What Is the HYBRID MAX Engine in the New Toyota Crown?
The new Toyota Crown crossover/sedan picks up where the old, and sadly missed, Toyota Avalon left off. Toyota wanted a big sedan to compete with the big four-door offerings from Cadillac, Infiniti, Chevy and others. But Toyota also knows that buyers of these big, heavy, long-distance cruisers are tired of gas-guzzling V6s and V8s. But, they want that power.
What to do? Hybridize a large four-cylinder motor.
What is the Toyota Crown?
Depending on whom you talk to, it’s a sedan or a crossover. I say it’s a car because it has a locking trunk in back, not a liftgate. Regardless, it seats five in comfort, but with a taller crossover-like seating position that offers a commanding view of the road. It comes in two flavors, and each has all-wheel-drive and a hybrid motor.
Inside, the Crown is designed to offer near-Lexus like quality and luxury. It has soft-touch surfaces and higher-quality leather than you’ll find in other Toyotas. It has adaptable suspension, and a new multi-media system. To cement this as Toyota’s top car, it also has unique paint schemes and layers of sound-deadening material to keep it quiet.
What is the HYBRID MAX
The base XLE grade comes equipped with the 2.5-liter THS, AWD, three selectable drive modes, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated and powered woven fabric front seats and the all-new Toyota Multimedia System. But the HYBRID MAX is the one to get on the upper-level trim. The HYBRID MAX makes 340 horsepower and still gets 28 mpg, combined.
The HYBRID MAX gas motor makes 275 hp, but adds two EV motors for a combined 340 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. It’s the most powerful Toyota sedan ever. It has almost 100 horsepower more than the base version. With the Hybrid Max you can expect a 0-60 mph time of about 5.5 seconds.
The other big bonus to the HYBRID MAX system is that you get a direct shift 6-speed automatic transmission instead of the broing continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the base care. But, those batteries and motors do add up. The car weighs 4,200 pounds, which is near pickup truck weight.
The Crown adds Toyota’s different AWD system
Most cars and trucks with all-wheel drive need a driveline that connects the motor to the rear wheels. But Toyota took a different path with its new generation of all-wheel drive cars and SUVs, like the RAV4 and even the Odyssey minivan. Instead of heavy driveshaft, the company simply adds an electric motor to the rear axle. It’s a simple and clever solution to adding all-wheel drive without the complexity.
The rear axle is computer controlled and only adds power when it’s needed.
How much is the HYBRID MAX Crown?
The HYBRID MAX engine is only available on the upper trim of the Crown. The base version, with the less-powerful motor, starts at $39,950. The Limited comes in a $45,550. To get the Hybrid Max, though, you have to step up to the Toyota Crown Platinum version. That car starts at $52,350, but it’s the everything package and there aren’t many features it doesn’t come with.
