Should You Buy a 2026 Toyota Crown？

Hello and welcome to the Car Care Net channel, and welcome to the 2026 Toyota Crown. In today's video, we're going to do a proper technical review under the hood, take a look underneath it, inside and out, some things we like, some things we do not like, right after this. Let's start our technical review under the hood. Now, in 2026 Toyota Crown, you have two powertrain options. The Platinum trim has a four-cylinder 2.4 liter turbo, the T24, and kind of the one-motor hybrid vehicle system, so it has one motor between the engine and transmission, six-speed automatic transmission. That I feel like more performance-oriented, kind of like the RX500h, similar powertrain. But this one, I feel like it's the most common one. This is the hybrid iteration, you'll find it in all trims but the Platinum. Let's talk about this. So the engine here is an A25AFXS, pretty familiar engine at this point, it's been out since 2018. This one is the 08 iteration of that engine. Talk about this engine. Very top, plastic valve cover. We have seen, not on the Crown, but some other models, valve cover gaskets leaking, but otherwise, things have been good with this valve cover. Underneath that is a two-piece cylinder head. You have the cradle where the cams sit and the caps and whatnot, and then you have a cylinder head where all the valves are. You do have hydraulic lifters, roller rockers, so modern everything. This does have dual overhead cam, of course, does have a timing chain, actually two timing chains, one for the cams to the crank, one for the oil pump, which sits all the way at the bottom. Now, VVTi, let's talk about that. On the intake side, you have this motor, so this is VVTi-E. Basically what this motor does, the gear, the timing gear, has kind of two gears that are meshed together. One of them is connected to the chain, one of them is connected to that motor. If the motor spins at the same speed as the cam, they're going to hold whatever timing we're in. If it speeds up, it's going to start turning and advancing the timing. If it slows down, it'll start retarding the timing, and once you get to that angle you want to stay at, they just spin the same speed and it stops there. That's how that works. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but actually, folks, things have been very reliable with this system. I wish they would switch the exhaust to that as well, because the exhaust, if you look right here, got an oil control valve right there, and that is hydraulically controlled, or oil controlled. That's how that works. This engine does not have a drive belt in the hybrid iteration, because you have an electric water pump right here, underneath it is an electric compressor, so you don't really have anything that is driven by a drive belt. This hybrid doesn't have an alternator, because the hybrid system takes care of that, we'll talk about it briefly. This does have Toyota's D4S, which works really good. So basically, if you look here, here's a fuel line from the tank, from the fuel pump in the tank, and splits. High pressure fuel pump right here, which pressurizes the fuel, you see this metal line that goes, and there's four injectors underneath the intake manifold, then this one goes to your port rail right here, for four port injectors. So D4S could work port, direct, or both. It depends on the driving conditions and everything for optimal performance and emissions. This engine does have EGR. So far, so good on this EGR, unlike, let's say, third generation Prius, with all kinds of disasters with EGR. This doesn't have that. EGR valves right here, really like this location, at least that. Now the cooler is right here, that's kind of buried with the inverter in the way, but here's the, kind of, when exhaust gases come out of the EGR valve, hopefully very cooled into this plastic, in like, into the intake. We haven't had issues with that, I'm assuming the cooler is cooling them enough where this plastic can hold and not melt, for example, and that's nice. Cooling system on this, not your average cooling system, but it still has a thermostat, it's actually a heated thermostat, so that's an interesting one. Over here you have some coolant valves that can shut off distribution to coolant to where it needs to go and send it where it needs to go for optimal warm-ups. Now the hybrid system, let's talk about it. Hybrid system here is a fourth generation hybrid system, it's not a fifth. No problems with that. It's a proven system, it's been out for a long time, it's 2016 actually. No issues with it whatsoever, it's very smooth, very capable. This over here is kind of the brains of the operation, inverter-converter assembly, although now they're calling it a different name, PCU or something like that. Basically, what's inside here is a few things. This is what sends power to the motors to drive the car, it takes power and charges the battery, sends power to the compressor, they also have a booster that takes that voltage of the battery and boosts it up to 600 volts, and then it also has a DC to DC converter, that basically takes the place of an alternator. Takes the high voltage out of the battery, steps it down to 12 volts, charges the 12 volt battery, which actually sits all the way in the trunk on this car, and powers all the electronics. The best way I'll describe this car and this hybrid system, I mean, this is not the latest iteration, fifth generation is out already, it feels mature, that's the best way I see it. You don't have weird, strange things where they're trying to figure things out, they've been at this very long. Let's put it this way, in 2026, if you want a mature hybrid, something that doesn't have any experimentation in it, look nowhere else. Fourth generation hybrid system is solid, there's no other way to say it. And in this particular car, it is the build quality that takes it that, even the next level. I mean, things feel great here, this car is made in Japan, and you immediately notice the difference in materials and things like that, I really like things here. Folks, this engine has, so far, is doing really good. It does have a little stuff here and there, but nothing catastrophic or chronic, seems to be a good engine. And we're noticing a lot of examples, well over 200,000 miles of this engine, not burning oil. Even some of them with the 10,000 mile oil changes. So there is some good news there, I just hope that holds, and there we go, we have a four cylinder from Toyota that's not sensitive to oil burning. And then the other thing is, the eCVT transmission. You hear the word CVT? Don't mistake that for a standard CVT, folks. This is a hybrid eCVT, there isn't much inside this transmission, there's two motors, some planetary gear sets, and that's it. Let me put it this way, my entire career with Toyota leadership, and now at the shop, I've only replaced two hybrid transmissions, and both of them, one of them was an accident, and one of them was kind of modified, and damaged user error, basically. But they're robust, these transmissions are really good, to me, this is even more robust than a manual transmission, than any automatic, any CVT, anything. So the highlight, I feel like, of this powertrain, is reliability, just good old solid reliability. High build quality, proven powertrain, no latest and the greatest in gizmos and whatnot, no, this, as complicated as it looks, it's starting to look simple in 2026, compared to some other stuff we're seeing that are like, mega complicated. This is business as usual, I think this is as close as you can get to old school Toyota today, because if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's exactly what they did here, didn't even put the 5th gen, I actually like that. Let's take a look underneath the 2026 Toyota Crown, it's made in Japan, and the quality immediately shows, front cover is plastic, and this one is like this fabric, the quality is pretty nice. That's one thing I will tell you, you do have an opening here for the subframe, it's actually a lift point, if you need to lift both front wheels, this is where you lift it from. Let's take a look at the front suspension, looks like the brakes are tiny, because the wheel is massive, but this is actually a decent sized brake, dual piston caliper in the front, aluminum knuckle, this iconic Toyota design, with a separate ball joint, steel lower control arm, you do have a McPherson strut at the top, if you come around here, we do have the aluminum sway bar links, I wish those were the steel ones, but those will do, I suppose. Exhaust is very nice quality, so you notice the exhaust kind of takes a turn, fuel tank is right here, and the hyper battery is actually inside the car. Let's take a look at the back here, this particular one, all wheel drive, you do have the motor right here. If you look around here, we still have the, it's kind of hard to see it, but it's still the same style of connector on the side, I hope they have resolved these issues, we do have some active recalls on other models. Rear suspension is as simple as they come. You don't have a trailing arm that goes to here, they kind of put it this way, that's the only difference between this and other models, but overall it's very similar. Aluminum knuckle, the strut, the shock is separate from the coil. If you look around here, single piston caliper with integrated park and brake motor on it. The exhaust comes out into this big muffler, and you have two outlets for it. Over here, things are not very well covered, you just have this cover where the rest is wide open, but I do like this. I wish they would use that a lot more in other models, not just the nice ones that come out of Japan. Same thing on this side, it's a tiny little cover, and this is wide open, and you still have that. That is really nice. Let's take a look at the outside of the 2026 Toyota Crown, and this is where the front looks okay. It's not the greatest looking car in the world, it's just there. My only concern is, I would like to put a picture of the previous generation Crown here. Isn't that a good looking car, right here? Yeah, that's a problem. Maybe in the U.S., we just got the Crown back, we're all happy with it, but folks over there that went from this gorgeous thing to here, it's quite an adjustment, let's put it this way. Now, the front is not bad. We do have the radar sensor right here, Toyota logo here, this particular nightshade edition, and these colors, I really like this color. It's like a darkened chrome. Grille is a bit much, it's huge, I think it was a little bit unnecessary, but that's the Crown. We come to the side, and this is where we're trending towards, where things go south. I can live with those, I don't particularly like them, but I can live with those. Everything up to here is completely normal. It's kind of a tall sedan, crossover-ish thing. Lock-unlock in the front, and the back, that is really nice, actually. The only thing I wish they would do, this is something I wish they would copy out of Mazda, the opening angle of this door, if it was 90 degrees, that would make it really nice. That's one thing I wish they would start doing. Then we have to talk about the elephant in the room, let's just get to it. Your first impression when you look at this, and this is where I feel like, this is an unfinished project, what was the plan here? That's what I, I'm still, every time I see one of these, I still just can't understand the point. Okay, you look at this, okay, this is a hatchback, it's a sedan-ish, although it's very tall. That's a hatchback in the back, oh, that's pretty cool, except, it's not, it's just a trunk. I don't understand what was the point, if this was a hatchback, I can understand it, but it's not, and it's, I don't know where they're going with this. Let's just put it this way, this one, the one that missed the new Toyota direction with all their cars, very exciting and emotional, but still, there are a few things, eventually this becomes an appliance in the backyard, and you don't really care about it, about how it looks. I don't know what was, were they planning another car instead of this, because this section is all a panel, almost like this was supposed to be something else, I don't know what that was supposed to be, and then the taillight looks significantly close to how the Crown Signia one is, but this section really makes it not look good, it just looks like it's drooping down, this, this does have a bumper, which is nice, I really, really like how Crown is written out here, it just looks beautiful. Now, of course, hybrid electric vehicle, at least this one is matching color, that's nice, but I think this is unnecessary, all-wheel drive, limited, of course, you need to know the trim, this is limited. Moving on, passes, the looks are, and then, moving on, let's talk about the trunk. Trunk is a decent size this way, but I feel like, a little bit on the narrow side, for a car, a sedan of this size, you do have, though, this is where, this is, looks how it looks, but it's very sensible, spare tire, I love it, and just, just gotta say it, this is why you buy this car, it's the quality, even this little tiny storage pocket, I don't know what you're gonna put there, it's just a beautiful, high-quality plastic, that's, that's what you buy this car for, so, over here, is the way the 12 battery is, see it, right there, very accessible, you have jump points in the front, you know, if the car battery dies, you can't open the trunk, and you have one of those, too, just looks completely like a last-minute add-on, but here's, here's the, the special part to this car, and as we'll walk it through the interior, I mean, this is a Toyota, fully covered hinges, and just, you don't see that usually with Toyotas, I mean, if these were exposed hinges, they're just exposed hinges, but they're covered, indicating this was, the heading of this car was luxury, not just an everyday car, and that comes in just sharp contrast, when you look inside, let's look inside, this is, this is where things are good, this interior is, for lack of a better word, just a breath of fresh air, let's put it this way, it doesn't have exotic materials, and super futuristic spaceship design, nor does it have the latest and the greatest of best gimmicks out there, but it just looks nice, feels nice, doesn't feel plasticky and cheap, has a nice sophisticated design to it, I particularly love this, which is a gold accent across it, it just looks so beautiful, it's just very eye-pleasing to look at it, now, another car that also looks exactly the same is a Crown Signium, I mean, they share the same name, the other one is a station wagon, and better looking in the front, but steering wheel is exactly the same as a Crown Signium, super simple, well laid out, we don't have any issues there, the gauge is a screen, does a few things to display the map, but doesn't do anything beyond that, infotainment system is the calendar year 2021, it's infotainment system from Toyota, works very well, sometimes they have glitches, but for the most part, it works well, the volume knob does have the volume logo, or the on-off logo in the middle, and you can have, it will drive me crazy every time it's not centered, I just wish the middle part didn't turn with it, that would be nice, HVAC buttons, all physical buttons, including the heated seats, and cooled seats, and everything, shifter is a, depends how you want to write it, you could say this is a Prius shifter, or you could say this is an LC500 shifter, it's exactly the same, out of the electronic shifters, at least to me, maybe, I'm just used to, this is the least gimmicky one, I feel like folks have gotten used to it pretty good, underneath that, you have drive mode, beyond me why this car needs drive mode, but it has it, brake hold, some of the parking brake, whatnot, controls here, it just, there's something about this car, just like the Crown Insignia, you get inside, it just, you immediately become at peace, calm, such a nice place to be, I mean, honestly, we're at a point where I don't care how this looks on the outside, because I'm inside, and that's the best part, things are high quality, and they're not even nice, like top quality leather and materials, no, everything is just standard stuff, it just feels great, that's why you buy this car, it's sophisticated, it doesn't have a sport model, and all this stuff, it's a sophisticated car, this is as close as you're going to get to an Avalon in 2026, the old school Avalon, the one that was sophisticated, calm, not sporty, this is it right here, having said that, let's go look at the back seat, this is my driving position, I'm 5'7", I have plenty in the room, headroom, because of the slope of the roof, is not the greatest, very, very comfortable back seat, I mean, newer cars, the seats are getting harder and harder, and this thing is just super soft seats, I love it, why do we need all these bucket seats and sporty seats and this and that, where are we going with it, you do have two vents here, you do have some USB-C in the back here, very comfortable back seat, and underneath the seat is where the hybrid battery is, and there's something you should be aware of, the hybrid battery is air-cooled, so underneath the seat, you do have vents for the where the intake is, and that's where the hybrid battery kind of takes air from inside the cabin to cool the battery, you want to keep this vent clear, this vent actually has a filter, you actually want to keep that filter clean and unobstructed, this is the easiest way to make sure we don't have hybrid battery issues early. So, the 16th generation Toyota Crown, folks, the Crown name has been around for a very long time, not much in the U.S., but here we are, there's two ways to look at this car, if you look at it while knowing what the previous generation was, this is not it, this is a complete departure from that, and some will call it a bad departure, I agree, some will call it a different direction, I can see that, definitely, but here's the thing with the U.S., the way the car market today, I am seeing this car suddenly just rise and shine, that's the way I see it in 2060s, when this came out in 23, things are a little bit different, now this is starting to make a lot more sense, here's the recipe of this car, if you can stomach the way it looks in the back, and the way sometimes it looks in the front, underneath it is a hidden gem, here's what's hidden gem about it, forget about the previous generation Crown, we never had in the U.S., so let's forget that conversation, this is the modern take on an old-school Avalon, an Avalon that, in my opinion, they tried to go in a different direction, and it kind of went south, and it canceled the whole thing, this is well-made, sophisticated, classy, does not have gimmicks and gizmos, and looks sporty, and it's literally, the best way I'll describe it, this is not meant to attract young buyers, kind of sound like the opposite of what Toyota is trying to do these days, but at least we still have this, see, this car doesn't have a sport model, except, why would it, why would any hybrid has a sport model, is beyond my understanding, here's what you get with this car, first and foremost, and should be the number one reason you buy it, or consider it, reliability, simplicity, proven powertrain, no latest and the greatest and gizmos and whatnot, just simple, honest to God, powertrain that is proven, reliable, actually, dare I say, simple, in 2026 standards, it is simple, then you look at the inside, it is a beautiful place to be in, it's quiet, it's refined, it's no gimmicks, has everything you need, nothing more, nothing less, everything important is touch, touch button, not in the screen and whatnot, super comfortable, super comfortable, front and back seats, back seat suffers a little bit with the headroom, but overall, those should be the number one reasons you buy it, look, the look, I don't know what they were planning, I feel like they got to a point, it's like, all right, let's just put it together, get it out of here, that's how it feels like in the back, but if you get past the looks, this is definitely up there, there's only two problems with this car, and they're not the car itself, two problems, the first one is called the Crown Insignia, which takes everything that is bad about this, makes it a hundred times better, and there we go, because it has the exact same interior, same reasons we love this car, same reliable powertrain, and they're about the same price, and as a bonus, you get more space in the back, that's the first problem for this, the second problem is, when you go into the higher trims of this, you have the problem that's called the ES350, new ES350 starting right around upper 50s, you option this out, you're so close, and that is a Lexus, as nice as this is, that is nicer, that's where we have some problem, I feel like this car make a lot more sense on the lower trims, because on the lower trims, it didn't feel like you cheaped out and bought the model that has nothing nice, it's still a very nice car, but again, the number one reason I would consider this car, reliability folks, longevity, good built quality behind the scenes, that's what I see with this car, that should be the number one reason you consider this car, because if you can get past the looks, it's actually a really nice car to drive, the only problem is, if you like this, you're gonna love the crown insignia, and we're back to square one, that's, that's, I feel like the biggest problem for this is a crown insignia, because that thing, in addition to everything that is nice about it, it looks great, at least in my humble opinion, folks, I hope this video was helpful, informative, I hope you learned something new, if you like it, consider giving a thumbs up, if you're not a subscriber, consider subscribing to the channel, check out some other videos, until the next video folks, may the lord bless you and keep you, and you have yourself a wonderful day.