Toyota’s new Japanese “Rolls-Royce” SUV looks like… a Rolls-Royce SUV.

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TOKYO, JAPAN

Toyota has unveiled an SUV version of their regal Century saloon for their wealthiest of wealthy customers such as VIPs, politicians, dignitaries, the Japanese Imperial Family, the Yakuza- you get the drift.

This is the Toyota Century SUV, and it’s everything you’d expect of a Century in SUV form. Unabashedly opulent, regal, monolithic with a massive cabin that has two reclining seats in the rear because it follows in the Century’s “Characteristic chauffeur-driven car proportions”.

It’s a massive car at 5.2m long, 10mm shy of being 2 meters wide and it’s considerably higher than the Century saloon at over 1.8m tall. Up front, the headlights are split and the centre of the grille features an exquisitely hand-engraved Phoenix emblem.

Round the back, the Century SUV’s boxier design does lend a slight resemblance to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan but the quad taillights are reminiscent of Genesis’ newer vehicles. However, as with any chauffeur-driven vehicle, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, so Toyota has given the Century SUV every conceivable luxurious feature.

The dashboard and door cards are draped in leather and the dashboard even sees the addition of a mahogany wood trim with aluminium stripes – the same sort of wood used in a grand piano’s construction. Likewise, the aft of the cabin is outfitted with the same leather and dark wood veneer.

The rear doors are able to open up to 75 degrees, allowing for easier ingress and egress from the rear, and the fully reclining rear seats allow passengers to luxuriate in the rear seats. Ahead of the rear passenger seats is an 11.6-inch screen and located on the centre console are two 5.5-inch touchscreen devices that allow the rear occupants to adjust several settings in the car – from the HVAC systems down to the heated/cooled and massaging rear seats.

Powering this 2,570kg Japanese luxury barge is a 3.5-litre V6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain that generates a combined 412 horsepower. That power is routed to all four wheels through an eCVT gearbox and the Century SUV also has a maximum electric range of 69km.

All Toyota Century SUVs will be built at Toyota’s Tahara Plant and the brand plans to sell just 30 units a month. In Japan, the Century SUV starts from ¥25,000,000, or about S$233,000 before local taxes and ARF – which would make the Century SUV a million-dollar Toyota if it were to be registered for road use in Singapore.

Alas, there are no plans to bring this new Japanese luxury SUV to Singapore… for the time being.

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