Toyota Fixed The Crown's Two-Tone Paint You Thought Was Ugly
When Toyota brought the Crown to the United States, consensus among reviews was clear: It was a weird little crossover-sedan-thing with some neat dual-tone paint and a price tag that sounded more Lexus than Toyota. Buyers weren't always sold on the exact implementation of the dual-tone paint, so for 2027 Toyota has fixed it, and it does look a little more normal. There's a re-shuffle of features from the upper models, and it gets paddle shifters, in case you want to pretend your big fastback is a GT3 car.
Most of the changes the Crown gets for 2027 are small. The Limited trim gets a couple of connected-car features previously reserved for the Platinum trim, namely digital key compatibility and Toyota's Traffic Jam Assist hands-free low-speed driver-assist system (yes, that's part of a subscription), and all trims get a very slightly worked-over rear bumper. The non-Platinum trims also get Toyota's fourth-gen hybrid system, though it actually loses one mile per gallon combined in EPA estimates relative to the 2026 model.
I may not be entirely sold
The most noteworthy change is the dual-tone color available on the Platinum trim. On the pre-facelift Crown, the black section stretched up the hood and over the roof without touching the metal above the doors before coming down to cover most of the car's rear end and tailgate. For 2027, the sides of the roof are now included in the accent blackout, but the trunk and rear bumper are body-colored. I, personally, would prefer a mix of both — give me back the blacked-out rear end of the 2026 model, but make the entire roof a uniform black like the 2027 car.
The other change the Crown gets for 2027 is pricing, with every trim save the Limited inching up by $200 from the 2026 car. The base XLE trim sits at an MSRP of $42,935, while the Limited trim jumps from $47,245 to $51,015 — placing it now above the Nightshade at $50,260. The Platinum comes in at $56,485, all of which include a destination fee of $1,295. Overall, the Crown remains largely the same, even if I'll miss seeing that weird-ass blacked-out rear end on my local streets. Automakers, stop trying to be normal. Give us back our weird.