The mechanic says: This is a truly reliable vintage classic car!

Yesterday afternoon, a Toyota rolled into our shop. The mechanic took one glance at its exterior and immediately commented that this was another timeless classic—the 13th-generation Crown, the last domestically produced rear-wheel-drive V6 Crown sold in China.

Per the technician, this unit is the 2010 model, manufactured in 2012, paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. It carries the S200 chassis code and is powered by a 2.5L V6 front-engine rear-wheel-drive powertrain. Back in its day, it competed head-to-head against the Audi A6L.

The owner brought the Crown in for an engine service and a full vehicle inspection. After examining the undercarriage, our mechanic couldn’t help but praise it:This is what a dependable vintage classic should be!Let’s take a closer look at this 2010 Crown through a series of photos.

First up, a quick tour of the engine bay. It comes fitted with plenty of shielding panels. The top of the engine features a silver cover etched with the V6 badge, signifying its V-six cylinder layout. The engine runs remarkably smoothly, with plastic trim covers lining both sides.

The dashboard shows almost 250,000 km covered across 14 years on the road.

The mechanic explained that inline-six and V6 engines are typically longitudinally mounted. Combined with rear-wheel drive, the engine oil drain bolt sits toward the rear, and there’s no skid plate beneath the oil pan, so the bolt can be easily accessed for oil changes. The damp shield panels are just wet from air conditioning condensation dripping onto them.

Judging by the condition of the drained engine oil, it’s definitely overdue for a change.

Up front sits a double-wishbone independent suspension. Its lower control arm is constructed from double-layer steel, with the shock absorber and stabilizer end link mounted onto it. The steering knuckle is made of aluminum alloy.

The upper part of the steering knuckle connects to the upper wishbone, which is also made of steel. After inspecting all these front suspension components, we found them in excellent condition.

Moving to the middle section of the chassis, the exhaust pipe runs through the center, fitted with heat shields above it. The drive shaft sits directly over the heat shields. Protective undertrays line both sides of the exhaust, concealing the brake lines and fuel hoses inside.

At the rear of the chassis, exhaust mufflers are fitted on both sides of the tail section. The rear suspension adopts a multi-link independent setup.

The rear differential is mounted on the subframe. Made of steel, the differential has surface rust all over it. The mechanic said this is completely normal; aside from looking unsightly, it has zero impact on performance.

The rear multi-link suspension consists of five steel control arms. Surface rust on these components is completely normal, and all of them remain original factory parts. The rear steering knuckle is made of aluminum alloy.

After completing the chassis inspection with no issues found, the mechanic replaced the oil filter and lowered the vehicle to refill fresh engine oil.