2023 MOTORTREND NEW CAR BUYER'S GUIDE - PART 7

2023 BUYER'S GUIDE

CROWN Either willfully blind to the whole lifted sedan schtick not working out for AMC, Subaru, and Volvo or convinced the Crown is larger than those and thus totally different, Toyota is giving this odd format its latest attempt. The 2023 Crown essentially replaces the discontinued Avalon, borrowing its name from a line of upmarket Toyota sedans stretching back to the first Toyota ever sold in America in the ’50s but absent here for decades. It sits 4.0 inches higher than a Camry, wears beefy, crossoverlike-body cladding, and only comes with all-wheel drive.

Every Crown is hybridized. Crown XLE and Limited models use the newest version of Toyota’s familiar 2.5-liter hybrid I-4 engine with dual electric motors and a planetary-type CVT driving the front wheels; a third, larger EV motor independently spins the rear axle. Expect about 236 hp and 38 mpg combined from this combo. Range-topping Platinums upgrade to a 2.4-liter turbocharged I-4 with a single electric motor and a six-speed automatic. With its bigger rear motor, this setup is good for 340 hp and about 400 lb-ft of torque, though combined fuel economy slides to 28 mpg. Whether Toyota can stanch full-size sedan buyers’ flight to SUVs by SUVifying the full-size sedan is an intriguing question. But we’ve seen companies try this tall-sedan thing before, and history gives reason for pessimism.

GR86 The little sports car that could add a special edition called, uh, the Special Edition. Available only in Solar Shift orange, the car is fitted with a GR cat-back exhaust, special black wheels, and special graphics inside and out. Toyota plans to build 860 of them.