Toyota’s most storied named plate has entered a new generation and in moving with the times will be offered in four different body styles. The sedan version will go on sale immediately while the crossover, four-door coupe and SUV estate will arrive one by one by early 2023.

This new generation Crown sports a completely exterior design with many sleek elements dominating the styling. The highlights include the grille, tail lamps and the massive grille. This is a major departure from the reserved styling of the previous 15 generations.

The other three body styles all sport similar design elements like the headlamps, tail lamps and the overall stance. Their separating factor comes from obviously the body style and the design of the massive wheels on each of them.

Inside, you can see the Toyota family look on the Crown thanks to elements like the steering wheel, dual-screen dashboard and the style of the knobs and buttons. In the past, Toyota had kept the Crown’s styling far from its range but has now gone the other way with this generation.

Apart from the four body styles, the Crown will be sold in 40 countries across a total of 12 body colours and four interior colour combinations offering a wide range of variations. We expect some special editions (of what is already a special car) to be offered in select regions.

Depending on the body style, this 16th generation Crown can be had with a 2.4-litre turbo hybrid engine or with a Toyota trusty 2.5-litre parallel hybrid that powers a large number of cars across both the Toyota and Lexus range of vehicles.

All versions of the Crown will get Toyota’s Safety Sense package while the crossover version will get the Japanese automaker’s Teammate advanced driver assistance systems that even support a remote parking function.

The diversification of the Crown body style for the first time is also an indication of the SUV race that has gripped manufacturers over the last decade. The sporty body style is expected to take on four-door sports sedans that are popular with German manufacturers.

Will we ever get the Crown in India? Right now it seems unlikely as Toyota has Lexus as its luxury marque in the country and there is a very clear price/positioning and vehicle separation between the two in the country.