Toyota Crown Landscape debuts as forbidden fruit for Subaru crowd

With its tall ride height and smattering of body cladding, the Toyota Crown has a similar vibe to the discontinued Subaru Outback sedan. Toyota is now doubling down on that with a more rugged special-edition model for the Japanese market.

Dubbed the Crown Landscape, it sits about an inch higher than the standard Crown and rides on 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires. Extended fender flares are hand painted in a color called Gori Gori Black, while the main exterior paint color is called Urban Khaki. Red mud flaps are standard as well.

The Landscape includes a standard tow hitch, although towing capacity is a relatively modest 1,653 pounds. A roof rack and optional dealer-installed roof basket can hold additional outdoor gear, while also adding to the Landscape’s adventuresome aesthetic. Fewer changes were made to the interior, which gets black upholstery, black trim, and “Landscape” badging.

The Landscape is available exclusively with an all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain built around a 2.4-liter turbo-4 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. Badged Hybrid Max in the U.S., the powertrain is rated at 340 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.

In Japan, the Crown Landscape is priced at 6.85 million yen, equivalent to $45,300 at current exchange rates. That makes it only slightly more expensive than the Crown RS model with which it shares a powertrain. The RS starts at 6.7 million yen, or $44,300 at current exchange rates.

Toyota isn’t discussing whether or not the Crown Landscape will come to the U.S. For now, the next Crown variant for this market is the Crown Signia SUV, which is scheduled to arrive at dealerships this summer.