Summary
- The 2024 Toyota Century is a luxurious chauffeur-driven SUV designed to compete with the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
- The Century SUV maintains the regal and stately looks of the Century sedan, with a taller and wider body offering better interior space.
- The Century SUV features customizable interiors, a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and exclusive amenities, but its availability in North America seems unlikely with limited production.
The 2024 Toyota Century has just been unveiled in Japan after a brief teaser campaign and even industry rumors surrounding the vehicle and its development stage. As the pinnacle of Toyota's SUV range, the Century SUV has a simple and focused goal of being the ultimate chauffeur-driven SUV in Japan.
It's A Japanese Rolls-Royce Cullinan
To make a statement, we first have to talk about how the Century SUV looks. If you've already imagined a Century sedan having chunkier proportions and an even more assertive look, then you're off to a good start. The Century SUV carries over the sedan's regal and stately looks, but in a body that offers a raised driving position and better vertical interior room. In fact, Toyota was even smart enough to compare the dimensions of the Century SUV and the sedan.
Toyota Century Dimensions
Century SUV | Century sedan | |
|---|---|---|
Length | 205 inches | 210 inches |
Width | 78.35 inches | 75.98 inches |
Height | 71.06 inches | 59.25 inches |
Wheelbase | 116.14 inches | 121.65 inches |
Couple distance | 48.03 inches | 44.68 inches |
Weight | 5,666 lbs | 5,224 lbs |
Capacity | 4 persons | 5 persons |
Dimensionally, this means that the Century SUV is taller and wider than the sedan, but is a little shorter in terms of length and wheelbase. In terms of couple distance, however, (which is the horizontal distance between the hip points of the front and rear seats) is four inches more in the Century SUV than in the sedan.
As expected, the Century SUV's stately looks work well in a tall body style. The vehicle looks imposing with its quad-LED headlights and taillights, but the overall aesthetic remains tastefully restrained. It also looks very similar to a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but that's not to say that Toyota has probably copied the British ultra-luxury brand since the Century sedan already looks very European to begin with.
Oh, and while it wasn't part of the press pack Toyota sent, there was a performance-oriented GRMN model that was revealed at the event, featuring sportier bodywork and wheels, but the overall aesthetic still remains faithful to what a Century is and should be.
A Tailor-Made Cabin With Endless Possibilities
Stepping inside, the new Century SUV's interior surfaces are highly customizable to the customer's wants and desires, though Toyota has not yet revealed the various material and upholstery options that customers can select. On the tech front, there's a large infotainment system that runs Toyota's latest software along with a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster, and being a flagship chauffeur-driven luxury SUV, there's an immaculately-tuned surround sound system, though Toyota did not reveal the speaker count of its manufacturer.
Interestingly, the Century SUV has not one, but two configurations for the rear doors. At launch in Japan, the Century SUV will come with the usual hinged doors that swing up to 75 degrees for easy entry and exit. In the near future, powered rear sliding doors, just like in a minivan, will be offered as well. Whatever the choice, though, there are power-retractable step boards and C-pillar-mounted grab handles for easy entry to the rear seats.
With its goal of being a chauffeur-driven SUV, the Century SUV doesn't contain a third row. Instead, this car exclusively seats four people and thus, you have a nice fixed center console where all of the rear seat amenities can be controlled. Oh, and taking a page out of the Cullinan book, the Century SUV's passenger compartment is completely separate from the cargo area. Further adding to the quietness and isolation of the vehicle are thick sound-deadening as well as noise-reducing laminated glass.
A Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain For Power And Opulence
Your only powertrain choice for the 2024 Toyota Century SUV is a new 3.5-liter V-6 plug-in hybrid powertrain. Though Toyota did not reveal its figures, we suspect it's the same one found in the Lexus TX 550h+ which means it should probably produce 406 horses, though as typical of Toyota, torque figures aren't provided for its series-parallel hybrids. All-wheel drive (AWD) comes as standard, and this is mated to an e-CVT. Yes, as you've probably realized at this moment, the Century SUV is using the TNGA-K platform, which the Toyota Grand Highlander and Lexus TX also utilize.
Fascinatingly, a GRMN model was also displayed, but no details were revealed in terms of performance or handling upgrades. A GRMN model sits at the pinnacle of Toyota's GR range, which means it's not just a sportier model in terms of looks, but in every facet of the vehicle's driving experience, too.
But Is It Coming To North America?
Unfortunately, for this question, this is where we have more questions than answers. It was only revealed during the launch that the Century SUV would be sold in Japan and will be assembled at the Tahara plant. Priced from 25,000,000 JPY, which works out to just under $170,000, the Century SUV will be so rare, that only 30 units will be made monthly for Japan, and if it will be that extremely limited, then its chance of arriving in North America sounds very slim.