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    2023 Toyota Sequoia Review: Ups and Downs

    Truck-based SUVs enable for a lot extra functionality in the case of towing or traversing sure sorts of terrain, however their development additionally introduces some detriments to experience high quality, economic system and different issues. Hot on the heels of a brand new Tundra pickup, the 2023 Toyota Sequoia is a good reminder that life is stuffed with tradeoffs, and it is as much as you to determine whether or not the juice is well worth the squeeze.The Sequoia was nearly 10 years outdated when it was lastly overhauled, and the quantum leap in styling actually makes that identified. Just like its Tundra sibling, the 2023 Sequoia carries some beefy new aesthetics that I actually like. Interesting angles and curves abound, just like the robust indentations on the fenders, or the cool form of the headlights. It has an actual presence — and never simply because it fully fills each single parking spot it occupies.The inside appears to be like cool, too, but it surely’s removed from excellent. While I perceive the necessity for sturdy supplies in one thing geared to be just a little extra rugged, I’m shocked on the sheer quantity of rock-hard plastic in my $70,000 Sequoia Platinum tester. Everything that appears like metallic is not, though this trim’s intensive use of leather-based throughout the most typical contact factors does elevate issues a bit. The third row’s easy plastic environment can depart way-back passengers feeling extra like suitcases than individuals.Speaking of the third row, here is the place compromises actually begin to come into play. The Sequoia’s customary hybrid system lives below the way-back bench, pushing the seats shut sufficient to the ceiling the place grown occupants will consistently graze the headliner — and the second row is not a lot better, as a result of the panoramic sunroof’s {hardware} creates a large bulge proper the place your head goes. The second row gives no fore-aft motion, however the third row slides to stability between cargo capability and legroom; nevertheless, if you could retailer each stuff and other people, that legroom condenses down to a couple barely usable inches. The rearmost bench additionally will not fold flat into the ground, since that is the place all of the high-voltage bits hang around. Yet there are nonetheless loads of good issues in regards to the Sequoia’s cabin. It is sensible as heck, with a pair tiers of storage on the door panels, an enormous entrance tray with a vertical wi-fi gadget charger and a positively honkin’ middle armrest cubby with a number of transferring trays and strategies to entry what’s inside. The rear cargo space gives some intelligent shelving to make up for its common lack of area, but it surely’s not going to swallow as a lot as, say, a Chevy Tahoe, regardless of how arduous you strive.
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    Toyota’s newest infotainment system actually zhushes up the joint, bringing functionality and graphics high quality nicely past its predecessor. Andrew Krok/CNETThe Toyota Sequoia’s tech is fairly strong, as nicely. The newest model of Toyota’s infotainment system lives on a 14-inch touchscreen, and I actually dig it. The interface is recent, the embedded navigation depends on Google Maps information and appears much more trendy than earlier than, and each Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be loved wirelessly. Perhaps unsurprisingly for Toyota, its complement of lively and passive security programs can also be nice, with a bunch of normal package together with full-speed adaptive cruise management, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping help and blind-spot monitoring.Every 2023 Toyota Sequoia is a hybrid, and a fairly stout one at that. A 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 mates to an electrical motor to provide a web 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque, and all that hooks as much as a normal 10-speed automated transmission. The pretend V8 soundtrack piped via the audio system sounds fairly good because the Sequoia pushes off the road with efficiency, and all that driver helps the SUV obtain a rattling advantageous tow score of 9,310 kilos. However, my tester is not the smoothest operator on the block, with quite a lot of shudders each time the engine cuts in or out. The tachometer needle additionally briefly disappears on the gauge cluster when the V6 deactivates, which is bizarre. The 10-speed’s upshifts are usually fairly invisible, however sure low-gear downshifts below braking are fairly noticeable. The brakes themselves are robust and many simple to control, although.
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    Toyota’s hybrid system produces some spectacular gasoline economic system, however you may must trade that for a fold-flat third row (and any probability of becoming tall individuals again there). Andrew Krok/CNETAll that advanced electro-trickery leads to some shocking gasoline economic system for a automobile of the Sequoia’s dimension. The feds price 2WD fashions at 21 mpg metropolis, 24 mpg freeway and 22 mpg mixed. Those numbers aren’t arduous to attain, both, and I’m usually seeing 70-mph freeway cruising pushing towards the 30-mpg mark, a powerful feat for a Brooklyn studio residence on wheels. Sadly, the Sequoia’s coil-spring suspension and dwell rear axle put to relaxation any notion of smoothness extending to the experience high quality. This SUV drives like an unladen truck, and that’s not a praise. Every minor pockmark on the highway is shipped via the suspension and into the cabin, leading to far more shuddering and bobbing than I’d like in a household automobile. Considering the Sequoia’s pricing can stretch from about $60,000 all the best way as much as nearly $80,000, I’d actually prefer to see some adaptive dampers or air suspension right here, which might dramatically enhance day-to-day use. Sure, the Sequoia is comparatively easy when the pavement is virtually glass, however what number of of you reside in an space like that? Throw in some overly mild steering and a physique that is practically as vast as most lanes themselves, and the result’s a little bit of a scorching dealing with mess.
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    The Sequoia’s meaty tires do not do a lot to the SUV’s princess-and-the-pea suspension, the place each small highway imperfection appears magnified because it’s conveyed into the cabin. Andrew Krok/CNETSuch is the character of a compromise, although. The Sequoia will pull half the stuff you personal with out a lot as breaking a sweat, however so can the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition and Nissan Armada, though their economic system cannot compete with Toyota’s. If you do not really need this kind of baked-in functionality, you might wish to take into account cross-shopping with a car-based three-row SUV just like the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride or Subaru Ascent, that are leagues higher on the highway — and given their dramatically decrease beginning costs, you possibly can equip them to hell and again and nonetheless come out on prime financially. Including the $1,595 vacation spot cost, my 2023 Sequoia Platinum 4×2 asks a yowza-inducing $72,495.Toyota die-hards and tow addicts will discover lots to take pleasure in within the 2023 Toyota Sequoia. It’s massive, it is sufficiently quiet, it is succesful and it is loaded with loads of trendy tech. But if you happen to do not precisely want every thing this three-row SUV gives, the competitors will depart you feeling a bit extra comfy and composed.

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