Launched - 2013 Toyota Crown

Toyota's oldest running sedan, 58 years to be exact, the Crown, now in its 14^th generation has been launched in Japan in a new avatar. The two variants, Crown Royal and Crown Athlete can be ordered with petrol and hybrid powertrains. While the regular engine uses a 200PS 2.5-litre V6 engine, the hybrid borrows its 2.5-litre 4-cylinder powerplant from the Camry which when mated to the electric motor makes 176PS. A third engine, the 311PS 3.5-litre V6 is available with the Athlete. This bigger engine gets an 8-speed auto transmission while the others get a 6-speed one. Customers also get a choice of rear or all-wheel drive configurations depending on the variant.

What's the difference between the Royal and Athlete? The 2013 Crown, well, gets a crown-shaped grille with the Royal variant having the opening filled by horizontal lines while the Athlete has mesh. The interiors have a touchscreen system which controls the various functions while the dashboard has a wood grain pattern and seats with gold stitching. As far as safety goes, Toyota is offering pre-collision warning system, auto adjusting headlamps, intelligent clearance sonar and panoramic view monitor.

The 2013 Toyota Crown Royal is priced at Rs 22.27 lakh while the Athlete has a starting price of Rs 22.51 lakh in Japan.