Luxury cars are typically niche and low-volume sellers, with margins decreasing with each year that passes. Cars that operate in this segment often make for poor investments, with some of the worst depreciation rates in the market. A major reason is their substandard long-term reliability. You may find yourself spending large sums to keep them on the road after the warranty has expired, ultimately making them undesirable purchases.
- Base Trim Engine
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2.5L Dynamic Force I4 Hybrid
- Base Trim Transmission
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CVT
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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All-Wheel Drive
- Base Trim Horsepower
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184 HP @6000 RPM
- Base Trim Torque
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163 lb.-ft. @ 3600 RPM
- Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
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42/41/41 MPG
- Base Trim Battery Type
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Lead acid battery
- Make
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Toyota
- Model
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Crown
The 2026 Toyota Crown is easily one of the most underrated and overlooked premium sedans that seamlessly fits into the luxury segment without paying high premiums. The 2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class now starts at $63,900 before options. The most expensive Crown that you can buy right now will cost $54,990, making it an appealing value proposition.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sets A High Standard
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class serves as the intellectual heart of the brand’s portfolio, bridging the gap between the sporty C-Class and the ultra-luxurious S-Class flagship. It occupies a vital position in the aforementioned Core segment, targeting established professionals and tech-forward executives who demand a balance of traditional prestige and cutting-edge digital intelligence.
Mercedes-Benz prioritizes refinement through a sensual purity design language, blending a sleek, aerodynamic exterior with a cabin that functions as a digital sanctuary. This commitment to luxury is headlined by the MBUX Superscreen. This is a massive glass panel that integrates entertainment and productivity, supported by obsessive attention to acoustic comfort, featuring heat- and noise-insulating glass and high-grade materials like Nappa leather and open-pore wood to ensure a serene, library-quiet driving experience.
For decades, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has served as the brand’s beating heart. This is a role defined by an obsessive commitment to engineering over-delivery and executive refinement. This legacy is best embodied by the legendary W124, produced from 1984 to 1995. Commonly referred to as the Engineer’s E-Class, it became a global benchmark for indestructible build quality through features like its patented multi-link rear suspension and its world-leading 0.29 drag coefficient.
Today, that same spirit of uncompromising quality finds its way into the 2026 E-Class catalog, where the analog tank-like solidity of the past has evolved into a predominantly digital experience. The W124 prioritized mechanical longevity, while the current W214 range focuses on intelligent luxury, seamlessly integrating the MBUX Hyperscreen and AI-driven comfort systems within a cabin that still mirrors the W124’s hallmark silence and material excellence.
Toyota’s Jack-Of-All-Trades Premium Sedan
The 2026 Toyota Crown serves as the brand’s sophisticated flagship, merging mainstream practicality with executive-level refinement. Toyota positions this model at the top of its concentrated sedan lineup as the successor to the Avalon, while targeting buyers who want the experience of luxury and prestige with a quiet cabin and a more commanding and elevated road presence.
A comprehensive list of standard features and technological advancements across the range makes the Crown a more affordable and indirect competitor to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The Crown delivers a comparable level of comprehensive luxury as a baseline, rather than through expensive tiered upgrades that you’d typically see from German luxury cars.
Reasonably Impressive Market Performance
The Toyota Crown isn’t a big seller for the brand, especially when you compare it to the rest of its models. Throughout 2025, the Crown didn’t perform too impressively in the new car sales race, selling only 12,309 individual units, reflecting a 37.1 percent year-on-year sales drop.
Like the Avalon, the Crown is a highly niche luxury sedan option in the Toyota portfolio, commonly overshadowed by its Lexus counterparts. Mercedes-Benz U.S. does not disclose individual unit sales for the E-Class, but rather bundles it with the C-Class, EQE, and EQE SUV under its Core Segment umbrella.
How Toyota’s Crown Sedan Reinvented Luxury For The Next Generation
Standing up to the elite luxury giants is no easy task, but the Toyota Crown has a strategy that may just break the proverbial bubble.
Fans And Reviewers Love The Crown
The Toyota Crown’s reception highlights its impressive execution. J.D. Power gives the Toyota Crown range an 80/100 overall rating, constituting an 82/100 quality and reliability mark and an 81/100 driving experience score. iSeeCars issues the 2026 model year with a 7.8/10 score for retained value and an 8.0/10 score for safety. The Toyota Crown also currently sits with a 4.3/5 consumer review rating from Edmunds, with existing owners highlighting its fuel efficiency, ride quality, and value as key attributes that you will likely enjoy. Only a few of the 39 reviews mention insufficient interior space.
By contrast, the E-Class of the same model year currently sits with a J.D. Power 79/100 consumer-verified overall score, including 80/100 for quality and reliability, 80/100 for the driving experience, 78/100 for resale, and 79/100 for the dealership experience. It also holds an 8/10 overall score from iSeeCars, including 7.8/10 for reliability, 7.3/10 for retained value, and 9/10 for safety.
Luxury-Appropriate Cabin Features
Toyota structures the 2026 Crown into four distinct trims, each acting as a defined step towards higher luxury and technological integration to maintain an executive status. The XLE, priced at $41,440, includes leather-trimmed seating with eight-way power-adjustable front seats that are both heated and ventilated. Convenience features include a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a smart key system for all doors, and dual-zone automatic climate control. For entertainment, the cabin boasts a 12.3-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Qi-compatible wireless charger, and a six-speaker sound system.
The $45,950 Limited adds a fixed panoramic glass roof with a power sunshade, rain-sensing wipers, and quad-LED projector headlights. The entertainment suite receives a massive upgrade to an 11-speaker JBL Premium Audio system, including a subwoofer and amplifier, providing the acoustic depth expected of a high-end luxury vehicle.
The Nightshade costs $48,765, and builds on the Limited’s offering by adding 21-inch matte-black 10-spoke alloy wheels. It also adds dark-themed exterior accents, such as black mirror caps, door handles, and shark-fin antenna.
The Platinum Is The Best Crown Offering
For $54,990, you can get the Platinum trim, which adds a 10-inch color head-up display and a panoramic view monitor with a 360-degree overhead view. You also get the Advanced Park self-parking system, a hands-free power trunk with a kick sensor, and digital key capability, together with 21-inch machined-finish alloy wheels with black accents to distinguish it as the top-tier model.
If you want to bridge the gap between trims, Toyota offers a few key additions, including an Advanced Tech Package for the Limited trim. This adds the panoramic view monitor, digital key, and 21-inch 10-spoke dark metallic alloy wheels for $2,900. Bronze Age or Oxygen White paint options increase pricing by $425.
The Most Underrated Toyota Currently On Sale
In a lineup filled to the rafters with giants like Camry and RAV4, this overlooked Toyota delivers value, quality, efficiency and low-cost ownership.
A Balanced Range Of Powertrains
The XLE and Limited trims feature the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and dual-permanent-magnet motor and eCVT configuration. This drives 236 horsepower and 163 pound-feet to all four wheels, resulting in a claimed 7.6-second 0-60 MPH time and 116 MPH top speed. Independent tests confirm that you can sprint to 60 MPH from a standstill in just 7.2 seconds.
The flagship Platinum model incorporates the turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder and dual-motor configuration. This sends 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet to all wheels via a six-speed automatic. Toyota claims this model will sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.7 seconds until it hits 129 MPH.
All models adopt the TNGA-K’s front MacPherson strut and rear multilink suspension, granting the Crown an equally poised and comfortable ride. Only the Platinum benefits from the brand’s Adaptive Variable Suspension system, resulting in superior ride handling and refinement.
Fittingly Frugal Fuel Consumption Returns
The Crown benefits from Toyota’s hybrid powertrains, resulting in some impressive EPA-estimated consumption figures. The naturally aspirated models return a 42/41/41 MPG consumption estimate on the city/highway/combined cycle and cover 594 miles on a single tank, with some help from a 0.9-kWh battery pack. The EPA also estimates that this model will save you $2,750 in fuel costs over five years, which means you’ll spend around $1,200 on fuel over the course of the year and $1.98 to drive 25 miles. You can expect to spend $47 to fill up the 14.5-gallon tank.
The turbocharged Platinum model returns a 29/32/30 MPG estimate and covers 435 miles on a single tank, despite featuring a slightly larger 1.2-kWh battery pack. You can expect this model to save you $750 on fuel every five years and cost you $1,600 to refuel every year. A 25-mile trip is likely to cost around $2.70.
Sources: The EPA, iSeeCars, Edmunds, CarEdge, and J.D. Power.