A station wagon version of the Crown that replaces the ungainly look of the Crown sedan with very chic styling.

A station wagon version of Toyota’s very bizarre Crown crossover sedan. The wagon is very elegant, with clean lines and some nice detailing.

The Signia carries over the cabin from the Crown and is pretty successful. The digital gauge package is reasonably clear and there is a massive touch screen running infotainment functions with the climate controls using a series of physical toggles.

The Signia is very large and roomy front and rear, but the driver’s position feels tight from door to console, absurdly so for such an enormous car. Cargo space is good.

At a time when they have been critically short of hybrid powertrains in Canada, Toyota has elected to make the Signia exclusively hybrid. The 2.5L four links to electric motors to create 240 total system horsepower. Power reaches the front wheels via a CVT, with the rear wheels driven electrically.

The balance of performance and fuel economy is excellent and the car is refined under gentle acceleration or cruising, but the din from under the hood during hard acceleration is too intense for a vehicle this expensive. Steering, braking, ride and handling are all nicely sorted.

Over the last few years Toyota has specialized in disappointing potential customers by announcing cars that were essentially unavailable. Time will tell whether Toyota can actually deliver the Crown Signia in a reasonable time period.

Unlike the Crown sedan that offers two hybrids, the 2.5L hybrid and a a hyper-performance turbo variant, the Signia only offers the 2.5L hybrid. The base model, the Limited, features 12.3 inch digital gauge package, a 12.3 inch infotainment screen, leather seating, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, blind spot monitors, a fixed glass roof, L.E.D. headlights, parking garage buttons, a rear camera wash system, wireless cellphone charging and rain sense wipers, is comprehensively equipped. The Advanced Technology Package adds a brake hold system, a forward cross traffic monitor, lane-change assist, a 360 degree camera system, self parking and puddle lamps, at a reasonable price. That said, the Signia is a very expensive vehicle which may limit its sales even more than Toyota’s inability to deliver hybrid vehicles to Canadians.

Toyota hybrids have traditionally been very reliable. However, the electric cable that drives the rear wheels created a lot of grief for RAV4 owners. Toyota has redesigned the cable several times and extended the warranty on RAV4s for older vehicles but the new car warranty on the cable remains three years/60,000 kilometers, which does not inspire confidence.