2023 toyota sequoia trd pro
For 2023, Toyota’s Sequoia full-size SUV has risen from a long-neglected back-of-the-pack entry to a brand new one. The 2023 Sequoia Tundra ditches the pickup’s powerful hybridized V-6 engine as well as its bodywork and windshield pillar front headlights, places it atop a version of the Tundra frame shared with the global Land Cruiser and Lexus LX SUV, and backs it up. With a spacious three-row cabin. After driving the entire lineup—you can read the extensive lineup review here—here’s a closer look at the off-road-prepped Sequoia TRD Pro.
Why is it important?
The Land Cruiser 4×4 is no longer sold in America. Mechanically, the new Sequoia is the next closest thing to the latest global Land Cruiser (including the LX). That alone puts some weight on Toyota’s shoulders to maintain its legendary off-road reputation in the full-size SUV space.
In this tougher incarnation, the Sequoia has some new competitors in the new GMC Yukon AT4 and the Ford Expedition Timberline.
Forget the previous generation Sequoia TRD Pro, which achieved the same muddy glory but was based on old bones and shared no lineage with the Land Cruiser. Every ’23 Sequoia is modernized with a hybridized twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque, mated to the same 10-speed automatic transmission.
TRD Pros get standard four-wheel drive, which is limited up to the SR5, optional up to the Platinum and range-topping Capstone, which comes standard with rear drive. Also on board? A locking rear differential, special trail camera, 2.5-inch Fox internal-bypass shocks with remote reservoirs at the rear, a TRD front anti-roll bar, multi-terrain select traction mode, crawl control, TRD-branded parts isolation inside, a quarter -inch-thick aluminum front skidplate, and 18-inch TRD wheels with 33-inch Falken Wildpick all-terrain tires. Versus the non-TRD Pro Sequoias, it all adds up to a better approach angle (up 23.8 degrees) and an extra 0.5 inches of ground clearance (9.1 inches total).
The Sequoia TRD Pro looks all business with its dark tires, chunky body armor and cool roof rack/platform. We also dig that it’s prepared for dirt duty right from the factory, just like Toyota’s Tacoma, 4Runner and Tundra TRD Pro models. Like other Sequoias, the new hybrid engine delivers satisfying torque and punchy overall performance, no matter which wheel-drive you’re in.Contact Us
Despite the Sequoia’s sheer size, its square-off body is easy to place, a boon on hard trails. We briefly looped around an off-road course carved out of a hilly Texas cow pasture, cycling through some alternate humps that lifted a wheel or two into the air, along with a steep rocky climb, and fast-paced rocky dirt tracks and places where our visibility was limited. done Through it all, the onboard Multi Terrain Monitor camera picks things up, showing us a view of the front from the grille, as well as an angled view of each front wheel from the side mirrors, allowing us to “see” over steep hills and straight ahead. Each front wheel. The TRD Pro handled everything we threw at it – certainly on a relatively sterile off-road course – with ease.
As much as the TRD Pro upgrades add visual value, much of the hardware is available on lesser models via the TRD Off Road Package. And the things that aren’t, like Fox shocks and 33-inch tires, drag down the driving experience on paved roads. Wind noise, a problem with all the 2023 Sequoias we’ve driven, is compounded here by significant tire sizzle from the all-terrain rubber and constant droning from the TRD Pro-specific exhaust. When the hybrid engine wakes up after sleeping at a stoplight to save fuel, you’ll hear it, whereas the same action is much quieter and almost unnoticeable in other Sequoias.
Another possible source of noise? TRD Pro’s rugged platform is standard. We’re only assuming it will add a cabin wind whoosh, however, because Toyota either pre-empted or failed to install the platform TRD Professional made it available for us to drive, albeit fitted for a static example display.
The ride is much firmer. These dampers worked well on our time on the fast dirt rally stage, we ran the rig, smoothing out hard ride speeds from rock hits and ruts, but were less successful on pavement, small-width washboard surfaces, and everyday expansion joints and cracks. We noticed a lot more head toss and a much firmer ride on the freeway but little improvement in the Sequoia’s body control when cornering or stopping. A smidge of smoosh is more comfortable in the regular Sequoia’s ride but when you take it into a corner or brake hard, it’s too comfortable, even for those equipped with the TRD Off-Road Package.
If you just want the TRD Pro to look with its nice features—and plan to spend more time off-road—and the $78,395 price tag (only the Luxury Capstone costs more) can get by. Otherwise, any Sequoia optioned with the TRD Off-Road Kit can have much of the same hardware and capabilities with fewer compromises.