---
title: '2026 Toyota Crown Signia | Mixed Signals'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=ngF5d1r03O4'
video_id: 'ngF5d1r03O4'
date: 2026-07-14
duration_sec: 798
---

# 2026 Toyota Crown Signia | Mixed Signals

> Source: [2026 Toyota Crown Signia | Mixed Signals](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ngF5d1r03O4)

## Summary

The 2026 Toyota Crown Signia is a wagon/CUV designed for Toyota customers who want something between a Toyota and a Lexus. It offers a refined ride, physical controls, and excellent fuel economy, but its high price, outdated hybrid system, and frustrating tech split between the gauge cluster and infotainment make it a confusing product.

### Key Points

- **Pricing and Positioning** [00:21] — Starts at $45,000, fully loaded around $54,000. It's expensive for what it offers, designed to split the difference between Toyota and Lexus.
- **Interior and Controls** [01:03] — Physical controls for HVAC, dimmer, door handles; no guesswork. Piano black trim is out of place. Rear vents not power controlled.
- **Tech Split Issue** [02:32] — Gauge cluster is old Japanese design, not connected to infotainment. Safety features beep constantly and are hard to disable via confusing menus.
- **Powertrain and Platform** [03:47] — Uses TGAK platform with last-gen hybrid (nickel-metal hydride battery), 240 hp, 40 mpg combined, tows 2700 lbs. Acoustic glass and extra insulation but still shares platform with Camry/RAV4.
- **Driving Impressions** [05:51] — Gets ~37-38 mpg in real-world driving. Quick enough, safe, quieter than Camry but not as quiet as Lexus ES. Understeer easy to catch.
- **Pricing Criticism** [07:58] — At this price, it should be quieter and more refined. The Camry has the latest hybrid system; this is a generation behind.
- **Market Confusion** [10:44] — Toyota has too many cars; Crown Signia is a niche product. Better to improve Camry or Lexus lineup. Low sales volume.
- **Final Verdict** [11:53] — Great ride refinement below 55 mph, physical controls, high residual value. But outdated hybrid, split tech, and high price make it a mixed bag.

### Conclusion

The 2026 Toyota Crown Signia offers a comfortable, efficient ride with excellent physical controls, but its high price, last-generation hybrid system, and frustrating tech split make it a hard sell against competitors like the Lexus ES or even a fully loaded Camry.

## Transcript

[music] The 2026 Toyota Crown Signia. This is for the discerning Toyota customer that doesn't want a Lexus and they don't want a Toyota. That's why it exists. It's designed to split the difference. And at
$45,000 to start, it's pretty expensive for what you get. Fully loaded, it's about $54,000. Now, the main talking points are, is this really worth it and what is it trying to achieve? And of course, why is
it always beeping, which I'll talk about later. So, on the outside, this is the wagon form factor or CUV form factor. It's designed to be a smaller footprint vehicle. Classic Toyota styling from the side, modernism in the front, and then
did not include a spare tire. The back seat is pretty roomy. It's very, very of an issue. It has two rear vents, but they're not power controlled. So, you
the front. So, if you're looking for this to be kind of more upscale, individual controls for the back, it doesn't have that. In the front seats, adjustment in the seats themselves, you can get comfortable. And, you know,
they're they're a really high quality seat, almost like a Lexus. Now, the good They haven't thrown away the physicality of things like uh the the autobrite button or the fuel tank release buttons physical. The dimmer's physical. The
door handles big and easy to pull at the window switches. There's no guesswork, everything by just looking at it. Same thing with HVAC controls. Everything's infotainment to get your climate set the way you want it. And even storage. Great
there. It doesn't fly around. The cup holders can double as a phone holder, negative part is it's slathered full of piano black, which is absolutely weird
given the rest of the cabin doesn't have any of this. The storage in the doors is overall, this is a very, very welllaidout cabin. Again, more tried and
going to be great for somebody that maybe wanted an older Lexus, like older drawn to this for that. The negative part is like many Toyotas right now,
it's caught between two gener two generations of tech. The gauge cluster itself is the old Japanese Toyota design and it is not at all connected with the through here, which is unbelievably ridiculously complicated and all the
acronyms on the screen itself and going through the menus. you. 99% of people is. If I can't figure it out and I can't get some of these systems on or off the going to have to play with this and see if you can deal with it. The
infotainment is first generation Toyota connected. It's as expected. It's very simple by design. It's supposed to be clutterless uh and very basically simple you're going to live. But let's go in the shop. Jack's going to briefly talk
about what this car is and what it's not. People want a pure Japanese design, developed and manufactured Toyota. We >> The Toyota Crown something. >> Signia.
>> The Signia. Okay. It's their hatchback or wagon form factor. >> It's a long boy. >> But just in case you're phobic of the latest technology, that's not this. They've given you one generation behind
of everything, Jack. So, tell me. >> Yeah. This is in TGAK and this is using and MG2 and the gas 4 cylinder and you get for the e all-wheel drive electric
motor in the back. Has a nickel metal hydride battery. Total system out 240 horsepower and it gets just 140 m per gallon combined and will tow up to 2700 front, 0% rear, and then under select all terrain or bad weather conditions,
you want a total in between car for just as much money as a Lexus, you get that >> Yeah, it it's an expensive product. There are some things they've done like
acoustic laminated glass on the front and the back. There's more sound insulation underneath, more uh premium touches, but it's still at its core TGAK, which is shared with Camry, RAV 4, basically everything else. Strut front,
dampers. So, it's half and half, like tried and true Toyota stuff, last generation stuff at current generation prices. But I'm going to leave it at
about the good and bad. I can't wait. >> [music] >> I do, Mark. I feel like the king. The Burger King.
Whopper to handle this impossible horsepower and torque. >> It feels like a very spritly 240 mark. Ooh man, she's really bucking. Okay,
nobody's driving this car like this. We just got done talking about the Lexus is, the ancient car, and I had some problems with that. Uh, because it was that's new, although it's not >> kind of new.
>> Kind of. It's new, but not new. Um, first I'm going to get your impressions of it. What's your overall sentiment? >> Taking a step away from the price for a point, at least looking at the dealership lots.
This is exactly why people buy Toyotas. It gets almost 40 miles to the gallon. Even in like a thousand degree weather, even with us driving it, you're getting 37.1. I was getting 38.6 earlier. It's quick enough. The safety stuff works
well. Yes, it's not Lexus ES quiet, but it's still quieter than a Camry. And it's it's generally a nice place to be with all this physical controls, all the pros and dynamically, not that again anyone's driving this car that hard.
Yes, these Bridgestone tires are designed for low rolling resistance, but the under steer moments this car has are very easy to catch. Just very pleasant, someone wants this thing. It's best MPC mobile.
>> Putting this in perspective, to your point, this is what Toyota does best. This to me is if you want an ES that no longer exists because now they techified triedand-rue like Toyota formula. The tech part is mostly in the background.
The physical controls everything that you interact with physically is great. The the ride quality is perfect for a car like this every pavement type in the lower speed stuff. I'm talking 55 mph and below. It
feels like a Lexus. The seats have enough give. There's enough comfort in here. It's a great riding car. It's very quiet. The It's a negative part is because of its price. It's not as quiet as a Lexus, even though it should be
>> It makes no sense to me for the price point that they're literally stripping content out of this car because after 55, this car has a massive amount of >> and the acoustic front glass. >> It's even with the acoustic front and
>> You can already hear it now. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean it and over 55 is where you really really notice it. And I went between those two extremes. So if >> it kind of has it. >> The pricing is what kills this car.
it came out. We're like why is this here given the Camry? Because the Camry got latest gen. The Camry has the latest gen hybrid system. This does not. It's a
generation behind. It's got the last gen technology now, which has which in and what makes it worse, and this is my big thing with this. While it has a decent safety suite, this the more I've driven this, and that's one of the fine print
things when you drive something more. It has the first generation Toyota They are completely separated from each other. So, I've driven this and I've never been more frustrated about the iconography on the dash. What are all
can't turn them off here. So, then I'm going through the gauge cluster. I I don't know what does what and why it's doing it. Like, when I got in this car, It was autobreing itself when it got close to a car.
I turned that off. then it's beeping about driver attention that these systems now are like it should be in the background and it's always in my face stuff a lot based on highway and regular driving you're going to be frustrated as
hell with this car um but it makes up for it in so many ways like you said fuel economy ride refinement just the great great ride quality over everything I mean I love this car I think if this was a vehicle that was in the 40s where
it should If this was like RAV 4 pricing, like car a lot more. I do think, if I'm being honest, as much as I don't like the CUV
form factor, >> if it were my money, given sort of the RAV 4 Limited, I'd rather be in a RAV 4 Limited. this is a pure Japanese car, right? Like it's made in Japan. It's it's done by
that product team, so it's got those benefits and probably some you maybe some reliability advantages. So, I get that if you want it, but you're paying such a premium here over like a Camry like for for I mean it's not doing that
>> right? Exactly. So, I don't know. It's a confusing product and this is a great great case study on why Toyota has too many cars and then this is like trying not to be a Toyota but it is like to expand this brand out where this would
be much better money spent to expand out like the Camry or the the Lexus lineup >> and they're not selling a lot here cuz they don't want to import I think lot. So it's not like it's it's a big car to sell. So, why even waste your
time on it? Make the other products tighter and and better. research. Yeah. >> As a buyer though, a lot of people want >> And I think in the two years this has been out, I've seen three in public.
love it because it's old school Toyota feeling and then people hate it because And I I get both sides, but this is tremendous overall. You know, we're pick
it, but I think anybody that buys this that likes the packaging and likes all >> and you have to be okay spending luxury car money for not not a luxury car. >> Like a Genesis uh G70, a G80 slightly used, the new ES, all of these cars are
>> All right, Mark. So, with that, goodbye. Toyota connoisseur. It's tried and trueue drivetrain is going to last
forever. It's got a high residual value. It's going to be on the road for a long mostly. All the controls are physical. The door handles, the things that you want. It's quiet. It has an amazing ride refinement, almost a Lexus like on the
road if you're staying below 55 miles an hour. There's very little to complain of the deficiencies because they had to rush this to market. It meant that it
has the last generation hybrid system, something that now they're rolling out in the new Camry, the RAV 4s. So, it's a new car already outdated. It also has a split tech implementation on the inside. The gauge cluster does not talk to the
infotainment. So all the safety stuff is on one side and not on the other and perfect example when you're stretching out your engineering resources and more and more Toyotas where they're kind of not all sorted out. But if you don't
really happy if you can turn your brain off to some of the technical philosophy behind the car world. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next video.
>> [music]