Never imagined a Crown so full of exhilaration

The RS “Landscape”, an off-road-flavoured special edition of the Crown Crossover, was announced by Toyota in April 2024 at the same time as a partial upgrade of the Crown Crossover. Mr. Hiromi Takeda, a former employee of a car importer and a writer who has always been in the field of imported cars and has never had much contact with domestic cars, was the first person to even drive the new Crown, but he could not help but be surprised by its performance and capabilities. Here is a report from the point of view of an overseas luxury car specialist.

Immaculate hybrid performance

Although the Toyota Crown Crossover is now a familiar sight on the streets, nearly two years after its debut in 2022, I was somewhat taken aback when I first came face to face with the RS ‘Landscape’ for the first time.

The RS Landscape features the same exclusive Black and Urban Khaki body color as the RAV4 and other models, and over wings painted in GORI GORI BLACK. The Crown Crossover has been customized with bright red mudguards, giving it an even more outdoorsy feel to the SUV-like atmosphere it already exudes, but as an indoor person, I found it to be quite a formidable opponent.

When I got back into the cabin and drove it slowly along a narrow residential street, I found that it was much easier to drive than I had imagined from its aggressive appearance, and despite its large size (4930 mm long x 1880 mm wide x 1565 mm high), it was very easy to drive. It is very easy to drive.

Additionally, the torque demand of the electric motor is very natural from the start, and the car starts moving with a gentle yet powerful. Even after the car starts running, the transition between the electric driving range and engine start-up is surprisingly smooth, which is impressive considering that Toyota has been working on strong hybrids for nearly 30 years, since the first-generation Prius.

And when I enter the motorway and step on the accelerator pedal through the gate, it’s so refreshing that I want to mumble, “Oh?!”

The Dual Boost Hybrid System, which is installed in each high-performance model of the new Crown, including the RS “Landscape”, is powered by an in-line 4-cylinder 2.4-liter turbo engine that produces 272 hp maximum output and 460 Nm maximum torque, It combines an electric motor that produces 82.9 hp/292 Nm at the front and 80.2 hp/169 Nm of power and torque at the rear. The combined maximum system output is 349 hp, so it is no surprise that the car is fast, even if it weighs in at a very heavy 1910 kg.

The smooth and natural torque feel on ordinary roads remains unchanged even at higher speeds, and the entire body of the vehicle responds pleasantly to the throttle operation.

The only personal disappointment is that the sound of the in-line four-cylinder engine lacks any semblance of color, but this is no different in a car with a four-cylinder petrol-based powertrain, whether Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

In the modern era of trying to limit the sound emitted by ICEs as ‘noise’, I guess we have to draw the line at a certain point.