Motoring: Big and brawny

In our coastal national parks, I enjoy hugging the rough bark of the Jovian-proportioned, reddish-orange Giant Sequoias. As it happens, this week’s test vehicle is the 2024 Toyota Sequoia, more particularly, the full-size SUV, not the tree. Like its namesake, third-generation Sequoia, introduced in 2022, is awe-inspiring due to its beauty and brawn.

More particularly, my test ride was a hybrid, translating into lower cost to charge per mile versus the price of gasoline. Did you know that 42 percent of Iowa’s electricity derives from wind generators and solar arrays?

Beneath the expansive hood resides a V6 hybrid I-Force Max gasoline engine rated at 437 horsepower. When you step on the pedal, twin turbos (small-diameter rotors) spool up faster than a single rotor. Their quicker reaction significantly speeds up acceleration. Toyota’s I-Force Max’s unique 48-horsepower motor/generator is nestled within the bell housing between the twin-turbo engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission. A turbo whistle occasionally accompanies the engine’s voice. As for performance, my test Sequoia sprinted to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and ran a quarter-mile elapsed time of 14.2 seconds at 97.7 mph.

Sequoia comes as either 2WD or part-time 4WD. The TRD Pro option is offered only in 4WD. Sequoia’s part-time 4WD transfer case, controlled by a button on the center console, allows choosing 2WD, 4WD high, or 4WD low. Full-size Sequoia is enormous. Standing tall on big, off-road tires, one would need a step ladder to climb into the cabin were it not for the running boards.

Burly, fuel-efficient Sequoia shares a cabin design with the full-size Tundra pickup. Despite its Jovian-proportioned exterior, the interior seats from 7 to 8. As for third-row seating. The hybrid powerplant’s 1.87-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery resides beneath the back row seating, elevating it. In the back, legroom is tight. As for cargo storage, with both seats up, there’s barely room to fit two carry-ons.

While driving Sequoia, I noticed how the middle-row captain’s chairs accommodated two car seats with ample room to stow items between the captain’s chairs and on the floor. Know that neither second nor third-row seats fold flat. Third-row seats slide and recline.

The optional 14-inch multimedia touch screen populated my test vehicle’s dash. Its simple menu boasts speedy responses. Even better, the wider screen obviates the frustration of a cluttered satellite radio experience. The audio system is nothing less than a 14-speaker JBL. Sequoia’s TRD Pro features Toyota’s Panoramic View Monitor, wherein multiple cameras give various viewpoints, including an all-around 360-degree view. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and wireless charging are all standard items.

Sequoia’s 9,520-pound maximum towing capacity boasts enough brawn to tow a modest travel trailer. That’s a nearly 22 percent increase over the previous generation. Know that the frame is laser-welded, reducing curb weight and making towing more sure-footed. The Tow Tech Package Trailer Backup Guide assists the driver when backing a trailer. Similarly, Straight Path Assist helps keep the trailer on course when backing. Sequoia includes a Blind-Spot Monitor along with Trailer Merge Warning, particularly helpful when towing 9,000 pounds.

Assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in San Antonio, Texas, the third-generation Sequoia’s basic warranty term runs for 36 months or 36,000 miles. Here in the Rust Belt, we appreciate the Corrosion Perforation warranty term of 60 months with unlimited miles.

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Automotive journalist, Tim Banse, wrote The Gazette’s Motoring car review column from 1989 to 2013 and has published stories in Popular Mechanics and Yachting magazine. He’s toured carmaker factory floors in the U.S. and Japan and raced cars at Riverside, Watkins Glen, and Michigan International Raceway press events. He’s stood close enough to a crash test to feel the shock wave reverberate off his chest. His first car was a vintage ’56 Chevy Belair.