Toyota Crown Hybrid (2018-2022) Expert Review

A Crown that finally stopped whispering

The S220 is where the Toyota Crown decided that looking important was no longer enough. It wanted to look fast as well.

Compared with the older S210, the 2018–2022 Crown has a lower, wider and more contemporary shape. The roofline is sleeker, the headlights are sharper and the front grille is considerably more aggressive. It still carries the visual authority expected from a Crown, but there is now enough attitude to suggest that the owner might actually enjoy driving it.

The proportions work particularly well. The 2,920mm wheelbase gives the sedan a stretched executive stance, while the 1,800mm width prevents it from becoming cartoonishly large. At 4,910mm long, however, it is still a substantial machine. In Dhaka, you will know exactly where every centimetre of it is when attempting to park beside a rickshaw, a CNG and three motorcycles simultaneously.

RS versions are the sporty-looking members of the family, with larger 18-inch wheels and more aggressive detailing. G and G-Executive versions lean toward understated luxury.

LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED taillights, heated folding mirrors and rain-sensing wipers give the S220 a thoroughly modern appearance.

Quiet luxury without unnecessary theatre

Inside the S220, Toyota's philosophy is immediately apparent: make everything feel expensive without making it complicated.

The dashboard is more sophisticated than the preceding generation, with digital instrumentation, large displays and a layered centre console. Depending on grade, you can have leather upholstery, electrically adjustable seats, heated or ventilated seats, premium audio, automatic climate control, rear sunshades and extensive rear-seat comfort equipment.

The driving position is excellent. The steering wheel, controls and displays are arranged logically, and the digital instrumentation provides far more information than the older Crown's conventional layout.

Rear passengers are the real winners. The 2,920mm wheelbase gives the cabin a genuinely executive feel, and the quiet hybrid drivetrain means conversations remain easy even when travelling quickly. For a family in Bangladesh, this is precisely the sort of car where grandparents stop complaining about long journeys.

Material quality is generally excellent, although some surfaces are less spectacular than the price tag might suggest. Toyota has always preferred durable sophistication to German-style visual theatre.

The biggest weakness today is infotainment. The Japanese-market interface was impressive when new but feels dated beside modern smartphones. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are major omissions for contemporary buyers.

Technology that was clever before smartphones took over

The S220 arrived loaded with technology. The irony is that some of its cleverest systems are now less useful because they were designed around Japan's connected-car ecosystem.

Depending on specification, the Crown could have navigation, voice control, premium audio, digital displays, Bluetooth, parking sensors, panoramic-view monitoring, intelligent parking assistance, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, pre-crash braking and blind-spot monitoring.

The 2.5L hybrid is particularly clever. It combines the naturally aspirated A25A-FXS engine with electric assistance, producing smooth acceleration while keeping fuel consumption surprisingly reasonable for a nearly five-metre luxury sedan.

Toyota also offered different personalities through the grade structure. The RS focuses on a sportier experience, G versions emphasise luxury, and G-Executive takes the executive philosophy further.

Parking technology is especially useful in Bangladesh. A 360-degree/panoramic-view camera can make a 4.91-metre sedan dramatically easier to position in crowded parking areas. Toyota's documentation confirms panoramic-view monitoring as an available system rather than a universal standard feature.

The weaknesses are familiar: no factory Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, Japanese-market connected services and technology that can become difficult to use outside Japan.

One of the strongest reasons to choose the newer Crown

Safety is where the S220 demonstrates just how far Toyota had moved from the older Crown generations.

Toyota Safety Sense provides the core of the active-safety package, including pre-crash collision avoidance, lane-departure warning and radar cruise control. Depending on grade, the Crown can add blind-spot monitoring, adaptive high-beam assistance, intelligent parking assistance and panoramic-view monitoring.

The hardware underneath is equally reassuring. ABS, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, stability control, traction control, multiple airbags and hill-start assistance provide a strong passive and active safety foundation.

For Bangladesh driving, the radar cruise and lane-departure systems are particularly useful on open highways, although drivers should never treat them as autonomous driving. Road markings, motorcycles appearing from nowhere and unpredictable lane behaviour are rather different from the environment Toyota's engineers used for testing.

The panoramic camera and parking sensors are more immediately useful in Dhaka. A large luxury sedan is considerably easier to manoeuvre when you can see its surroundings.

Blind-spot monitoring is another worthwhile feature, especially when dealing with buses, trucks and motorcycles on major highways.

The only caution is that many S220s in Bangladesh are imported used. Accident repairs can affect cameras, radar sensors and calibration. Therefore, a used Crown with every ADAS option is only valuable if those systems actually work.

This is where the Crown makes the most sense

The 2.5L hybrid S220 is a wonderfully effortless car.

The A25A-FXS engine itself produces 184 PS and 221 Nm, but the electric motor changes the character completely. There is immediate response when you press the accelerator, followed by smooth, quiet acceleration rather than the familiar surge-and-shift behaviour of a conventional automatic.

Toyota's official specification confirms the e-CVT and rear-wheel-drive layout, while the Japanese WLTC figure is around 20 km/L for the RWD hybrid.

Obviously, Bangladesh is not Japan. In Dhaka traffic, expect considerably less. Around 12–14 km/L in heavy urban conditions is a more sensible target, with roughly 17–20 km/L possible on good highways when the car is healthy.

The ride is the real star. Multi-link suspension at both ends allows the Crown to absorb poor surfaces without becoming floaty. On smooth highways, it settles into a remarkably stable rhythm.

The rear-wheel-drive platform also gives the car a more balanced feel than ordinary front-wheel-drive family sedans. It is not a sports car, but it responds naturally when pushed.

The 2.0 turbo is the more entertaining choice. With 245 PS, 350 Nm and an eight-speed automatic, it has a stronger conventional performance character. Toyota confirms those figures for the S220 2.0 turbo.