14th Generation Toyota Crown (S210)

Ah, Christmas Day 2012. It's the time everyone's thrilled to open their presents that came from Santa Claus. It's the time the whole family gathered for some nativity cheers. And it's the time for all things fun. As for Toyota Motor Corporation though, they do have their own Christmas spirit so for this year's Christmas Day, Toyota has a little present to share with all. So, what could it be?

2013 Toyota Crown Athlete

2013 Toyota Crown Royal Saloon

Hmph...it's a Toyota Crown but this looks a lot different from what it used to be because what I'm looking up here is the all-new, 14th generation Toyota Crown. 14th generation. For almost six decades, the Toyota Crown bloodline continues to flow through the rich history of Japanese automotive and this was Japan's oldest nameplate as of now. The Crown nameplate may be almost six decades old but Toyota never stops regenerating the Crown into something different. Past to present, the Crown nameplate is always a wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey name that will keep on going 'till it reaches its prime.

2013 Toyota Crown Royal Saloon

2013 Toyota Crown Athlete

Other than this ghastly looking nose that looks like it was designed by aliens or people who accidentally took a bath with some water that comes from Mars (waters of Mars, that is), waiting for them to bite its prey every time when he/she said "bite me alien boy!", what I can see in the back were the rear lamps that look like it came from the current Toyota Camry, the front lamps made for night time driving, a roof for when it rains, and sports tires for something else.

Now if you remember back in the year 2008, I checked out the previous generation Crown spawned into three different types; the Athlete that provides the good expression of an executive sport sedan, the Royal that makes it a fit for government officials, and the Hybrid for opulent green. This new, 14th generation, Crown though, it's back from square one because only the Athlete and the Royal Saloon are offered and that's not all, both of them are getting hybrid variants as well.

Speaking of hybrid models, those hybrid models of the Athlete and Royal series do come with Toyota's newly developed 2AR-FSE 2.5L direct-injected engine together with Toyota Hybrid System II. With the combination of both the new 2AR-FSE engine and the 105kW electric motor, it develops about 220PS of combined power while developing a class-leading fuel economy of 23.2km/L based on Japan's JC08 Mode standards. That was about twice as fuel efficient than the previous model and importantly twice as fuel efficient than the Nissan Fuga Hybrid. Well, that summarizes it but for petrol variants; all models do come with a 4GR-FSE 2.5L V6 engine mated with a 6-speed automatic, and available exclusively in the 2013 Crown Athlete is the 3.5L V6 2GR-FSE engine mated with an oversized 8-speed automatic transmission. Wait a minute...8 gears? On a Crown Athlete with a 3.5L V6 engine from the Lexus GS? That's phony baloney for me and I think such a car like this won't work in a 180kph speedo country.

Toyota said that the suspension on the new Crown is now more mature than its predecessors but to me, it feels a bit more like the Lexus GS. The Crown Athlete though is one of my picks because not only it handles like a European sports saloon, it acts like it too. It's closer than what I think at the blink of my eye. Sadly though, because of all of its numerous enhancements to its handling capabilities, I think it's becoming too numb and too light and Toyota should know better than that.

2013 Toyota Crown Athlete interior

2013 Toyota Crown Royal Saloon interior

Frankly, this new model's not half bad by the looks of it but in terms of feel, the new Crown tries to be a well-civilized legend in its own right and it can be an excellent livery vehicle because if business owners take advantage of this new model, it could work as a taxi or as a police car in Japan. As an owner's car, it would be shifted to a completely different angle because when you drive one, people think you're just a silly kind of person who owns a silly kind of executive sports saloon.

Despite all this, the Crown truly is Toyota's legend in its own right and for me, I'm not quite ready yet to accept the Crown's regenerated look. It needs to be more tamed, more refined, and its manners need to be, well, gentlemanly.

CROWN ATHLETE:

Available Colors: White Pearl Crystal Shine, Silver Metallic, Precious Silver, Black, Precious Black Pearl, and Dark Red Mica Metallic.

Price List:

2.5 - 3,570,000 Yen
2.5 S - 4,130,000 Yen
2.5 G - 4,900,000 Yen
2.5 i-Four - 3,800,000 Yen
2.5 S i-Four - 4,360,000 Yen
2.5 G i-Four - 5,130,000 Yen
3.5 S - 4,970,000 Yen
3.5 G - 5,750,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid - 4,100,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid S - 4,690,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid G - 5,430,000 Yen

CROWN ROYAL SALOON:

Available Colors: White Pearl Crystal Shine, Silver Metallic, Precious Silver, Black, Dark Blue Mica, and Dark Red Mica Metallic.

Price List:
2.5 Royal - 3,530,000 Yen
2.5 Royal Saloon - 4,090,000 Yen
2.5 Royal Saloon G - 4,820,000 Yen
2.5 Royal i-Four - 3,800,000 Yen
2.5 Royal Saloon i-Four - 4,360,000 Yen
2.5 Royal Saloon G i-Four - 5,050,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid Royal - 4,100,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid Royal Saloon - 4,690,000 Yen
2.5 Hybrid Royal Saloon G - 5,360,000 Yen

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation