2018 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport - As Big and Mighty As the Trees it's Named After

The 2018 Toyota Sequoia, as big and as mighty as the Sequoia trees that it’s named after. The Sequoia is one of the few remaining “body-on-frame” SUVs and is the perfect SUV if you want bulletproof reliability, tons of space for the family, and loads of towing capacity. However, if you’re looking for great fuel economy and tons of technology gadgets, you might want to look elsewhere.

For the 2018 model, Toyota came out with significant changes in the Sequoia. Encompassed in those are: styling updates, a new TRD Sport trim, and a slew of new safety features (forward collision warning, automatic braking, lane departure warning, parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring, and traffic-adaptive cruise control, to name a few). Our test model was the new TRD Sport, which featured more aggressive styling, sport-tuned suspension, a blacked out front grille, mirror caps, and rear badging, darkened rear tail light housing,  and black 20 inch rims wrapped in a more aggressive off road tire.

Driving Dynamics

In regards to driving dynamics, the Sequoia is able to perform both in the city, and off road. The large seats are extremely comfortable and the rear cabin can easily seat adults in the middle and rear rows. The cabin was very quiet at highways speeds, and the vehicle cruises comfortably down the road as if you’re riding in a luxury car. As to be expected, parallel parking in a city setting can be cumbersome in the Sequoia, but a rear view camera and parking sensors are there to assist you. Not to mention the turning radius is superb for a vehicle of its size and stabilizer bars in the front and rear keep body roll to a minimum.

Once off road, the Sequoia easily traveled down trails with its Bilstein shocks, offering a comfortable ride that a baby could sleep through. The 10 inches of ground clearance allows you to pass over small obstacles with ease. I didn’t try any trails extreme enough, but there are multiple 4wd modes and a locking center differential on the TRD Sport for all of your offroading needs.

Interior

The interior, as mentioned, is massive and luxurious. The large 10-way adjustable heated leather seats in the front and large knobs make the Sequoia ideal for driving to your annual ski trip. The TRD Sport features second row captain’s seating and a seating capacity of 7, while other trims seat 8. The 6.1-inch touch-screen display can be a bit small at times, but Toyota’s Entune infotainment system lays everything out in a intuitive design. The Sequoia also features bluetooth, HD Radio, satellite radio, voice recognition and all of the other amenities you would expect from a 2018 vehicle.

If you need cargo space, the Sequoia has plenty of it. Behind the third-row seats there is 18.9 cubic feet of space, fold down the third row with the push of a button and the space increases to 66.6 cubic feet, fold down the second row, and you have a huge 120.1 cubic foot area to work with. We used the Sequoia to bring all of the materials we needed to our Legends of Auto venue, and we didn’t even need to fold all of the seats down!

Powertrain

The 2018 Sequoia carries over Toyota’s esteemed and reliable 5.7 liter v8 powertrain. With 381 HP and 401 lb-ft of torque mated with a 6 speed automatic transmission, the Sequoia can easily tow more than 7200 lbs. The power comes at a cost in fuel economy though, as the Sequoia normally achieves 13 mpg in the city, and 17 on the highway. We averaged 16 mpg in our TRD Sport with combined city and highway driving.

With that said, it’s hard to find a vehicle that can take you and 6-7 passengers virtually anywhere in such comfort for less than $55,000. So whether you’re a weekend warrior that wants a “go anywhere” vehicle, or a parent that needs to keep up with the kids, the Sequoia is worth taking a look at.