2025 Toyota Crown Signia Up Close: Toyota Made a Sweet Hybrid Station Wagon
OK, Toyota’s messin’ around with us. The crossover-style SUV thing you see before you is going to be sold everywhere but the U.S. as the 2025 Toyota Crown Estate, and “estate” is Euro-talk for “station wagon,” folks; here in the U.S., it’ll be called the Crown Signia. This is a brand-new, hybrid-powered, damned good looking mid-size Toyota station wagon — and that is a fantastic thing. I had the opportunity to check out the new 2025 Crown Signia in person ahead of the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show.
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See, the world doesn’t need more crossovers — our streets and showrooms are clogged with them. But Toyota still sells cars, and despite what the automaker is telling us about the Crown Signia, this thing is a jen-yoo-wine station wagon. You could put it up against a Volvo V90 or V60 or a Subaru Outback (which is not an SUV, thank you very much), and the similarities in terms of size, shape, stance and height would have everyone in the room nodding in agreement: Yes, this is a wagon, and yes, it looks good.
Style and Space
The reasons to get the Crown Signia over the other version of the Crown we get here (the one Toyota calls a “sedan” but is really a tall-riding crossover-coupe thing) are pretty obvious. There’s much better space inside the Crown Signia, useful cargo and utility room, no odd two-tone paint or constantly answering the “What the hell is that thing?” questions at gas pumps.
The Crown Signia’s styling is modern without being weird. It’s sleek and muscular, even, with wide fenders covering the Limited trim’s 21-inch wheels, which lend it an almost intimidating look. The “hammerhead” grille is Toyota’s best new styling gimmick in years, and replacing the fish-mouth look on all the latest models (including the new Camry and the latest Prius) is a massive improvement.
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Inside, there’s plenty of room in either row and a much more comfortable experience thanks to a taller roofline than the Crown sedan’s. Visibility out is still a bit wonky due to a high beltline and tall dashboard, but interior materials are quite nice and carry the same look and bronze trim seen in the Crown. The rest of the interior looks similar, too, with a big 12.3-inch display in front of the driver and another used as a center touchscreen. But unlike many other cars these days, the styling of the interior doesn’t stop at plonking down a couple of tablets — there are actual curves and proper buttons, and it all looks and feels premium.
Venza Plus?
The 2025 Crown Signia did give me pause for a moment when I saw the news of its arrival; a hybrid-only, five-passenger crossover already exists in the Toyota showroom, and it’s called the Venza. That’s nothing to sneeze at, either, since the Venza is also attractive, spacious, efficient and reasonably priced. But the Crown Signia’s interior, amenities, looks, lower stance and overall mission immediately seem different. It will likely be much more expensive than a Venza despite not having that much more power or space simply because it’s a more premium-feeling product. We’ll see if that’s enough to interest crossover-happy shoppers and expand the appeal of the Crown nameplate beyond one wonky styling exercise.
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