Driven: 2024 Toyota Crown Platinum
2024 | car reviews | reviews | sedans | toyota | toyota crown
The 2024 Toyota Crown is different from other sedans. It rides higher than most and has a strong and athletic presence. The Platinum grade, which we tested, is its best-equipped and most powerful variant. It’s a spacious car with modern tech, a satisfying drivetrain, and a smooth ride, though its interior doesn’t live up to the promises of its exterior.
The first thing we noticed about the Crown is how it doesn't look like any other car on the road. Toyota's designers did a great job differentiating its body shape with a sloped, sportback shape and a wide stance. The Crown Platinum also rolls on big 21-inch, 10-spoke wheels with black and metal finishes. With an overall height of 60.6 inches, it rides nearly 4 inches taller than the 2025 Camry. It's only got 5.8 inches of ground clearance, though, so it's not exactly a Volvo Cross Country. At 196.1 inches long its about 3 inches longer than the 2025 Camry.
Our test car came in a dramatic Supersonic red-and-black color scheme. Unlike other two-tone vehicles that stop with a black roof and trim, the Crown Platinum makes a statement with a black hood and trunk. Again, no other cars look quite like it, and that's a good thing. The quad-beam LED headlights are crisp and bright, adding to the exterior's premium looks.
Every Crown has all-wheel drive and a hybrid powertrain. While the less expensive Crown XLE and Crown Limited have a naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, the Platinum has a 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-banger connected to the hybrid system. That means it uses more fuel but gives you much more power. The Platinum's Hybrid Max has an impressive total system output of 340 horsepower compared to the 2.5-liter's 236 horsepower. And with 400 lb-ft. of torque, it's swift off the line, zooming from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.1 seconds, which is more than 2 seconds quicker than the XLE and Limited. Like other Toyota hybrids, this one is buttery-smooth as it transitions between gas and electric propulsion. Fuel economy for the Platinum grade is rated at 29/32/30 (city/highway/combined) MPG. If you're less concerned with performance than gas consumption, the XLE and Limited impress with 42/41/41 MPG.
Inside the Crown, there's a tremendous amount of space, and the ride quality is smooth and comfortable. If we had to use a single (compound) word to describe the Crown's driving characteristics, it would be "confidence-inspiring." Combined with MacPherson front struts and multi-link rear suspension, the Platinum grade's adaptive variable suspension does an excellent job soaking up bumps and adjusting instantly to changes in road conditions and drive mode. Engine and tire noise is well controlled, though a good amount of wind noise penetrates the cabin from the A-pillars at highway speeds. The 12.9-inch front and 12.5-inch disc brakes provide solid stopping power. For the 2025 model year, the Crown Platinum gets exclusive dynamic rear steering that helps with cornering and reducing its turning radius from 38 feet to 35.4 feet.
As showy as the Crown Platinum's exterior is, its interior is almost the opposite. It has real leather seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, but the only thing that really stands out is the gold-tone trim, a nice change from the ubiquitous aluminum-colored trim found in most vehicles. But given the Crown's bold exterior design, we were hoping for something that made more of a statement. There are some soft-touch surfaces on the dashboard and doors, but they feel barely padded, and the center console has a rather large area of shiny plastic that looks likely to scratch over time. There's a great-sounding 11-speaker JBL audio system, but the tweeters mounted on the exterior of the A-pillars look like an afterthought.
The center console has a well-designed wireless smartphone charger that securely holds onto phones, a pair of cupholders, and a small storage tray. There are dual USB-C ports as well. The gear shifter is similar to some other recent Toyota and Lexus vehicles, using a joystick that you push left and forward for Reverse, left for Neutral, left and backward for Drive, and straight back for Manual shifting. I suppose it's similar to controlling a fighter jet, but it takes a little getting used to. The Drive mode switch is conveniently located directly behind the shift lever.
Both the driver and front passenger seats have heat and ventilation and offer good support. There's excellent headroom, and the dual-pane panoramic roof makes the cabin feel even more spacious. Note that this is a fixed-glass roof rather than an open sunroof.
Toyota's safety systems are some of the best on the market, and the Crown Platinum is well-equipped in this department. Its panoramic-view system uses cameras and sensors to help with visibility when parking. Other safety features include Toyota's Pre-Collision System w/Pedestrian Detection, Lane Tracing Assist, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Departure Alert w/Steering Assist ), Automatic High Beams, Road Sign Assist, Proactive Drive Assist, Front and Rear Parking Assist with Automatic Braking, and Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert. There's also an attention monitor to ensure your eyes stay fixed on the road ahead.
Rear-seat passengers enjoy excellent legroom and headroom and plenty of space for taller passengers. The rear seats are heated, too. On the back of the center console, you'll find a pair of HVAC vents and two USB-C charging ports. The audio system sounds just as good back here as it does up front.
By choosing a trunk instead of a hatchback design, the Crown gives its passengers more space to spread out. Beneath its black trunk lid, there's a capacious storage area that holds up to 15.2 cubic feet of cargo - though it seemed larger than that to our eyes. The rear seatbacks can fold in a 60/40 split, so you can carry longer items, too.
There's a lot we love about the Toyota Crown Platinum. We admire the dramatic exterior design choices and the excellent Hybrid Max drivetrain. The sedan also rides comfortably and has a spacious cabin. But with an as-tested price of $55,449, we would have liked a little more flash and luxury inside. Still, it's a distinctive car in a world where fewer and fewer sedans are being made, and with its closest competitor being the $109,000 Porsche Panamera 4, you could call it a bargain.
