The stately Toyota Century sedan debuted back in the 1960s as an extremely exclusive, Japan-only ultra-luxury model meant to chauffer around VIPs. Six decades later, the Century has finally budged to the growing trend of SUV-fication and transformed into a new model squarely aimed at locking horns with the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Behold the Toyota Century SUV, a hyper-exclusive model that’ll sit right at the top of the Japanese manufacturer’s product portfolio. In fact, it’s going to be more exclusive than the Cullinan as Toyota says it will build only 30 units a month and the model will be only sold in Japan. What a shame!
Measuring 197.8 inches long, 78.3 in wide, and 1805 mm tall, the new Toyota Century has the dimensions of a full-size SUV. However, the luxury SUV will only seat four instead of five, despite a generous wheelbase of 116.1 inches. But there’s a good reason behind it. The two rear seats are designed in a way that they can recline in all sorts of ways to offer utmost comfort to the passengers and are packed to the rafters as far as features and amenities are concerned. In fact, the SUV also features a Rear Comfort mode that once enabled alters the driving and braking force in a way as not to disturb the rear occupants. Furthermore, there’s a laminated glass on the cabin side of the cargo space separator that filters out any noise coming from the trunk.
Toyota also made sure that getting in and out of the cabin was trouble-free for the passengers. In addition to grab handles on the C-pillars, the Century SUV also gets electrically deployable side steps, while the rear doors open to a 75-degree angle. Interestingly, Toyota also showcased a GR-badged version that features a minivan-like electric sliding rear doors, which is an interesting design choice. In terms of design, the Toyota Century SUV features a boxy design that looks a little similar to that of the Cullinan. However, it gets a split headlight design that will remind you of Genesis.
The SUV also features the more prestigious Phoenix emblem instead of the Toyota logo. The luxury SUV is powered by a plug-in-hybrid powertrain with a 3.5-liter V6 engine and all-wheel drive. It is very similar to the one in the new 2024 Lexus TX550+ which makes 406 horsepower and offers 30 mpg and a 33-mile electric driving range. Toyota has said that the model will be sold at select dealers in Japan and will start at the equivalent of nearly $170,000.