Toyota Mark X (Japanese to American English)

The **Mark X** (マークエックス, Māku Ekkusu) was a four-door luxury sports sedan manufactured and marketed by Toyota Motor Corporation. Production plants were initially located in Kanegasaki (Isawa District, Iwate Prefecture) at the Iwate Plant of Kanto Auto Works (now Toyota Motor East Japan) and the Motomachi Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation, but production was limited to the Motomachi Plant from the middle of the first model year.

## Overview

It was introduced as the successor to the Mark II, a middle-size sedan that was once sold in the market. At the time of the start of sales, Toyota Motor Corporation conducted "teaser advertisements," which were unusual for a Toyota company to expose part of its products in TV commercials and other media before making an official product announcement to entice consumers to purchase the product. The content was a catchphrase and a symbol in the shape of an "X" of the alphabet, and the headlamp on the left side of the car was slightly exposed. The "Mark X" name, of course, was never shown, nor was the body silhouette of the Mark X. Similarly, the "Mark X ZiO," a later derivative of the Mark X, was also promoted in advance using teaser advertisements.

## First generation (10th in total) X12# model (2004 - 2009)

The "Mark X" was a vehicle that aimed to break away from the Mark II siblings (Mark II, Chaser, Cresta, and Verossa) and underwent a bold reform, including a new name, when it adopted the platform that had been drastically renewed in the 12th generation Crown (commonly known as the Zero Crown) at the time of its model change.

Although the exterior is a typical four-door sedan, the styling has transformed from the orthodoxy of the Mark II era to a bolder styling. The design features high-impact triple projector headlights on one side, a thicker trunk lid, and a 30mm to 40mm lower overall height than the X110 series Mark II, which was inspired by minivans and focused on comfort, resulting in an overly high roof height, in an effort to return to a sports sedan with driving performance.

Thus, the car was designed as a "new generation of sports sedan" with a bold and challenging exterior design. In particular, the diffuser structure, in which the rear bumper and the tail end of the muffler are integrated, was adopted for the first time in a Toyota-made luxury sedan. Many of Toyota's luxury sedans developed after this Mark X, such as Crown and Lexus, have also followed suit. It was also carried over to the 4th generation Lexus and LS (including hybrids), the 13th generation Crown and 5th generation Crown Majesta under the same Toyota brand.

Because of this design, replacing the muffler is not an easy task, and compatible products are available from a number of makers that produce aero parts for many Toyota vehicles and genuine Toyota Scion aero parts for North America. Incidentally, the rear bumper and the tail end of the muffler are not joined, and the pipe portion of the muffler is inserted into the hole in the bumper with a slight gap, which also contributes to improved exhaust performance and aerodynamic performance of the muffler.

The newly adopted platform is based on the one that was previously used for the 12th generation (S180 series) Crown, and has been lightened to improve driving performance. The improvements adopted here were later transferred to the IS family and GS series of Lexus, which share the same platform, and have been refined and evolved in each series.

The engine was changed from the inline 6-cylinder installed in the Mark II era to a new-generation GR-type V6. The 2.5-liter (215 PS) and 3-liter (256 PS) direct-injection (D-4) engines are used in this model, as in the earlier model of the 12th-generation Crown. The 2.5-liter (215 PS) 4GR-FSE engine is produced by Yamaha Motor, which has a longstanding technical partnership with Toyota. The 3-liter (256 PS) 3GR-FSE engine is produced at Toyota's Shimoyama Plant. The transmission is a 6-speed automatic with manual mode (5-speed AT for 4-wheel drive models), and although a sports grade with 18-inch aluminium wheels was set up in line with successive models of the Mark II family, the sports sedan with a turbo engine equipped with a manual transmission, equivalent to the GT-Twin Turbo of the X70 and X80 series, the Tourer V of the X90 and X100 series, and the iR-V of the X110 series, has disappeared.

Another feature of the Mark X is its trunk-through function with 6:4 split-folding rear seats, which is not available in Crown and Lexus brand vehicles. As with the Crown, the body type symbol was changed to the ""X"...series" (in the case of the Mark X, it became the X120 series), continuing from the Mark II family, which was the previous generation model.

### Chronology

November 9, 2004
The "Mark X" is launched.
It was launched as the successor to the Mark II. Like the Crown, the 3-liter and 2.5-liter GR-type V6 engines were installed, and the grade system was based on the 300G Premium and 300G for the 3-liter model, and the L package and F package for the 2.5-liter model based on the 250G, with only the 250G having four-wheel drive specification.
In addition, the 300G Premium and 250G have an S package as a sports version. A rear spoiler, which contributes to improved aerodynamic performance, is standard equipment. It also comes standard with an exclusive sports-tuned suspension (AVS + reinforced stabilizer exclusive to the S Package), large-diameter disc brakes, and exclusive 225/45/R18 tires and 18-inch aluminium wheels.