2024 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro: Test Drive | The Daily Drive

2024 Toyota Sequoia TRD Professional

Class: Giant SUV

Shade: Terra

Seating capability: 7

CG Report Card

Room and Consolation	B+
Energy and Efficiency	B+
Match and End	B
Gas Financial system	B
Worth	B

Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus different automobiles in the identical class. Worth grade is for particular trim degree evaluated, and should not replicate Shopper Information’s impressions of all the mannequin lineup.

Large & Tall Consolation

Large Man	A
Tall Man	B

Large & Tall consolation scores are for entrance seats solely. “Large” score primarily based on male tester weighing roughly 350 kilos, “Tall” score primarily based on 6’6″-tall male tester.

Drivetrain
Engine Specs	478-horsepower 3.4-liter
Engine Kind	Turbo hybrid V6
Transmission	10-speed automated
Drive Wheels	4WD

Miles pushed: 119

Noticed gas economic system: 16.5 mpg

Driving combine: 65% metropolis, 35% freeway

EPA-estimated gas economic system: 19/22/20 (mpg metropolis/freeway/mixed)

Gas sort: Common gasoline

Snow Efficiency: N/A

Base worth: $78,710 (not together with $1850 vacation spot cost)

Choices on take a look at automobile: Panoramic roof ($500), sprint cam ($499), TRD roof rack ($1395)

Worth as examined: $81,104

Fast Hits

The good: Ample energy, roomy and comfy cabin

The great: Large touchscreen, easy management format, strong really feel

The not so good: Difficult cargo-area association, restricted Third-row consolation

Tom Appel:

On the subject of advertising massive, body-on-frame SUVs, Common Motors has an enormous leg up on the opposite carmakers within the section. GM can attain value-oriented customers by way of the Chevrolet Tahoe and longer Suburban, upscale and off-road minded shoppers with the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and luxurious consumers with the Cadillac Escalade, which can be provided in two lengths.

Ford, too, has a bonus, advertising variations of the identical truck as the favored Ford Expedition, and opulent Lincoln Navigator. And, each the Expedition and Navigator are provided in two lengths. Jeep, too, takes a two-pronged method to the large SUV section, although the jury is out on how profitable the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer technique really is.

To its credit score, Toyota isn’t making an attempt to cowl all the big-rig area, as its 2024 Sequoia lineup doesn’t begin as affordably because the Tahoe (about $58,000), or peak as excessive because the Escalade (beginning round $84,000).

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The tidy, five-model Sequoia lineup begins with the bottom SR5 (about $63,000), and ascends via the midlevel Restricted ($69,000), upscale Platinum ($76,000), luxury-level Capstone ($80,000), and off-road-oriented TRD Professional ($81,000). 4WD is normal on the TRD Professional and Capstone, and elective on different trim ranges.

Redesigned for the 2023 mannequin 12 months, the Sequoia moved to Toyota’s versatile TNGA-F structure, which additionally underpins the model’s Tundra full-size pickup. With the redesign got here a brand new engine, Toyota’s i-Drive Max powerplant, which mates a turbocharged, hybrid 3.4-liter V6 with a 10-speed automated transmission. The engine is rated at a stout 437 horsepower, up from 381 within the previous-generation Sequoia with its thirsty 5.7-liter V8.

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Shopper Information just lately spent every week behind the wheel of a 2024 Tundra TRD Professional in eye-catching Terra (that’s the colour). All advised, our full-size Toyota SUV rang in at $82,954, together with vacation spot cost.

The rugged-looking TRD Professional backs up its powerful stance with some reputable off-road gear, most of which ought to ease the minds of Snowbelters simply on the lookout for a bit insurance coverage the subsequent time the Midwest is walloped with one other “critical present occasion.”

Distinctive to the TRD Professional are 18-inch, black-finish BBS-brand alloy wheels shod with particular tires, Fox-brand shock absorbers with distant reservoir, a entrance stabilizer bar, protecting skid plates, an electronically managed locking rear differential, off-road driving modes, a crawl management system, a hill-descent management operate, and particular trim parts. Counterintuitively, TRD-brand working boards are additionally a part of the “Professional” gear group, which is able to have to be eliminated earlier than the truck does any critical off-road work.

Inside, Sequoia’s vivid and fashionable cabin is each spacious and comfy. Inside trim is worth acceptable, although might path in high quality considerably relative to the fittings present in higher trims ranges of the Expedition and Yukon. That mentioned, nothing appears or feels low-cost.

Large doorways and loads of house make the entrance two seating rows simple to entry and long-haul comfy. The third row, nevertheless, is one other story. Due to the hybrid drivetrain, the battery particularly, the three^rd-row seats don’t fold flat into the ground. As a substitute, as a result of the battery lives down beneath the load ground, the seatbacks merely fold down over the seat bottoms. To compensate for this, form of, the Sequoia is provided with an adjustable cargo shelf that may be moved to permit for a steady load ground. This appears like an undue problem, and isn’t one thing consumers of $80,000 SUVs will need to take care of. This association might show to be a deal breaker for shoppers seeking to do a number of cargo hauling.

Moreover, the flat ground within the 3^rd-row limits legroom, and forces occupants of the rearmost seat into an uncomfortable “leg-out” place which is not going to go well with bigger passengers effectively on lengthy journeys.

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2024 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro: Test Drive — 2024 Toyota Sequoia TRD Professional

In any other case, the cabin works effectively, as do the first controls. The big heart touchscreen handles mostly used capabilities, save for local weather, and does so merely and successfully sufficient. The display screen is simple to learn in direct gentle, and the icons simple to determine at a look. And, we discovered the 14-speaker JBL audio system as much as the duty of recreating the mid-century jazz most popular by this editor.

On the street, the Sequoia TRD Professional strikes out neatly. The large, turbo V6 delivers loads of helpful energy, and boasts reassuring reserves of passing and merging muscle. There drivetrain just isn’t excellent, nevertheless, we discovered the transmission susceptible searching and extreme shifting at low velocity and when decelerating. The around-town transmission busyness can show annoying in stop-and-go site visitors, however trails off as speeds climb.

The Sequoia rivals the Expedition for the title of best-handling giant SUV. It feels effectively managed in most conditions, and doesn’t lean in corners with the identical sloppiness of different massive rigs. Moreover, by our seats of the pants, the TRD Professional rides extra comfortably than the Capstone we examined final 12 months. We suspect the Professional’s extra beneficiant tire sidewalls (275/65R-18 vs. the Capstone’s 265/50R-22) play a job is smoothing out the journey.

And as for the departed V8 engine: When final we examined an 8-cylinder-equipped Sequoia, we noticed a mixed 15.4 mpg in largely freeway driving. In largely metropolis driving, our 2024 tester returned 16.5 mpg, a greater than 1 mpg enchancment. The fuel-economy bump is made moreover spectacular provided that the brand new Sequoia boasts 56 further horsepower.

There’s an intangible worth to the TRD Professional that doesn’t play too effectively in our goal analysis: Presence. Throughout our analysis our take a look at truck garnered quite a few feedback concerning the colour and basic visible enchantment of the truck, all fairly constructive. Certainly, the Sequoia appears the a part of rugged, post-apocalyptic survivor, in the absolute best method.

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