Toyota has brought another Crown to U.S. shores. This time, it's the Crown Signia, a crossover that does its best impression of an SUV but looks more like a high-riding wagon.
The hybrid- and all-wheel drive-only 2025 Toyota Crown Signia is a premium offering that borrows bits and bobs from Lexus to improve its standing moving past the low points of the Crown sedan.
The 2025 Crown Signia is available in XLE and Limited grades, both in a choice of five color options including Storm Cloud or Black as standard, Bronze Age, Finish Line Red, or Oxygen White as optional. The interior is the buyer's pick of Black or Saddle Tan.
As opposed to the Crown sedan's roof that slopes to the rear, the Signia's roof is almost flat to the back of the vehicle, which sits low enough to the ground that buyers can see over it, giving it a station wagon feel.
A monochromatic grille adorns the front end while the fenders are slightly flared to add visual width. The top trim is available with 21-inch wheels, a size only available on massive SUVs just a few years ago. As with the current Crown sedan, the Signia has 6.7-inches of ground clearance
TheSignia SUV comes equipped with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a hybrid transaxle, and a small battery. Total system output is 240 horsepower (hp). It returns 38 miles per gallon in combined driving scenarios. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) comes standard.
The power from the hybrid system is fine for a semi-luxury commuter vehicle. It takes off quickly, as expected with electric motivation, and does a good job of moving to passing speed when the driver demands it, despite the inherit characteristics of the transmission.
That 2.5-liter does some weird things, though, sometimes speeding up to charge the battery after your foot has left the pedal. It's not loud, but definitely noticeable.
Its powertrain and structure allow the Crown Signia to tow up to 2,700 pounds.
The 2025 Crown Signia, like the Crown sedan, features three drive modes: Normal, Sport and Eco. Sport increases the accelerator response while Eco decreases it and sets the climate to the most efficient setting.
Additionally, an EV mode allows electric-only driving at low speeds for short distances. If the driver floors the pedal the engine will still kick on.
As with other hybrids, the brakes are a little spongy as they first regenerate electricity before mechanically clamping down the brake discs. That's only noticeable in a panic situation when the pedal goes down further than some others.
However, the Crown Signia handles better than expected, and better than the Crown, with medium effort steering and accurate adjustments. The ride is very comfortable with the fixed (non-adjustable) suspension, buttery over normal roads and above average rough roads. But that solid ride and peaceful cabin is also thanks to the interior sound deadening with new acoustic glass and more body sealing, and the expectedly excellent seats.
Most Lexus seats, and many in higher-end Toyotas, have the perfect combination of support and softness, and side bolstering for an average-sized human. Aside from some light engine noise when the regeneration kicks in, the cabin is quiet at speed making it easy to converse with passengers in the front and back.
The seats and cabin material are offered in Saddle Tan or Black. The Limited model with tan perforated leather-wrapped seats also includes light bronze metal accents on the wheel, center console and dashboard, which are a bright accent in a generally dark-colored interior.
Dual-zone climate control is standard and adjusted via a line of buttons under the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. A 12.3-inch customizable digital instrument cluster sits in front of the driver.
The center console smartly packages a vertical wireless phone charger space, two cupholders, and all of the drive mode buttons near the shifter. Most of the safety features like lane keeping and adaptive cruise control buttons are on the steering wheel.
Overall, the front seat is spacious and wide, with big storage pockets in the doors, however the armrest storage is only medium and it doesn't feature a purse- or bag-sized space underneath the center console, between the seats like some sedans and SUVs do.
The rear seat area is also spacious and comfortable for three adults. Crown Signia's cargo area measures 25 cubic feet with the rear seats in place and 66 when folded. Like many of its stats, that puts it between most small and medium-sized SUVs.
Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, a suite of safety and driver assistance technology comes standard on the model, with emergency braking, lane departure intervention, adaptive cruise control, lane tracing and road sign assist.
Proactive Driving Assist is also standard, which will gently brake if it sees a vehicle slowing down in front and gently nudge the wheel around a curve. It's disconcerting at first, but after a whilte behind the wheel it proves useful, telling the driver's foot that someone is slowing down.
The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia starts at $43,590 for the XLE grade and $47,990 for the Limited, arriving in late summer.
There are only a few options, the biggest of which is the Advanced Technology Package on the Limited grade, which includes a surround view monitor, power-folding outside mirrors with puddle lights and reverse tilt-down feature, Traffic Jam Assist, which requires a subscription, front cross-traffic alert, lane change assist and parking sensors.
It competes with the top of the premium market vehicles including options from Buick, Infiniti and Acura. The Crown Signia is between small and medium sizes. At 194 inches it's a little longer than the Infiniti QX50 ($41,000) and a little shorter than the QX60 ($49,650). It's also bigger than the Acura RDX ($44,350) but smaller than the MDX ($50,150). However, at least in the case of the Infiniti, all-wheel drive is an extra $2,000.
The Acuras are sportier than the Toyota Crown Signia while the Infinitis feel more luxurious on the inside. That aligns with what Toyota usually does with its consumer grade sedans and SUVs, which is make a vehicle that is good at everything but never great at one thing.
A lot of buyers want that, but the company has had a tough time getting them into the Crown sedan. The 2025 Crown Signia, an SUV splitting two popular segments, could change that.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
