The Toyota Crown Sport PHEV might be a recond hit in about a year.
Last year, Toyota showed us a re-imagined Crown line-up, with “Crossover”, “Sport”, “Sedan” and “Estate” models planned for a more global and diverse audience. Today, that Crown Sport goes on sale in Japan in a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) set-up. The Toyota Crown Sport PHEV gets a 2.5L petrol motor and an E-Four system with electric driving the rear axle for a total power output of 306PS.
Thanks to a large capacity lithium-ion battery beneath the floor of the vehicle, the Crown Sport PHEV can get up to 90km of range on pure electric alone. In hybrid mode, fuel economy is still very impressive at 20.3km per litre. Fully fueled and charged up, the Toyota Crown Sport PHEV can travel for 1,200km non-stop.
In addition to that practical range, the PHEV model also gets plenty of value added out of its electrical system. There’s a “My Room Mode”, which allows the car’s AC and audio systems to be turned on while being charged. The petrol engine is kept off in this mode, but the occupants can still feel at ease for work or rest.
The Crown Sport PHEV also has 1,500W (AC 100V) external power supply functionality, allowing it to be used for outdoor leisure activities or during emergencies. The engine can even kick in to keep the battery charged, like a generator. In this mode, the Toyota Crown Sport can provide 6.5 hours of use power to the average household in an emergency. AC and DC charging is available with the later being able to charge the battery to 80% SoC in 38 minutes.
Compared to the regular hybrid version of the Crown Sport, the PHEV model gets additional braces to the floor tunnel for better body rigidity. The suspension has also been tuned for the car’s weight increase and balance. Adaptive Variable Suspension is standard. Wheels are fitted with 20″ ventilated brake discs on this model variant with their calipers painted red. The wheels are 21″ alloys finished in black with wide diameter tyres wrapping them.
Inside, the Crown Sport PHEV gets a black and red asymmetrical colour scheme for the front sports seats. They also used some luminous materials on the interior fabric for vivid colouration. There are also red seat belts here.
Toyota expect to sell about 300 of these in Japan every month and it will be made at the Tsutsumi plant.
