New Toyota Century reinvented as an SUV
Japanese giant’s flagship limousine morphs into a Rolls-Royce Cullinan rival – without a V12 or half-million-dollar pricetagThe 2024 Toyota Century SUV has been revealed in all its glory, presenting more than a few nods to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan both in its design and positioning.
Big, bold and achingly luxurious inside, the new Toyota Century SUV is the high-riding alternative to the big Century limousine favoured for years by Japanese executives and dignitaries, comfortably usurping the Toyota Crown as the brand’s flagship offering – at least in Japan.
Underpinned by the same front-wheel drive-based GA-K platform as North America’s Grand Highlander and the Lexus TX, the Century SUV will be sold in Japan alongside the third-generation Century sedan released in 2018, but at this stage isn’t planned to go global.
Japanese pricing will start from ¥25 million – the equivalent of $A265,161 – which reflects its ultra-high-end intent, while the four-seat layout and reclining rear pews are just two examples of its opulent nature.
Helping passengers enter the car is an automatically retracting step and a set of wide-opening (to 75 degrees) rear doors, while entrance lighting illuminates the ground beside the car so nobody trips, slips or stumbles on unseen hazards.
Inside, the reclining and massaging rear seats are fully power-adjustable and split by an enlarged centre console, each with their own rotating and retractable table to help turn the Century SUV into a mobile office.
Those with no business to attend to can recline and watch a movie via the built-in Blu-ray player or SD card slot – with or without headphones depending on how courteous the passenger feels like being to their driver.
Other second-row features include dual 5.5-inch control panels which can double as a mobile device, LED work lights, climate control, power sunshade, an 11.6-inch entertainment system for each seat, 18-speaker audio system, dimmable privacy glass, LED ambient lighting and a panoramic glass roof, among others.
Drivers and front passengers, meantime, get to play with a 12.3-inch infotainment system featuring connected services, voice command, connected sat-nav, built-in wi-fi modem, digital cockpit, heated and power adjustable seats, a vast centre console and more.
The former also has direct control over a 3.5-litre V6 petrol-electric plug-in hybrid system outputting a combined 303kW of power and driving all four wheels via a continuously variable transmission.
Toyota claims the Century SUV has an electric-only range of up to 69km on the Japanese WLTC test cycle but will still only consume 7.1L/100km once the battery’s flat by operating as a traditional hybrid.
Underneath, suspension duties are handled by a MacPherson strut arrangement up-front and a multi-link rear-end, each featuring adaptive dampers.
On top of managing and responding to the road conditions, the adaptive suspension also acts to mitigate the impression of any lateral gravitational forces, pitch or body roll resulting from acceleration, braking, cornering or even cresting undulations.
The car is also able to monitor traffic flow and road conditions ahead of time and can automatically switch between motive power modes – EV or HEV – to best suit the driving environment and maximise efficiency and comfort.
Vehicle-to-load functionally (1500W) is also included in the package, as is ‘my room mode’, which allows the Century to continue acting as a mobile office even while charging.
Toyota says it’s expecting to sell about 30 units a month in Japan, equating to an annual sales tally of just 360 units.
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