Overview

What's New for 2021

The 2021 Toyota Sequoia is offered in six trims: SR5, TRD Sport, Limited, Nightshade Edition, TRD Pro, and Platinum. All-wheel drive is an extra $3,225 on all trims except for the TRD Pro, where it's standard. The Nightshade is the most popular model, but the SR5 is the one we recommend. We'll explain why.

SR5

The base Sequoia is priced at $51,765 (including a $1,325 destination fee). Standard features include an eight-speaker audio system, a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a power moonroof, an eight-way power driver seat, a second-row bench seat, and dual-zone automatic climate control. Other features include forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, roof rails, and running boards.

The Sequoia is less competitive the higher you climb the trim ladder, so we'd recommend the base SR5, which is decently equipped. We would add the Premium package ($4,325), which upgrades the SR5 with leather, power seats, heated front seats, a power-folding third-row, navigation, and premium audio.

TRD Sport

The TRD Sport ($54,480) features a retuned suspension but otherwise brings mostly visual upgrades in the form of a black grille, black mirror caps, and black 20-inch wheels. Black leather seats are available. Buyers looking for real off-road chops, however, should consider the more comprehensively upgraded TRD Pro.

Limited

At $60,785, the Limited comes with navigation, a power liftgate with a power rear window, power-folding and reclining for the third-row seat, leather seats, a premium 12-speaker audio system, heated front seats, a 10-way power driver's seat and six-way power passenger seat, and second- and third-row sunshades.

Nightshade

For $61,785, the Nightshade, as its name implies, gets blacked-out exterior wheels and trim. Otherwise, the Nightshade equipment mirrors that of the Limited.

TRD Pro

Priced at $65,890, the rugged-looking TRD Pro gets standard four-wheel drive along with off-road hardware including 18-inch BBS wheels, heavy-duty Fox shocks, special springs, and a front skid plate. Inside, the black leather seats have red contrast stitching and all-weather floor mats. Outside, there's a unique grille, LED fog lights, and a black roof rack and running boards.

Platinum

At $67,815, the top-drawer Sequoia Platinum has perforated leather, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, memory for the power driver's seat, and a rear-seat entertainment system.

All Sequoias are powered by a 5.7-liter V8 engine good for 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque. The burly V8 spins smoothly and has no trouble motivating this big machine. The Sequoia still uses a six-speed automatic transmission, whereas competing SUVs have as many as ten speeds. Despite its relative lack of gears, the transmission shifts unobtrusively. The Sequoia can tow up to 7,400 pounds, which is less than other full-size SUVs. It also lacks some of the latest trailering tech such as automated steering when reversing (as found in the Ford Expedition and monitoring of trailer tire pressure (available in the Chevrolet Tahoe.

Rear-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel drive is available. Toyota's four-wheel-drive system includes a two-speed transfer case with a low range and a lockable center differential for hard-core off-roading. The TRD Pro model builds on that ability with its higher ground clearance, underbody skid plates, and off-road tires.

The TRD Pro, which we drove, has a unique suspension with greater compliance. Meanwhile, the TRD Sport setup is firmer, and the Platinum model gets adaptive dampers to control body motions better. That said, the Sequoia dispatches potholes effectively, without major disturbance, leading to a largely placid ride quality.

The steering, though, is overly light and vague, requiring more than the usual corrections. On the highway, one might enlist the adaptive cruise control's lane-centering feature to assist with steering chores, but there is no lane-centering system. Nor is there a surround-view camera to help when docking this big beast, a major omission.

The Sequoia is as big inside as outside. Even with all seats in use, there's still a useful 18.9 cubic feet of luggage space (though that's less than the Ford Expedition and the class-leading GM 'utes). Flatten all the seatbacks, and you have just over 120 cubic feet, which is shy of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon but otherwise beats all comers. Rear-seat passengers enjoy scads of legroom, and even the third row is usable for lanky teens.

Although spacious, with its plain-Jane design and mediocre materials, the interior of our TRD Pro hardly seemed like that of a $60,000-plus vehicle. Rivals offer luxe quilted leather, open-pore wood, and more attractive designs. And even the fanciest Sequoia won't have a digital instrument cluster, a head-up display, a rear camera mirror, or a heated steering wheel, all of which are available elsewhere.

The Sequoia has not been tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Commendably, Toyota gives the Sequoia a full complement of active-safety features as standard. They include forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control.

The Sequoia's spacious interior and adult-sized third-row seat are its chief calling cards, along with Toyota's enviable reputation for reliability. For the off-road types, the TRD Pro offers much of the capability of the Toyota Land Cruiser for $20,000 less. The Sequoia lags in terms of tech features compared to the Chevrolet Tahoe, the GMC Yukon, and Ford Expedition. And the Sequoia's high-end trims can't match the luxury of the Ford, or the Nissan Armada. The diesel Tahoe or Yukon and even the Expedition also are significantly more fuel-efficient and will have a longer highway cruising range.

Toyota Sequoia vs. Chevrolet Tahoe

Toyota Sequoia vs. Ford Expedition

Toyota Sequoia vs. GMC Yukon

Toyota Sequoia vs. Nissan Armada

Toyota Sequoia vs. Toyota Land Cruiser