Living the high life is seemingly getting more expensive as time passes, given the ever-rising cost of living in the US that pushes luxuries further into the realm of unnecessary. With most manufacturers being forced to invest heavily in electrification at the moment, they’re having to push the base MSRPs of their offerings up to help offset these heavy development losses. The average cost of a new car in the United States has now crossed the $50,000 barrier, making it harder than ever to get your hands on a car you want, rather than one you need.
Luckily, Toyota has the perfect answer if you desire the life of luxury, but have a tighter budget to work with. When compared to rivals like the Volvo V60 Cross Country, it makes a lot of sense.
Toyota’s Sleek SUV Is Located At The Higher End Of Its Range
2026 Toyota Crown SigniaToyota
The star of this particular piece is the Toyota Crown Signia, which is the more practical version of the Japanese brand’s Crown luxury sedan. The Crown Signia is classed as a wagon crossover, which aims to combine the greater convenience and size of a crossover SUV with the sleeker looks of a wagon. As a result, it comes with a lower and sleeker roofline versus a conventional crossover SUV, such as the marque’s RAV4. This puts it in direct competition with other wagons like the V60 Cross Country, which is the last variant of Volvo’s creation available in the US.
As the manufacturer moves towards only providing full-fat SUVs in its North American range, though, the car will be discontinued from its stateside lineup at the end of the 2026 model year. Of course, normally you wouldn’t necessarily bundle the Toyota and Volvo together as straight-up rivals, since the latter tends to cater closer to the premium side of the coin than the former, which aims to provide affordable and reliable machines for the masses. If you wanted a Volvo rival, you’d tend to explore the range offered by Toyota’s Lexus sister company instead, which is positioned as a luxury brand. That said, the Crown Signia is placed at the pricier end of Toyota’s range, with only larger SUVs like the Land Cruiser and Sequoia demanding more cash.
Plus, opting for a Lexus would throw shade at the sheer value offered by the Crown Signia.
The Toyota Crown Signia Is Much Cheaper Than Volvo’s Wagon
2026 Toyota Crown SigniaToyota
The base variant of the Crown Signia is the XLE AWD, which, as its name suggests, provides reassuring all-wheel drive for the price of admission. The price in question is $44,690, which looks extremely attractive in contrast to the base V60 Cross Country Plus, which clocks in at $52,300. Yep, a near $8,000 premium, which makes a real difference to your bank account. That money you save could go towards a new kitchen, or perhaps a dream European holiday. But wait, I hear you cry, as you can’t put a price on prestige.
You’d be right, but it’s also worth bearing in mind that we’re not talking about a Bentley or Rolls-Royce here, as Volvo hasn’t reached anywhere near that kind of social standing. The price widens further when you factor in the range-topping trim of either model, the Crown Signia Limited and V60 Ultra, respectively. Whereas the Toyota can be had for a shade over $49k, the better-equipped Volvo will set you back a cool $57,600, a premium of comfortably over $8,000. The value doesn’t end there, either.
The Crown Signia Is Vastly More Efficient
2026 Toyota Crown SigniaToyota
While securing luxury is, of course, the most important element when looking for such a vehicle, why not save a little extra cash in the meantime? The Crown Signia isn’t as quick as the Volvo, as its 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine with hybrid assistance kicks out a combined power figure of 240 horsepower, which is just short of the 247 hp pumped out by the V60 Cross Country’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The powertrain under the hood of the Crown Signia uses a more potent dual-motor hybrid system, as opposed to the Volvo’s more restrictive 48-volt starter generator, which means the former is around 100 pounds heavier.
Despite this, the upshot of the Toyota unit is that it is much more efficient than the Swedish contender, with its average 38 MPG figure leaving the Volvo’s 27 MPG well in its dust.
This means that, despite the Toyota possessing a tank that has a full 1.4 gallons less capacity, it can manage 551 miles on a full tank, whereas the Volvo will struggle to hit 430 miles. That means that while you’ll have to spend around $62.80 to achieve this lesser mileage with the V60, just $57.27 will net you comfortably over 100 miles further behind the wheel of the Crown Signia. Over time, you’ll be counting the dollar bills, especially considering the amount of money you’ll have saved by opting for the Toyota over the Volvo in the first place.
Toyota’s Luxury Wagon Comes With More Standard Equipment
2026 Toyota Crown SigniaToyota
Granted, when it comes to styling, the V60 Cross Country does look like the more premium of the two offerings. Who cares though, since you don’t drive down the road on the roof anyway, unless you have a death wish. Crucially, despite being much cheaper to buy than the V60, the Crown Signia also comes packing some extra toys. While both vehicles get a center touchscreen infotainment system that brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, which lets you use Google Maps for navigation, the Toyota’s 12.3-inch display is considerably larger than the V60’s 9.0-inch unit.
The Crown Signia also comes with a heated leather steering wheel and heated rear seats as standard, whereas you have to hand over an extra $750 to get the same extras on the V60. There are differences on the outside too, since you get a set of 19-inch wheels on the Toyota, and smaller 18-inch rims on the base V60 Plus. The upper-end versions of either car get premium audio systems, and in the case of the Volvo, quad-zone climate control. The Toyota gets a dual-zone system in whichever trim level you choose. The Crown Signia does fight back by providing ventilated seats in base form, whereas Volvo demands you buy the Ultra version to get the same luxury.
The Toyota may not possess quite as premium a badge as the Volvo does, but you’ll be graced with a decent chunk of extra standard equipment, and for a hell of a lot less money. Both cars feature cockpits detailed with sumptuous leather and copious amounts of soft-touch furnishings, which bring a little more refinement to proceedings. There’s nothing quite like having extra gizmos to play with, and the Crown Signia comfortably beats the V60 Cross Country for the money.
On a side note, the Crown Signia’s larger trunk also ensures you can bring more cargo with you on your trips, making it the more versatile of the two.
The Toyota Puts Your Safety Preferences In Your Hands
2026 Toyota Crown SigniaToyota
Part of the reason the V60 costs more to start with can be explained by the extent of the safety systems it provides as standard, with tech such as front, side, and rear parking sensors, traffic cross alert, and lane-keeping aids all being provided. You can have these on the Crown Signia too, but at a $1,865 premium by opting for the Advanced Tech Package. The Toyota does fight back by offering a digital rearview mirror free of charge, whereas this is a $995 option on the V60.
There isn’t a lot more to get excited about when it comes to the V60’s options, in all honesty, with an upgraded Bowers and Wilkins sound system being the highest-profile addition at $3,200. The Crown Signia, on the other hand, comes with options such as illuminated door sills to add a bit of class as you climb inside, as well as an integrated dash cam to help put your mind at ease in the event of an accident.
Whichever way you look at it, the Toyota Crown Signia makes a strong case as a luxury offering versus a more conventional choice, such as the V60 Cross Country. It’s cheaper, better equipped, and vastly more efficient, not to mention more reliable and more affordable to run over a longer period. Hell, it’ll also depreciate much more slowly, which will leave you with more cash in your pocket when you eventually decide to sell up and move on.
Just because you have a tighter budget doesn’t mean you don’t have access to the best the luxury world has to offer.
Sources: Toyota, Volvo.
