We’ve had quite a bit of time to get used to the idea of a Toyota luxury crossover, but here it finally is: the Toyota Century SUV. Orders for this land barge are already being accepted in Japan, where it will be sold alongside the Century sedan for ¥25 million (P9.7 million).
That sum buys you a big car with a boatload of luxurious features for very important passengers indeed.
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This Century is based on the concept of ‘The Chauffeur,’ so it’s only logical we start our tour in the back...where the presence of a shoehorn holder should clue you in on how this vehicle puts passenger comfort above everything else. That shoehorn is there because some time after entering the car (there’s an automatic retractable power step to make that easier), the rear occupant will inevitably kick off their shoes to enjoy the fully-reclining left rear seat.
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The rear seats are equipped with features like a ‘refreshment’ (we’re guessing massage) function, heated and extendable ottomans, rotating retractable tables, a pair of 5.5-inch removable control panels for adjusting A/C, audio, lighting, sunshade, and seat settings, and 11.6-inch rear screens that can play multimedia content from your mobile devices. Or from a Blu-ray player. Sound is piped out via an 18-speaker premium audio setup.
The cockpit isn’t shabby compared with the back, either—it’s a perfectly acceptable place to be in should the VIP decide to take the wheel for a change. There’s a massive center screen, a 12.3-inch instrument panel, a color head-up display, a digital rearview mirror...and we spy physical buttons for the major controls.
As expected, its exterior design is big, bold, and boxy. At the front, it has a blunt nose with a wide grille to give it an imposing presence. The Century logo sits proudly in the middle, also serving what could be its radar for its advanced driver assist systems. Giving the front end more distinction is its split headlight design with four subtle daytime running lights.
The Century SUV features a nod to the Centurys of the past and present. It boasts a two-tone paint finish like that echoes the 1967 model’s chrome bottom panels. Like the front end, its flanks are flat and angular. There are no sharp lines and crazy angles here as its aimed towards the ultra-luxury segment.
But the party piece of the Century SUV is its optional sliding door that’s shaped like a regular door. That should make entry and egress easy and elegant.
As for the rear, the Century SUV continues the squared-off theme with its broad shoulders. There are more chrome elements present, and it’s capped off with split taillights slicing away the darkness. In terms of size, the Century SUV measures 5,205mm long, 1,990mm wide, and 1,805 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,950mm.
You won’t find a massive V12 or even a V8 under the hood of the Century SUV. Instead, it uses a turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 that’s paired with electric motors in a plug-in hybrid setup. Its four-door counterpart, also a hybrid, gets a meatier gas-electric V8 under the hood. There are no official power figures yet, but we could expect upwards of 400hp.
It’s still unknown if the Century sedan will eventually be succeeded by the SUV version, but it’s interesting to see two different models sharing the same name. Either way, as mentioned earlier, Toyota says sales of the Century sedan will continue alongside this higher-riding SUV version.
More photos of the Toyota Century SUV:
