The Toyota Crown arrived last year, replacing the full-size Avalon as the brand’s 4-door bridge to Lexus. They certainly didn’t go conservative with the exterior design, and now they’re adding to it with the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia. And we recently got some early drive time in Southern California.

The 5-passenger Crown Signia crossover replaces the Venza in the Toyota lineup, which they have now killed for a second time. But this is the first time that Toyota has applied the Crown name, which is an important one, to a utility vehicle.

Though wheelbase is the same, the spec sheet is not quite a cut-and-paste from the Crown sedan, as overall length is a bit shorter and ground clearance is up by almost an inch. All-wheel-drive is standard though, and it does share the Crown’s standard hybrid powertrain, but rated at 240-horsepower, it gets a slight bump over the sedan. As for now, you can’t get the sedan’s 340-horsepower Hybrid Max setup.

While I do actually like the sedan’s funky pseudo-rugged vibe; I’ll admit the theme works better in SUV form. Less black paint helps too.

It will be available in XLE and Limited grades; Limited riding on 21-inch wheels, XLEs getting 19s, but both get leather seats and Toyota’s latest multimedia system on a 12.3-inch touchscreen along with a 12.3-inch gauge display.

25.8 cubic-ft. of cargo space puts it closer to Toyota’s Corolla Cross than Rav4.

“The Crown was Toyota’s attempt to bring a little SUV style into the sedan segment, and now they’ve gone full SUV with it, but as you can imagine it still drives and feels just like a car. All of you Camry wagon owners who never embraced the Venza should definitely check it out.”

The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia will arrive in dealers this summer, with prices starting around $44,000.

We’ll have plenty more on the Crown Signia soon…right here on MotorWeek.