Hi riding vehicles have:
Easier entry/exit.
Higher seating position.
More visibility.
More passenger and luggage space.
More head clearance for greater safety.

Yet it compromizes little in fuel economy.
It compromizes little in performance, manoeuverability, handling and comfort.
This is why high riding vehicles are dominant in sales.
All the manufacturers know this, so they have gotten together to produce high riding vehicles - with added masculine, sporty looks and a big mouth just like the forthcoming compact Peugeot 4008 below.
For example, you know your typical sedan is taller than a Ferarri or a Lamborghini or a Porsche, but what does your sedan give to the sports car in terms of: performance, handling, fuel economy, comfort, quietness and rollover safety?


I hate SUV's and I have never owned an SUV myself.
However, I am glad they raised it by only 4", because it does give slightly easier access, more space, a larger safety cell, and more space to accomdoate today's de rigueur hybrid battery pack/fuel tank sandwiches beneath the rear seat base, or even a future underfloor battery pack for an EV - without adding nearly 8" of height of a Highlander/RX which I despise.
Don't worry about the Toyota Crown's styling, because arguably, the premium Lexus version almost always looks better than the entry level Toyota version - just look at Toyota bZ versus Lexus RZ.

I hate SUV's, but I know when to compromize.
+4" is only 6.8% taller!
Think about it. An underfloor battery pack would make Camry's cabin 4" shallower - and that's just not right - hence we have to accept this new breed of +4" hi riding sedans.
And much better to accept +4" of new hi riding sedans than to put up with +11.5" of genuine SUV like Highlander/RX.

+4" hi riding sedans not really important for ICEV's and not too many pure traditional ICEV's produced anymore, but more relevant to hybrids like forthcoming Crown, and especially important for plug-ins if they want to sandwich the entire PHEV battery pack with fuel tank beneath the rear seat base.
+4" hi riding sedans totally mandatory for EV's.

 

^^^ the red car doesn't seem relevant to your post, but it's good looking.

 

Yes. This is the downside of making it SUV-tall: You can't give it acceptable handling and roll stiffness unless you stiffen the springs enough to compromise the ride. This is the exact same problem the Outback has vs. its sedan-height Legacy twin.

Add to that the fact that you get that disadvantage without the compensating advantage of hatchback versatility, and it's clear this was designed by marketers, not engineers. Both BMW and Mercedes have dabbled in this body style for several years, which I'm surprised nobody has brought up here. They sell a few, but mostly, SUV buyers choose SUVs and sedan buyers choose sedans. What was needed was an AWD true sedan like all 3 German makers will sell you, but that's not in the cards here.

I hope to god that CT is right in speculating the next ES will be Camry-based, because that's our only hope of an ES that delivers its German rivals' competitve advantages: sedan height, AWD and the appropriate power that the current ES 250 is so painfully lacking.

 

Here it is in a different color. IMO it looks fantastic.
340 HP hybrid, AWD, 21 inch wheels. I am very surprised that this even exists.

 

They look good to my eyes as well. The infotainment system is nicely well done compare to the fugly one on 2022 Toyota Avalon Limited. Crown is a very much here and now vehicle and I don't think it will age well in 5 years.

 

I wonder if the decision to raise the Crown into a Crosstour/Outback was due to packaging constraints with TNGA-K. The ES/Camry/Avalon could not physically fit AWD with the 6 cylinder powertrain on that platform. This doesn't have a six cylinder, but the larger hybrid setup consumes just as much if not more space.

 

I think that looks really really good. Toyota is gonna kill it with their new hybrid options E-Axle is pretty innovative stuff. I do like the 21” wheels.

 

yeah I agree I was not expecting Toyota to offer turbocharged - hybrids with these kind of power/torque figures + E-axle + no cvt. Pretty exciting stuff !

 

those are massive wheels on effectively a sedan. 21” are in the Audi territory now!

single tone looks much better. I don’t think the 2 tone will sell well. Also a colour like that is normally reserved for the Lexus range. Toyota colours are normally more bland and less metallic.

 

yeah everything about this is unlike Toyota. This could have easily been a Lexus.

 

It's "unlike Toyota" because the Crown brand is supposed to be more premium than Toyota. Hence why a few pages back (before the thread was split) I was questioning whether Crown would cannibalize Lexus.

Given that the current Avalon can cost up to $47K, the Crown may be the first Toyota-branded sedan in the U.S. to go past the $50K mark into Lexus ES territory.

 

The next generation Lexus ES will definitely be some variant of the Crown. Lexus ES already lost in the specs.

 

Because of the Crown, I think the next ES will get a substantial price bump and probably be priced directly into BMW 5 Series or Volvo S90 territory, especially with the new powertrain that's in the RX500h.

The ES and RX will no longer be the budget choices in their class, we can finally test the theory of how strong the Lexus badge is and how loyal the customer base is based on how successful those two vehicles will be if they are priced to compete directly against their German counterparts in the same size class for the very first time.

 

Next time someone says that just show them this.


Being safer in SUV with higher center of gravity is one of the biggest misconceptions among drivers. This mostly comes down to people thinking Oh if this guy in Sequoia t-bones me in my Corolla I will get off much worse than if I was driving an Expedition. And that's how we got the chain reaction and CUV pandemic but somehow someone always wants to justify SUV with ease of entry and cargo room.

 

But Toyota Crown is less than 4" or only 6.8% taller than Camry - would 4" and 6.8% make that huge a difference????