We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There are few good reasons for driving a full-size SUV in the Chevy Tahoe/Nissan Armada/Toyota Sequoia class.
If your only justification is hauling the field hockey team to away games, there are better choices with seating for seven or eight that will be more economical and easier to maneuver than the behemoth class.
But for those of you who routinely pull a horse trailer, large boat or maybe a race-car trailer, and still need comfortable space for more than four passengers and their gear, there’s no substitute for size.
With racing season starting, we had just such a need last week, and fortunately Toyota was there with its 2010 Sequoia. It’s the third year of production for this passenger truck (sorry, “sport utility vehicle” is the wrong term for this well-upholstered workhorse).
Our test vehicle was the top-of-the-line Platinum, as comfortable inside as a Lexus, and with 401 pound-feet of torque from the new Toyota 5.7-liter, 38-horsepower, iForce V-8, as powerful as any full-sized pickup truck. Incidentally, the no-nonsense, here-to-rumble look that it shares with the Tundra is no styling trick; from the bumper back to the passenger doors, this is the Toyota Tundra.
Let’s look at that size again. On the exterior, the Sequoia is an inch larger than the Tahoe on length, width and height, and actually a few inches shorter than the Nissan Armada. Those few extra inches of length can actually be a limitation, because in our driveway they are the difference between getting the trailer into its parking area, or not.
What’s more important is that the Toyota designers have managed to find nearly 20 cubic feet more cargo space in the Sequoia than the Nissan designers found in the Armada. For comparison, that difference alone is bigger than the entire trunk of a big luxury sedan.
The seating design is also exceptional, with actual space for two adults or three children in the third row, plus two captain’s chairs in the second row (a bench seat is available on the other two Sequoia models). This seating can be configured in a variety of ways to handle children, cats, sacks and skis, or whatever else you’re carrying.
But frankly, interior capacity isn’t the real point of this vehicle. If you just need space for people and stuff, you can buy a Toyota Venza or a minivan. The reason for buying a Sequoia is that you frequently have something big and heavy hooked to the integral trailer hitch receiver on the back.
This truck is rated at 8,800 pounds for towing, which will take care of virtually any leisure lugging activity. What is more impressive is that you know you’re in a vehicle that is truly towing-intended when one of the analog gauges on the dashboard is for transmission fluid temperature, and there’s a button to push to notify the control room under the hood that you are towing a trailer.
Even better, we discovered that if we pushed the button to adjust the shock absorbers to “Sport Handling” (“Comfort” and “Normal” are the other two possibilities), the vehicle was steady over bumps that normally would have caused the trailer to pull the vehicle up and down. This little button also was handy when we were done towing, because the Comfort setting was ideal for cruising to dinner with no trailer and a full load of passengers.
Our experience on the road left no room for doubt; this is the best all-around towing vehicle we’ve used. We tested and liked the Toyota Tundra last fall, with the smaller V-8 engine, but the extra horsepower and torque with the new engine adds that little edge to put the Sequoia at the top of the list for towing utility. A six-speed automatic transmission, now standard on all Sequoias, provided smooth gearing transitions at all speeds and grade changes, even with a full load and trailer – a definite improvement on previous five-speed gearboxes. Handling is exceptional as well, with the weight, balance and wheelbase length of the vehicle compatible with a trailer.
In addition, braking is more than competent. One of the challenges of towing from here to points north is that you have to go through San Francisco, which means stop-and-go traffic. With a trailer on the back, there’s nothing more terrifying than having a traffic light ahead go suddenly red just when the car in front of you has cut into your lane and stops abruptly. The combination of exceptional brakes and trailer brake controls allowed us to bring the rig to a halt without any fuss.
If your recreational use of this vehicle includes off-road driving, you’ll also find that the Sequoia is as good as it gets. Although it is available in 2WD, which would be fine for most towing, our Platinum came standard with a 4×4 power train that can be switched to four-wheel low gear for real rock-crawling activities. You can even raise the vehicle 2 inches for additional ground clearance at low speeds.
We drove the Toyota Sequoia Platinum, the premium model, priced at $59,760 including dealer prep. Carpeted floor mats and doorsill protector were the lone options on our test vehicle, for $290, and the only other option is a pearl-white paint (our vehicle was a lovely Slate Metallic blue). Standard features on this model in addition to the larger V-8 included three-zone climate control; navigation with back-up camera; high-quality audio; a rear-seat video entertainment center; a standard iPod/MP3 plug; power seats, windows and rear door; captain’s chairs in the second row; and luxury trim touches throughout. Incidentally, the window on that rear door actually recesses into the door, making it easier to get stuff out without opening the entire hatch.
If you don’t really need all this luxury, you can get the same working capabilities at a lower price by dropping down one level to the Limited, which includes the same high-powered engine and towing capability, and a back-up camera and screen (standard on the base SR5 model as well), but eschews the captain’s chairs, entertainment center and luxury interior detailing.
Bottom line: If you really have a need for a vehicle like the Sequoia, then the Sequoia is absolutely your best bet.
Longtime Los Altos residents Gary and Genie Anderson are co-owners of Enthusiast Publications LLC, which edits several car club magazines and contributes articles and columns to automotive magazines and online services.
