Compare the2025 Toyota CrownVS 2024 Lexus IS

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Crown are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The IS doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Crown has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The IS doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Crown. But it costs extra on the IS.

The Crown’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The IS doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Crown and the IS have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Toyota Crown achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The IS has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Warranty

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Crown for 1 year and 15000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the IS (2/25000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 5 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Crown’s warranty.

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Crown’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the IS’ camshafts. If the IS’ belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

The battery on the Crown is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Crown’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The IS’ battery is in the hot engine compartment.

Engine

The Crown has more powerful engines than the IS:

	Torque
Crown Platinum 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	400 lbs.-ft.
IS 300 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	258 lbs.-ft.
IS 300 AWD 3.5 DOHC V6	236 lbs.-ft.
IS 350 F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	280 lbs.-ft.
IS 500 5.0 DOHC V8	395 lbs.-ft.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Crown gets better mileage than the IS:

			MPG
Crown
	AWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	42 city/41 hwy
		2.4 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	29 city/32 hwy
IS
	RWD	5.0 V8	17 city/25 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/31 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/28 hwy
	AWD	350 F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		300 AWD 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Crown’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The IS doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Crown’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The IS doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Crown higher (6 out of 10) than the Lexus IS (5). This means the Crown produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the IS every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Crown has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The IS doesn’t offer a CVT.

Tires and Wheels

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Crown has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the IS 300. The Crown’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the IS F Sport.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Crown’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the IS (112.2 inches vs. 110.2 inches).

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Crown a Mid-size car, while the IS is rated a Compact.

The Crown has 7.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the IS (98 vs. 90.2).

The Crown has .9 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 6.7 inches more rear legroom and 1.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the IS.

Cargo Capacity

The Crown has a much larger trunk than the IS (15.2 vs. 10.8 cubic feet).

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Crown Platinum’s power trunk can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The IS doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening trunk.

Ergonomics

The Crown Platinum has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The IS doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Crown and the IS have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Crown is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The IS prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Crown’s standard Smart Key System allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Smart Access standard on the IS doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Crown’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The IS’ cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Crown’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The IS’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Crown has standard extendable sun visors. The IS doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Crown has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the IS. The Crown also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the IS.

The Crown has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the IS.

The Toyota Crown has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Lexus charges extra for Homelink® on the IS.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Toyota Crown has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the front center console. The IS doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Crown Platinum’s Advanced Park can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The IS doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Crown owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Crown will cost $1515 less than the IS over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Toyota Crown will be $4771 to $20054 less than for the Lexus IS.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Toyota Crown and the Lexus IS, based on reliability, safety and performance.