 What is up you guys? I'll go back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I don't go pony how to do car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the brand new 2023 Toyota crown courtesy of younger Toyota and Hagerstown, Maryland. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below it. So obviously we're in this one today because this is an all new model from Toyota for 2023, replaces the outgoing Toyota Avalon of course, but this, the crown, is a hybrid that gets over 40 miles per gallon, which is impressive for such a large car. And the crown does have a very nice name to it because it has been around in Japan for quite a while now. So definitely a very reputable name to go along with it. So ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering full ride quality, sound system exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so as you can imagine, there are a few different trim levels for the 2023 crown, first one being the XLE starting at $39,950 limited for $45,550. And lastly, the one we're in today being the Platinum starting at $52,350. But as you can imagine with those trim levels, there are actually two different power plants available for the crown. First one is going to belong to the XLE and limited trim levels. That one is powered by 2.5 liter four cylinder with three electric motors, putting out 236 horsepower, 163 pound-feet torque, sent to all four wheels through a CBT zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 7.6 seconds. With MPG numbers get ready, you guys, 42 in the city, 41 on the highway with a nearly 600 mile range between the Philips. That is dang impressive for that power plant on the crown. But so then there is that other engine configuration, this one belonging to the Platinum trim level that we have today. That one is powered by 2.4 liter turbocharged four cylinder with an electric motor. That one cranks out 340 horsepower, 400 pound-feet of torque, sent to all four wheels through a six-speed automatic zero to 60 time. For this one, approximately 5.7 seconds, which you guys know, we're going to test out here in a little bit. With MPG numbers coming in, a little bit less than the other engine configuration coming in at 29 in the city, 32 on the highway. So kind of substantially less, but still very impressive for the power numbers that it puts out. So before we do any kind of fun acceleration here or paddle shifter test or anything like that, and by the way, paddle shifters, they do only come on the Platinum trim level in case you're curious. So we do have them, but I do want to mention to you guys the drive modes. And so there's kind of a camouflage black drive mode toggle switch located directly behind the shifter. I'll put it that way. But drive modes will include Eco, Normal, Sport and EV mode, at least for the XLA and Limited trims. But then the Platinum trim level is going to add to that a Sport Plus driving mode and also a custom driving mode where you can really tailor the settings to your own liking. All of these drive modes are going to adjust things like the shift points of throttle response and the steering sensitivity. So now I haven't got all of that out of the way. What do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put the paddle shifters and acceleration here to the test at the same time. I want to see how quickly the paddle shifters are going to react. And let's also see how quickly of course we can get the new crown here up to speed. All right. So we are in full manual shift mode. I think we can start right here. First gear. It's holding. Good. Go. Oh, gosh. Quick. Definitely plenty quick. So the paddle shifters are pretty darn quick as well. I don't mind them. Not the very quick as dual clutches typically have the quickest paddle shifters, but they're pretty darn good though. Having said that, so acceleration is pretty darn ridiculous. I love the acceleration in this thing. By the way, there is a full manual shift mode. So that is what I did. I put the shifter all the way to the back. I said, but then to give back full control to the crown, just slide the shifter all the way to the back and to the left and it's got full control again. So that is pretty darn cool the way that works. And again, acceleration was pretty darn ridiculous. Plenty of an acceleration emerging onto the highway. Paddle shifters are pretty dang good as well. So certainly no complaints from me. But anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. So up front, you will find 12.9 inch ventilated front disc in the back. 12.5 inch solid rear disc. As far as that braking feel goes, it definitely is on the softer side of things. So I was kind of curious because this is a larger vehicle. I was curious how quickly this thing would come to a stop. I didn't find any 60 zero stopping distance numbers quite yet that are available that anyone has tested. But I will say it is a softer braking feel. If I were to guess, I would say upper 120s for the 60 zero. We'll see how close I come there. But it's definitely a softer braking feel doesn't bring you as quick to a stop as what you would think for the power that comes with the crown. I'll just put it that way. But anyways, then touching on suspension and handling up front, you're going to get a McPherson strut front suspension in the back, independent multi lake rear suspension front and rear stabilizer bars. But my very favorite part, you guys get ready and adaptive variable suspension only for the platinum trim level, but I do love that it's available. And so we do have that platinum trim level, of course, so we do have the adaptive variable suspension. Let me actually go ahead and put it in comfort driving mode here. But I will say the ride quality has been 100% on point and so that may be due in part because of that adaptive variable suspension. Essentially, what that is is that monitors each shock absorber individually, not only adjusting to the rotor perfections, giving you a smoother ride, but it's also going to tighten up that suspension during heavy cornering, really giving you the best of both worlds. So whenever there is an adaptive variable suspension, I always like to recommend it if you value ride quality and of course, handling as well. But ride quality, it really does make a big difference from all of the vehicles that I've tested between cars that do have it and cars that don't have it. So I love the ride quality in the crown definitely rides like a luxury vehicle without a doubt. As far as cabin noise goes, that is 100% on point without a doubt. And again, that's due in part because there's an acoustic laminated front windshield and acoustic laminated front side glass that front side glass is typically a feature you only find in luxury vehicles and a lot of times it's even optional luxury vehicle. So the fact that it comes standard on every single trim level of the crown, it's the equivalent of a very, very serene cabin. I'll just put it that way. So big fan of that as far as steering feel goes, it is a very noticeable difference between the drive modes. If you put it in sport driving mode, it's a much heavier feel to the steering drives more like a sports car. If you put it in that comfort driving mode, it does instantly loosen up. But I will say even in the comfort driving mode, it's still kind of on the heavier side of things. Maybe that's just because I came off driving an SUV, but still a very nice steering feel to this thing. Then touching on visibility, I can see perfectly fine at the back. So definitely no issues with rear visibility. So I haven't had any issues there. But it's able to also mention in terms of forward visibility, there are rain sensing windshield wipers that will come standard on the limited and the platinum trim level. So whenever the crown detects any kind of mist or rainfall, it's going to automatically turn on those windshield wipers for us. That's pretty cool as well. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review. You guys, I'll still go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2023 Toyota Crown. All right. So here she is, you guys, the new 2023 Toyota Crown finished in a two-tune color combination here. We got supersonic red mixed with black. So that is pretty darn cool. By the way, the two-tune color combos, they are only available for the platinum trim level like we have today. So that is why you were seeing it. I like the hood that is black. It kind of reminds me of my carbon fiber hood I had on my little souped up JDM car back in the day. I'll just put it that way. But anyway, speaking of JDM, let's go ahead and start where the crown is actually made and assembled. Taking a look at the VIN first character is the letter J indicating that the crown is built and assembled in Japan. So yes, this is a JDM car, Japanese domestic market. But let's go ahead and start up front. You do have a large matte black front grille. Definitely looks good. A very unique look to it. Buy LED headlights are going to come standard on the XLE trim level. However, you will get quad LED headlights to the sides there if you were to go with the limited or platinum trim level. So little added illumination with those particular trim levels there. And of course, you do get LED daytime running lights coming with that automatic feature as well, meaning when it starts to get dark in the night, those headlights will turn on automatically for you there. But you do also get automatic high beams. So when you have your high beams on at night that senses a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's going to automatically dim them back to low beams. Then when that vehicle is gone, it's going to automatically then bounce it back up to high beams. So it's a very convenient feature there as well. And again, with the two tone color theme, I like the black front grille with a little mixture of the supersonic red found up front as well. So definitely a very unique look that you're not going to find elsewhere. This thing looks like nothing else on the road right now. So a huge fan. But anyways, that about rounds out the front end of the crown. Listen, I'll go ahead and make our way to the side. All right, something else since we are around to the side of this one. Chrome window surrounds will come standard. You guys can see we do have that floating roof line on the sea pillar towards the back. They're kind of differentiating the roof line from the rest of the body. So that's pretty cool as well. Also, you do have some chrome accents found on the door handles to tie together with the chrome window surrounds. You do have some gloss black accented towards the bottom portion of those doors there. Kind of to go along with the red and black theme, I guess you could say. Taking a look at the side mirrors, they are heated and power adjustable. That comes standard. They are also power folding. You also get puddle lights with them coming standard. And it will get integrated turd signals as well. They're going to differ. If you go with the two-tone color theme, they're going to come finished in gloss black. Otherwise, you're going to get body colored side mirrors in case you were curious about that. Now let's go ahead and take a look at the wheels because these are some massive wheels we have on our platinum trim level here today. So they will differ, of course, for the excellent limited trims. You're going to get 19-inch multi-spoke alloys. Still relatively large wheels, but not abnormally large. But for the platinum trim level that we have today, you do have 21-inch 10-spoke machine-finished alloys. And believe it or not, you would think with 21-inch wheels, the ride quality would be absolutely horrible. But maybe that's why they put the adaptive variable suspension on the platinum because that definitely made up for it. It still was a very smooth ride, even with 21-inch wheels. So definitely like the look and a very unique side profile. But as always, let's now go ahead and make our way to the back. All right, so now since you are around to the back of the crown here, all the way to the top there, you do have that gloss black shark fin antenna. Just below that, you kind of have this somewhat integrated rear spoiler kind of thing. I'll try to show it to you guys real quick, but it's just a little lip there. It's kind of subtle, but anyways, it's there nonetheless. You do have LED taillights. It's kind of really an LED light bar going across the entire back end, which looks pretty darn cool. Also have that crown lettering spelled out horizontally. Another thing I wanted to show you guys, there's like this little ripple effect, kind of just below the Toyota logo there. Nice little accent piece differentiating itself yet again. You just don't see that on other vehicles. You do have the trim level badging found in the bottom corner of that rear trunk as well. Hybrid max, that indicates that we have the super fast version of the crown essentially more or less. And just below it all, there are exhaust outlets. They're kind of tucked away, of course, but there are dual exhaust outlets tucked away. So having said that, this usually never works with hybrids, but we're going to give it a shot. As always, here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of this one, when it comes to opening that rear trunk, there's a few different ways to go ahead and do that. There, of course, is the button on the key file, but the coolest way to go ahead and open that trunk, there's kind of a hidden button just underneath the bottom portion of that rear light bar, kind of between the W and the N underneath that rear light bar. So it's kind of hidden. It's just a rubberized black button. You hit that, it's going to automatically open up for you. But anyways, once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at 15.2 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, there is a 60-40 split, meaning the rear seats do fold down for quite a bit of extra space then if you needed it. There is some LED cargo lighting back there as well, and then if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, you are going to find a spare tire, as opposed to the fix-a-flat, which I personally prefer. So I like that. But then making our way up to the rear legroom, coming in at 38.9 inches, for reference, I mean even 6 feet tall. This is how much space I had in the rear seats there, so plenty of space for me. Rear center armrest with cup holders does come standard. Rear ventilation also coming standard dual rear USB charging ports. They do come standard for all trim levels across the board, and there are heated rear seats if you go with the limited or platinum trim levels. So we do have them. Those buttons are actually located on the doors, but I love that they are available. A lot of sedan still don't offer heated rear seats, so big fan of that as well. But then making our way up to the front seats, eight-way power adjustable front seats with power lumbar coming standard, soft-tex upholstery coming with the XLE, leather seating coming with the limited and platinum trim levels, and then heated front seats are going to come standard on all trim levels across the board, and then ventilated front seats coming with the limited and the platinum. So overall when it comes to seat comfort, Toyota and Lexus always do an amazing job with seat comfort, and that's certainly no exception with the Crown. Credible seat comfort in this thing is definitely not going to have any issues taking the Crown on a long road trip here, but then taking a look at the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping, and it is leather wrapped, and then it is heated for the limited and the platinum, and the 10 and 2 grips are a little bit on the thicker side, which I personally prefer. It's definitely a nice feel to the steering wheel. Making our way to the startup, let me actually start by showing you guys the key here. You do have all of your buttons located on the one side. You've got your Toyota Crown badging on the other, of course, but lock, unlock, and of course that button to pop the rear trunk, but I will say if you go with the platinum you do have a digital key that comes standard as well, so you just download an app and you don't have to use your key anymore if you just wanted to use your phone, but it is all keyless entry where the push button starts. All I'm going to do here is simply put my front of the brake and press that black engine start button located just to the left of the air vents there, and so once started up, gauges are very nice. It's a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster coming standard, and of course you can control what is on that digital gauge cluster by using the steering wheel mounted controls found on the left side of the steering wheel, giving you things like how many miles you have left until you hit empty. Of course, safety information, there's a digital speedometer, average mpg's in any given time, so pretty much everything you possibly want on the digital portion of the gauges. There's the outside temperature and so on, so then making our way to overall interior quality, let me start with this massive panoramic glass roof that is going to come standard on the limited and platinum trim levels. You also do get LED interior lighting coming standard as well, and there's a cool little design to it as well, least up here in the front, there's like little dots in it, so I like that. Wireless phone charger is actually going to come standard on all trim levels across the board. This is going to be located just in front of the shifter there. Dual zoom climate control, also coming standard, so both driver and passenger can set their own temperatures. To the right of that shifter, you have your dual cupholders, you got two phone charging ports, then within the center armrest, there's actually a decent amount of storage in there. There's a USB charging port and actually a 12-volt power outlet then as well, so overall as far as interior quality goes, it's kind of a mixed bag for me. Most of it is really, really good. I will say that, but there is some black plastic that they could have at least finished in a nice design, so the matte black plastic is usually what bothers me and they got a lot of it actually, so right around the shifter also some of it found on the doors as well. They can leave it plastic, I'm fine with that, but if maybe they would have finished it and like coating it with maybe a silver trim or even this gold bronzish trim found just below the infotainment screen, you can also finish the matte black paddle shifters with maybe a nice smooth silvery plastic finish or something like that, just something that feels a little more high-end as opposed to the matte black plastic that typically you find in maybe the Corolla, let's say, but that's my two cents at least when it comes to interior quality, but then making your way to the tech, there is a 12.3 inch colored touchscreen display of course to match the 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster, but you do get Bluetooth and audio streaming, you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, I love that, most manufacturers still don't give you that, you can adjust your climate control settings up there if you wanted to, you can check out your driving statistics at any given time as well, you can also check out your radio information of course, so when it comes to the sound systems there's two of them, you will get six speakers with the XLE and then 11 speaker JBL sound system with the Limited and the Platinum, so having said that, what do you guys say, let's go ahead and turn on the radio, see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one. I read somewhere else that people didn't like the JBL sound system in the crown, I gotta disagree, that was a pretty darn good sound system, not only that, the little button, the volume knob to turn it up and turn it down is finished in this nice gold kind of plastic feel, that's what I'm talking about when it comes to interior quality, I like that, but base was definitely there, it was kind of rumbling the side mirrors, it was that much, I absolutely love that, clarity was fine as well, I've had a JBL subwoofer in my first car back in the day, I loved it, so that sound system was dang good for the crown, I'm just going to say that, but anyways, last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen at least is, when you do put the crown in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board, but Platinum trim is also going to give you that panoramic view monitor found on the left there, letting you know what is completely all around you, which is always is going to lead us into safety and so to start, front side side curtain airbags do come standard, driver and passenger knee airbags as well, in the back you're going to have latch, aka lower anchors to have their children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, temperature monitoring system, but then also coming standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 and so what that is going to give you is a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, and a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert, but there's a couple other things I wanted to mention when it comes to safety, for the limited and Platinum you're going to get front and rear parking sensors, so it's going to let you know if you're about to hit anything with automatic braking as well, so you don't hit anything and if you were to go with the Platinum that we have today you're also going to get advanced park, so it's kind of like what Mercedes-Benz does, where essentially it seeks out a parking spot for you and it's going to put you perfectly within that parking spot, turning the wheel, hitting the brake, the gas, all that stuff, so you don't have to do a single thing, so it's quite freaky, but that's pretty cool as well, so overall when it comes to my final thoughts of the 2023 Crown, great MPGs for the size of this thing, of course you're not going to get that with the turbocharged version, but still you can get 40 plus miles per gallon in the size of the Crown, that's absolutely amazing, very quick turbocharged four-cylinder I can attest to that, insanely serene cabin, thanks to the acoustic glass found everywhere in this thing as well, so like I said it's a very quiet cabin as well, ride quality was plenty fine even with the 21-inch wheels, thanks to the adaptive variable suspension as well, overall when it comes to room for improvement I got a few things here, first thing I would say is the braking, it's definitely a soft braking feel, it definitely feels like it doesn't come to as quick of a stop, I'm curious as to what that 60s year stopping distance number is going to come in at, I would guess somewhere around 130 feet or upper 120s, also wouldn't mind it seeing some ambient lighting in this thing and there's a lot of cheap black plastic here and there as well, so anyways let me know what you guys think of the new 2023 Crown in the comment section below, that is about it for this one, you guys thank you so much for watching, feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen, if you want to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're in a new car reviews, that is what we do here on this channel after all, do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video, stay gold