: Acura TLX, Genesis G80 (if you’re eyeing a $60K Crown Hybrid MAX), Toyota Camry, Lexus ES, Audi A5, Lexus NX or RX — there is no shortage of superior alternatives around the $50K–$60K mark.