Let’s be honest here for a second. As much as we love wagons, these cars don’t really sell well here. The last time we counted, there are less than ten station wagons you can buy in the Philippines. It’s also worth pointing out that most come from Germany, and there’s only one Japanese offering locally.
That means we can only dream about the Toyota Crown Estate ever coming to the Philippines. It’s a shame, really, as it’s the most practical version of the executive car to date. Well, it’s our fault for not buying of enough of these.
With that, the Estate completes the all-new Crown lineup. If you recall, it was the crossover sedan version that came out first in 2022. It was then followed up by the Sport crossover inn 2023, with the traditional sedan following a few months after.
Mind you, this isn’t the first time the Toyota Crown became available as a wagon. That said, it’s been a long time since there has been one. The last one was the eleventh-generation (that we never got) sold from 1999 to 2007. Given Japan’s love for the station wagon, perhaps it’s no surprise the Estate has been awakened from its 18-year hiatus.
Okay, it looks more like a crossover than traditional wagon. But this of this more like a Subaru Outback competitor than, say, Mazda 6 Sport Wagon. It’s high enough off the ground, but we wouldn’t call it a Land Cruiser alternative. Besides, we’d feel bad if we scuffed up its interesting exterior on a trail.
The Crown Estate is a fairly large vehicle, too. It measures in at 4,930mm, 1,880mm wide, 1,620mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,850mm. So yes, there’s a fair bit of space to be expected inside. This is still an executive car, after all. For those curious, ground clearance is rated at 165mm, or about the same as a Corolla Cross.
We’re glad to report that Toyota didn’t turn the interior into a screenfest. There’s good ol’ buttons and dials in there, and the front quarters boast a cockpit-like layout that cocoons the driver and passenger. As expected, there’s heaps of legroom inside, at least from what the photos suggest. Also, we expect nothing but rich-feeling materials and textures in there.
As it’s a wagon, it’s best to talk about practicality. With the rear seats up, cargo capacity is a generous 570 liters, larger than some SUVs out there. Fold down the second row and you’re looking at 1,470 liters. Toyota is also proud of the fact that it has two meters of flat floor space in the Crown Estate. Cyclists, we have the car for you.
In terms of the chassis, it shares the same hardware as the crossover sedan. But as it’s touted as an even more luxurious version of the Crown, it also benefits from adaptive suspension and selectable drive modes that also changes the riding characteristic of the vehicle. On top of that, it also comes with something called Rear Comfort Mode that’s lifted straight from the Lexus LM.
Two powertrain options are available for the Crown Estate. The first is the familiar 2.5-liter hybrid system that’s also utilized in the Alphard, giving it a total system output of 243hp. The other is a plug-in hybrid version that uses the same engine as the standard hybrid, but with bigger batteries and, you guessed it more power. The result? You’re looking at 306hp. Regardless of variant, both get all-wheel drive as standard and shift with an e-CVT.
