Test: The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia is a Lexus for stingy people
Despite the lackluster driving experience, Toyota's latest SUV offers an upscale experience at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Toyota's SUV product plan is a patchwork that stands in stark contrast to other mainstream automakers that only intend to build a worthy product for every size class. Instead, Toyota is marketing a series of similarly sized products, each with a unique niche appeal. The latest crossover and SUV model to be launched by the company is the Crown Signia, which combines Lexus-level luxury with Toyota's features, including a pure hybrid powertrain.
The medium-sized Crown Signia replaces the unpopular Venza, and it immediately becomes a more attractive product. The Signia model is based on the Crown sedan (albeit with a slight difference) but with an almost identical interior, doubling the high-end appeal of the four-door sedan, but with a distinctive exterior design with a distinctive front panel and wagon-like silhouette.
Advantages: calm cruising attitude, comfortable cabin, excellent cost performance.
The company's most recent SUV models — the Land Cruiser, 4Runner, and Lexus GX — all focus on off-road capability, but the Crown Signia prefers to be on the road, much appreciated. The gentle suspension and quiet hybrid powertrain make the Crown Signia an ideal long-haul cruiser. Driving around town is also enjoyable, but the winding roads don't offer much fun.
Borrowed from the Crown sedan, the electric powertrain is one-way drive with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and three electric motors for a total of 240 horsepower. All-wheel drive is standard, but instead of transferring power to the rear of the drive shaft, an electric motor is mounted on the rear axle and starts when all-wheel towing is needed. Toyota estimates the Crown Signia's fuel burn at 39 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway for a combined 38 mpg, although we only recorded 75 mpg on the 32 mph highway fuel economy route.
On the test track, Signia accelerated to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds and completed a quarter mile in 15.4 seconds at 91 mph. While these test results aren't particularly impressive, and the actual speeds aren't exciting, they're competitive among hybrid SUVs in their class, and most average drivers will find this SUV fast enough.
Cons: mediocre performance on the test track, poor road performance, no high-grade signs on the grille.
Highway passing performance was good, and we recorded a time to accelerate from 30 to 50 mph in 4.2 seconds and a 50 mph to 70 mph in 5.1 seconds. However, in these cases, the CVT will rev higher in heavy throttle applications, injecting some engine noise into the otherwise calm interior. The results of 0.82 g on our glide board prove that Bridgestone Turanza EL450 Enlighten all-season tires can hold medium turns, even if the Crown Signia doesn't perform well in corners.
As a result, the performance and driving characteristics are equally unremarkable, but the appeal of the Crown Signia lies in its luxurious cabin and quiet cruising demeanor. What Toyota is creating here is a potential problem, Lexus. Crown Signia comes in two décors, XLE and Limited, both with an abundance of luxury and convenience features.
Starting at $44,985, the XLE is slightly lower than the smaller Lexus NX350h hybrid, and includes leather upholstery, thickly padded heated and ventilated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, and 19-inch wheels. The limited edition costs $49,385, which is a few thousand dollars less than the RX hybrid. The top-of-the-line interior features beautiful features like an 11-speaker JBL stereo system, a fixed glass roof, ambient lighting, and 21-inch wheels.
Our limited-edition test car was painted finish line red, an optional color for $425, and came with a $1865 suite of advanced technology that included a 360-degree exterior camera system, power-folding mirrors, and some additional driver assistance technologies such as parking sensors and intersection alert ahead. This brings its test price up to $51,675, which is a relative bargain considering that the similarly equipped RX Hybrid is about $5,000 more.
If Toyota had put the more powerful 340-horsepower Hybrid Max unit from the top-of-the-line Crown sedan on the Signia, the performance would have improved immediately, but the crossover's target market might not need additional power. The Crown Signia gives us the impression that it is a luxury SUV for the thrifty that offers a premium experience at a great price. These buyers are unlikely to buy more expensive hybrid powerplants, which have lower fuel consumption. Saving money is a pleasure in itself.
Verdict: The Signia adds a second crown to Toyota's treasure trove, and its high-value package is likely to appeal to some Lexus buyers.
specification
2025 款丰田 Crown Signia Limited
Car model: front-engine, front and rear motors, all-wheel drive, 5-seater, 4-door station wagon
Price
Basic/Tested: $49,385/$51,675
Options: Advanced Technology Package (Surround View Camera, Power Folding Exterior Mirrors, Front Intersection Alert, Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Change Assist, Front and Rear Parking Assist with Auto Braking), $1,865; Finish Line Red Paint, $425
dynamical system
DOHC 16-valve 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4 engine, 188 horsepower, 178 pound-ft + 3 AC motors; Front: 180 hp, 199 lb-ft; Rear: 54 hp, 89 lb-ft (combined: 240 hp; 0.6 kWh [ C/D est ( NiMH battery pack)
Transmission, front/rear: continuously automatic / direct drive
chassis
Front/rear suspension: struts/multi-link
Front/rear brakes: 12.9" ventilated disc/12.5" ventilated disc
轮胎:普利司通 Turanza EL450 Enlighten
235/45R-21 97W M+S