Compare the2025 Toyota CrownVS 2024 Volkswagen Arteon

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Crown have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen Arteon doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Arteon 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 Arteon doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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 Arteon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Crown and the Arteon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 Arteon has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Crown 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Arteon. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Arteon ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Crown’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Arteon’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are almost 2 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Crown’s warranty.

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 Arteon’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in initial quality. With 49 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 120 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 27th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Volkswagen is ranked 27th.

The Crown Platinum’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 40 more horsepower (340 vs. 300) and 105 lbs.-ft. more torque (400 vs. 295) than the Arteon’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

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 Arteon doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Crown offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Arteon’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Crown is .6 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Arteon.

For better maneuverability, the Crown Platinum’s turning circle is 3.6 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (35.4 feet vs. 39 feet). The Crown’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Arteon’s (38 feet vs. 39 feet).

The Crown has .3 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, .6 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 6.6 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Arteon.

With its sedan body style, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the Crown offers cargo security. The Arteon’s hatchback body style and non-lockable folding seat defeat cargo security.

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 Arteon doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

Compared to the Volkswagen Arteon, the Toyota Crown eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

The Crown Platinum’s Advanced Park can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Arteon SEL Premium’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Insurance will cost less for the Crown owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Crown will cost $1795 less than the Arteon over a five-year period.

The Crown will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Crown will retain 49.43% to 51.46% of its original price after five years, while the Arteon only retains 35.76% to 36.38%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Toyota Crown will be $9086 to $15149 less than for the Volkswagen Arteon.

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

The Toyota Crown outsold the Volkswagen Arteon by over 8 to one during 2023.