2024 Toyota Crown Limited: a long day’s journey into meh

livemint.com:

RANGE ANXIETY is not just for EV owners anymore. The number of gasoline retailers in the U. S.—gas stations—has fallen by almost a third since 1991, driven off the map by rising real-estate costs and faltering profits, among many factors.

If gas stations are getting few and far between in your world—or if the germy delights of the typical refueling experience have worn thin—Toyota would like to suggest its 2024 Crown. Under that dromedary-like hump is a veritable camel, a large family sedan offering up to 600 miles of range, thanks to its super-efficient hybrid powertrain and non-trivial gas tank (14.5 gallons). The average driver would only need to visit a gas retailer two or three times a month.

You even could skip this year’s tetanus shot. Introduced in 2023 as a replacement for the normcore Avalon, the Crown recycles a decades-old nameplate that has been affixed to a wild diversity of Toyotas, from sports coupes to limousines to pickups. The latest Crown is none of the above, but a crossover fastback sedan.

Or maybe a fullback? Mine feels like a minority opinion of the Crown’s big-and-husky styling. I love it. The proportions are strong, the silhouette is quick, the pica-thin lighting details over the headlamps and taillamps smart and well drawn.

The overall form does seem a bit taut at the surface, like the skin of an overfed cetacean. The top-of-the-line Platinum package is available in two-tone paint schemes, including black and white. I trust that is referred to internally as the Free Willy package.