Motoring: 2025 Toyota Crown Nightshade Edition offers a large comfort-focused hybrid sedan

If you can afford a vintage Les Paul or a Stratocaster, then Toyota's flagship sedan might be right for you. For this review, I spent a week with a Crown Nightshade, a mid-size, four-door sedan that substitutes black accents for the typical chrome exterior trim. It's available in two colors: A blue-gray hue dubbed Storm Cloud Grey or a subdued Black finish. Both colors feature a black leather interior and matte black 21-inch wheels. Crown comes in four trim levels: XLE, Limited, Nightshade and Platinum.

All Crowns are five-passenger hybrids featuring on-demand, electronic All-Wheel Drive. Two powertrains exist: The Toyota Hybrid System and the Hybrid MAX. Nightshade, offered with a 236-horsepower hybrid powertrain, pairs a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a trio of electric motors and a continuously variable automatic transmission (eCVT). Dial in Crown’s power personality by choosing Eco, Normal, or Sport mode.

The Crown Nightshade accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds with its base powertrain. Worthy of note, the Crown’s nickel-metal hydride battery supports razor-sharp acceleration at low speeds with plenty of low RPM power for sporty driving. Nightshade mileage ranks enviably good, with an EPA projection of 41/42/41 mpg Combined/City/Highway.

A savvy new car buyer might opt for the Platinum model with its particularly potent Hybrid MAX system boasting 340 net combined horsepower for significantly stronger acceleration. It pairs front and rear electric motors, a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine, and a direct-shift 6-speed automatic transmission. Hang on when you step on the gas. Sport mode will pin you back in the seat. Its zero to 60 mph elapsed time is a mere 5.1 seconds. Platinum runs way quicker but at the price of reduced fuel efficiency — Combined/City/Highway: 30/29/32 mpg.

Toyota engineers tuned Crown's suspension for a relaxed, comfortable feel. The ride is smooth but not quite luxurious. Don't expect Formula One racecar cornering. Toyota Crown's cabin is slightly elevated compared to typical family sedans. Its taller stance makes entry and egress more accessible, as do the generously proportioned door openings. Interior-wise, the cabin is roomy. Sight lines out the wide rear window obviate blind spots. The cabin is well-insulated against wind and road noise. Running along I-380, I could hear the three kids chattering in the back seat.

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All Crown models include automated emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automatic high-beam headlamps, eight-way power-adjustable heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, and ambient interior lighting, all these things as standard items. Both the Limited and Platinum add a panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, and ventilated front seats. Platinum trim gets a head-up display as a new standard feature.

The trunk proper and its opening are smaller than you'd think for a mid-size car, the space having been sacrificed for a more roomy interior. Though with its 15.3 cubic-foot trunk, the Crown has a decent amount of storage space for a hybrid car.

Every 2025 Toyota Crown features Toyota's Safety Sense 3.0 as standard equipment. These driver-assist features include forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and steering assist, lane-centering steering, automatic high beams, and road sign recognition. Blind-spot monitors and rear cross-traffic alert, while not bundled with the safety suite, are also standard items.

Finally, the basic warranty term runs for 36 months or 36,000 miles, with battery coverage good for 120 months or 150,000 miles.

Automotive journalist, Tim Banse, wrote The Gazette’s Motoring car review column from 1989 to 2013 and has published stories in Popular Mechanics and Yachting magazine. He’s toured carmaker factory floors in the U.S. and Japan and raced cars at Riverside, Watkins Glen, and Michigan International Raceway press events. He’s stood close enough to a crash test to feel the shock wave reverberate off his chest. His first car was a vintage ‘56 Chevy Belair.