The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia, a midsize five-seat hybrid, is neither the largest nor the fanciest set of wheels in the automaker’s gas-electric stable. But it just might fit the bill for those who find the full-size Sequoia or midsize Grand Highlander hybrids too big or too pricey and the RAV4 and outgoing Venza hybrids too small or unpolished.
Signia is a tall, wagon-like version of the Crown sedan that debuted in 2023 . It shares most of its parts with that model but starts at almost $45,000, about $4,000 more than the base Crown sedan. There won’t be a turbocharged performance-oriented Signia version like the top-of-the-line Crown Platinum sedan, at least not for the 2025 model year. Toyota calls it an SUV, but we think the Crown Signia is more wagon-like albeit with a slightly raised stance. It’s pricier than most of its likeliest competitors but offers a roomy cabin, good looks, and great fuel efficiency in exchange.
Fuel Efficient Hybrid
With its standard electronic all-wheel drive, we expect the Crown Signia to compete against the slightly smaller Subaru Outback as well as various trim levels of other midsize SUVs, including the Kia Sorento and Honda Passport. It may be a bit pricier than those, but as a hybrid it also is a lot more fuel-efficient, which could make up for the price difference over time.
It isn’t terribly powerful, but we found the highly efficient Signia to be a comfortable, nicely equipped, mostly quiet, and quite competent daily driver and long-distance cruiser that’s up to most tasks you’d care to throw at it.
Crown Signia Trim Levels
The base Crown Signia XLE starts at $45,040 including Toyota’s $1,450 destination fee. It uses the fourth generation of Toyota’s hybrid drive system, configured for electronic on-demand four-wheel drive. Standard equipment includes fabric and imitation-leather upholstery, heated and ventilated eight-way power-adjustable front seats, a heated leather steering wheel, leather shift knob, two-zone climate control, a heated and flat-folding 60/40-split rear seat, and a customizable 12.3-inch driver’s information screen. Also standard are 19-inch alloy wheels and LED headlights, running light, and taillights.
Inside, the dash is dominated by a pair of 12.3-inch screens like Kia and Hyundai EVs, except not under a single pane of glass. There’s a multi-configurable digital driver’s information screen to the left along with a digital touchscreen for the infotainment system that dominates the center of the upper dash. Among the model’s other standard electronics is a six-speaker audio system, wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and five USB ports. Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0 package of safety and driver assist is also standard along with power-folding exterior mirrors with turn signal and blind spot warning lights, and a kick sensor (hands-free) power liftgate.
Stepping Up to Limited Trim
The Limited starts at $49,440 with destination fee and builds on the XLE with 21-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, driver’s seat memory settings, a digital rearview mirror, rain-sensing windshield wipers, a panoramic glass roof, and an 11-speaker JBL audio system. Unlike some new Toyotas, the Crown Signia won’t have a two-tone paint option among its five exterior color choices. Standard exterior colors are black and dark gray. The others – red, white, and bronze – are $425 options. The Crown Signia’s two interior color choices are tan and black.
For an additional $1,865, the Limited can be upgraded with an optional Advanced Technology Package that adds to the standard safety and driver assist systems with front cross-traffic alert, lane change assist, and front and rear parking assist with automatic braking. Traffic jam assist is included in the package with a subscription to Toyota’s Drive Connect suite of connected car services. Also included are a panoramic 360-degree camera system with overhead and curb views, and power-folding exterior side mirrors with puddle lights and automatic tilt-down when the transmission is shifted into reverse.
Engine and Performance
The Crown Signia gets the basic Toyota HEV all-wheel-drive system with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and two small electric motors, one for each axle. It isn’t intended to be a performance vehicle so suspension is tuned for comfort, making the Crown Signia more at home cruising on the open highway than being pushed on twisty roads. It is a fairly well-balanced vehicle, though and handles mountain roads with aplomb – and little bothersome body roll – until pushed to the limits of its all-season tires. There are three driver-selectable drive modes including Normal, Eco, and Sport, though there’s little difference in handling no matter the mode. Sport provides quicker throttle response while Eco slows it down and puts some limits on climate control system output to improve fuel efficiency.
The 240 horsepower hybrid system delivers 178 lb-ft torque from the gas engine with the electric motors providing additional torque – up to 134 lb-ft to the front wheels and 89 lb-ft to the rear. On-demand all-wheel drive is biased toward front-wheel drive, so the rear motor powers the rear wheels only when extra oomph or traction is needed. Among likely competitors, only the V-6 powered Honda Passport offers more horsepower.
Driving the Crown Signia
The Signia powertrain provides okay, but not outstanding, grunt for passing and climbing hills and can manage a Toyota-estimated 0-60 mph sprint time of 7.1 seconds on flat ground. That’s almost half a second quicker than Toyota claims for the sedan with the same powertrain and may just reflect a real-world adjustment since some testers have timed the sedan at 7.2 seconds.
We were able to experience a Crown Signia Limited on a recent jaunt that combined freeways, country roads. and some steep mountain twisties. Along the way we found it to be quiet and comfortable for the most part, though it can get a bit loud inside when the gas engine has to work hard at peak demand and a buzzy whine permeates the otherwise hushed cabin. We missed the adaptive suspension that is standard in the Crown sedan’s Platinum trim, but overall found the ride quality to be good except over badly potholed asphalt. Braking is nicely linear without the mushiness sometimes felt in hybrids. Steering is responsive but could be a little quicker and, as with many electrically assisted setups, doesn’t relay a ton of road info to the driver.
Crown Signia Efficiency
In our 235 mile Southern California drive we achieved an overall 36 mpg in a Signia Limited without babying the throttle. Official EPA estimates for the model come in at 39 city/37 highway mpg, or 38 mpg combined.
Competitively, the Crown Signia’s fuel efficiency looks to be near the top of the class, trailing only the 2024 Toyota Venza’s 39 mpg combined rating. The all-wheel drive Kia Sorento hybrid is rated at 34 mpg combined, the Subaru Outback at 29 mpg combined, and the Honda Passport gets just 21 mpg combined. The Honda and Subaru are not available as hybrids.
An Upscale Interior
The 2025 Toyota Crown Signia’s cabin mirrors that of the Crown sedan, although the SUV’s 60/40-split rear seats are more bench-like than the sedan’s back seat. Overall, the Crown Signia offers a more upscale version of the standard Toyota interior, bordering on Lexus-like. It is roomy, comfortable, and quiet except when the 2.5-liter gas engine is winding up.
Crown Signia is as much as five inches longer than its likely competitors and has a longer wheelbase, which tends to soften the ride and create more interior space. But it is also lower and narrower than its competitors, negating the spatial benefits of the longer wheelbase. While fairly roomy in the second row, the Signia has the least rear head and legroom of the competitive set. Up front, it beats both the Honda Passport and Kia Sorento in front legroom but trails the segment-leading Subaru Outback. It also has the least front headroom of the pack. All of those measurements except rear legroom, though, are within 1.5 inches from model to model.
Cargo and Towing
Out back, the cargo floor measures a full 6.5 feet in length when the rear seatbacks are folded flat. With the seats up, total cargo bay capacity is 25.8 cubic feet. Drop the rear seats and that swells to 68.6 cubic feet. Either way, it is the least cargo capacity among competitors. The Signia is also rated to tow up to 2,700 pounds – think small utility trailer. But that, too, is less than most of its all-wheel-drive competitors provide. The Honda Passport is top of class at up to 5,000 pounds, the all-wheel-drive Sorento hybrid is rated at up to 4,500 pounds, and the Subaru Outback is rated at 2,700 to 3,500 pounds.
Bottom line: The new 2025 Toyota Crown Signia hybrid SUV should appeal to drivers who prefer wagon- or crossover-like functionality wrapped in a stylish, upscale and fuel-efficient package.
This was originally published on thegreencarguy.com. Author John O'Dell is a distinguished career journalist and has a been an automotive writer, editor, and analyst specializing in alternative vehicles and fuels for over two decades.