2025 Toyota Crown Signia

The Toyota Crown arrived 2 years ago, replacing the full-size Avalon as the brand’s four-door bridge to the Lexus experience. Well now, Toyota is expanding the Crown’s popularity and profile by adding an SUV. It’s called the Crown Signia, so let’s find out what that signifies for Toyota.

Say what you want about Toyota’s Crown four-door sedan, after being on the road for 2 years it still turns heads. This 2025 midsize Toyota Crown Signia is not a standalone SUV, but rather a more versatile five-door member of the Crown family. You could also think of it as Toyota’s version of the popular Lexus RX, as they ride on the exact same 112.2-inch wheelbase.

Also, this is the first time Toyota has used the top-of-the-line Crown name for an SUV. The five-passenger Crown Signia crossover does replace the Venza in the Toyota lineup, which is now gone for a second time. Compared to the Crown sedan, overall length is 2 inches shorter, it’s over 3 inches taller, with ground clearance up by almost an inch.

Toyota has made the decision-making process as easy as possible by making all Crowns hybrids with all-wheel drive. The Signia uses the base Crown sedan’s naturally aspirated 2.5-liter I4-based powertrain, but it works with a larger 134-kW motor. The 40-kW rear motor powers strictly the rear wheels for Electronic On-Demand All-Wheel-Drive. Combined rating is 240 horsepower, which is a slight bump over the sedan. The sedan’s 340-horsepower Hybrid Max option is not offered, at least for now.

While the sedan’s funky pseudo-rugged vibe was not a hit with everyone, the theme certainly works better in SUV form; less black paint helps too. Available in just XLE and Limited grades; this Limited rides on 21-inch wheels with XLEs getting 19s. But both have leather seating and Toyota’s latest multimedia system on a 12.3-inch touchscreen, along with a 12.3-inch gauge display. Materials, including some unique Bronze-finish trim are very nice. Limited comes with a big fixed-glass panoramic roof and an attractive Saddle Tan interior theme, though you can also opt for a blander black theme if it’s too much for you. Rear seats offer plenty of legroom for adults and good comfort too. There are lots of USB charge ports throughout the cabin, and wireless phone charging is standard. 25.8 cu.-ft. of cargo space puts it closer to Toyota’s Corolla Cross than Rav4, but it’s a nice wide and flat space that expands to 68.8 cu.-ft. with rear seatbacks folded.

Riding on the same chassis that underpins just about every Toyota car these days, driving around, it’s no surprise it feels much more like a tall wagon than a traditional sport-ute. It’s luxury quiet and comfortable. Even the electronic CVT is mostly onboard with that mission too. Our test car arrived at the heart of the Mid-Atlantic winter, and a snow-covered test track prevented us from getting the full track experience, but Toyota claims the 0-60 run takes 7.1 seconds, which feels about right to us. More importantly, Government Fuel Economy Ratings come in at 39 City, 37 Highway, and 38 Combined.

Considering you’re getting pretty much the full Lexus treatment here, the Crown Signia’s base price of $44,985 is a relative bargain compared to the rest of Toyota’s very comprehensive SUV fleet.

The Crown sedan was Toyota’s attempt to replace the Avalon with something a little more special, giving it an SUV vibe and bestowing it with the legendary Crown name. Now they’ve gone full SUV with it and the results are quite good. Its hardest task will be getting attention among the many off-road-ready utilities lining the aisles at Toyota dealerships. But, the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia perfectly bridges the gap between Toyota and Lexus in a way the Venza never could. Like us, we think buyers will quickly notice.