Ten Luxurious Toyotas That Proved the Badge Wasn’t Everything

Toyota is known for dependable, comfortable, affordable cars, but it also has a luxury side that doesn’t wear a Lexus badge. CarBuzz highlights ten models that gave established luxury automakers competition, even if many stayed in Japan.

The Toyota Century is often called Japan’s Rolls-Royce. It started in 1967 for Japan’s elite, with hand-assembled parts and wool interiors. The second generation used a 5.0L V12 from 1997; the 2018 version switched to a 5.0L V8 hybrid.

The Sequoia, on the same body-on-frame platform as the Lexus LX, offers a Capstone trim with wood, semi-aniline leather, acoustic glass, a 14-inch touchscreen, and a 437-hp hybrid powertrain. S. sedan for more than two decades, offering near-luxury comfort with adaptive suspension, leather, wood trim, and JBL audio.

The Vellfire and Alphard minivans are rolling lounges in Asia, with reclining captain’s seats, footrests, ambient lighting, and optional refrigerator and massaging seats. The Crown Signia provides Lexus-like quality, extra sound deadening, and a lower price than a Lexus RX.

The Land Cruiser J100 brought real luxury to the lineup, with leather, wood, a premium sound system, full-time four-wheel drive, adjustable height control, and, in Japan, the world’s first night-vision detection system. The Century SUV is an ultra-luxury plug-in hybrid with rear reclining and massaging seats and suicide doors.

The Cresta offered bigger engines, premium interiors, and early-90s tech like adaptive suspension and TV. The Crown Majesta, sold for nearly three decades, added firsts like Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management and radar cruise control in 2004. 0L inline-six, proved Toyota could build a world-class sports car.