--- title: "2019 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport Group Review: Massive, Ancient, Comfortable, and Thirsty" description: "Toyota's huge, Tundra-based SUV last got a refresh a decade ago. It shows." date: "2018-09-13" modified: "2018-09-14" authors: - name: "Josh Condon" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/josh-condon" - name: "Mike Spinelli" job_title: "VP of Content" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/mike-spinelli" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/23564/2019-toyota-sequoia-trd-sport-group-review-massive-ancient-comfortable-and-thirsty" categories: - "Car Reviews" - "Toyota Reviews" - "Toyota Sequoia" tags: - "sequoia" - "slack review" - "SUV" - "suv/crossover" - "Toyota" - "TRD Sport" --- # 2019 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport Group Review: Massive, Ancient, Comfortable, and Thirsty ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* *Group Reviews are two or more editors having a real-time discussion about a vehicle over the messaging app Slack. While driving impressions are covered and accurate specifications are added in the edit, these reviews are designed to have freewheeling, conversational tone. This is* The Drive*'s Group Review on the* [2018 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport]()*.* ***josh*** Okay, 2018 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport. I need to cut to the chase quickly on this one: Why would I pay $51,000 for this 10-year-old Tundra, and why do I like it so much? \[*After-the-Fact Check: The test vehicle's as-tested sticker price was actually $59,840*.\] ***mikespin*** I can't figure it out. The thing is thirsty, the infotainment system is outdated, the interior is basically the avocado-colored kitchen appliances of SUVs. But for some reason I like that about it. \[*After-the-Fact Check: EPA mileage is 13 mpg city / 17 mpg highway.*\] ***josh*** Because old trucks are charming by nature. ***mikespin*** True. It's definitely the most unpretentious [large SUV you can buy](). But you pay for the privilege. ![message-editor%2F1536860243917-sequoia-trd-sport-on-stage\_df.jpg]() **Toyota** ***josh*** Okay, let's break it down. THIS is why you're paying at least some of that money: a reliable V8; the ability to comfortably haul eight people to Missouri on a whim; 7,400 pounds towing capacity; 120 cubic feet of available cargo space; Bilstein shocks; and anti-sway bars front and rear. Also, there's A LOT of included safety tech. ***mikespin*** That's true. It's got a ton of standard features you pay extra for in the leaders, like driver-assistance tech. ***josh*** Adaptive cruise control with full-stop; forward-collision and pedestrian warning; lane-departure warning; emergency braking; auto high beams. ***mikespin*** Exactly. /giphy **full plate** ![giphy.gif]() **giphy** ***josh*** Still, the infotainment screen is so old it’s jarring. You get in and expect Jason Mraz to be blasting on the Top 40 channel on your way to Jamba Juice. \[*After-the-Fact Check: The Sequoia comes with a 6.1-inch touchscreen.*\] /giphy **Jason Mraz** ![giphy.gif]() **giphy** ***mikespin*** I'm surprised Toyota is still behind on infotainment. It doesn't make sense. ***josh*** It's weird, though, in some ways I think of these extra-old lifecycle cars as, in a way, paying for a retro trim package. I parallel-parked this thing in between [a Smart car]() and [a Prius](), and the truck didn't say boo. Meanwhile, yesterday in a Lexus I tried to maneuver around an 18-wheeler through oncoming traffic, and the car bricked itself in panic. All that high tech gets you a car smart enough to have an anxiety attack. Whereas, with the Sequoia, it feels like I'm paying a bit extra to be left alone. ***mikespin*** I HATE that. Stop jamming on the brakes when we get within 10 feet of another car. We're in New York City for f\*\*\*s sake. ***josh*** Parking garages are nightmares. Yes, yes, there's a pole there. There are lots of poles. WE'RE SURROUNDED BY CARS AND POLES, LEARN TO DEAL. ***mikespin*** Just like in Warsaw. *Badum bum*. ***josh*** /giphy **clapping** ![giphy-downsized.gif]() **giphy** ***mikespin*** That Toyota V8 is old and boy does it love gasoline. It'll put away a case of gas in the first inning. \[*After-the-Fact Check: The Sequoia has a 5.7-liter V8 producing 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque, along with a six-speed automatic.*\] ***josh*** And it's, like, $75 to fill up the tank. I keep wondering: If you're Toyota, why are you still building this? Is there another market besides the U.S.? ***mikespin*** Well, the tooling is paid off. It's pure profit. ***josh*** Right. Since the Sequoia is based on the Tundra, I keep thinking of it like a truck. But the full-size SUV market doesn't have the same loyalty as the full-size truck market. There are suburban families buying this car just because it will fit the hockey gear, and is reliable. It's the reason my mom drove [a Ford Expedition]() when she had four kids at home. Lots of soccer practice. ***mikespin*** Yeah, and gas is still pretty cheap. The Sequoia has more space inside than a Yukon, so more hockey gear and also the old two kids and two friends and an extra adult equation. ***josh*** You could use that in a pinch to shuttle a starting NBA team to the game, if their bus broke down. It's huge. ***mikespin*** And the adult can sit in the third row. Like a full-sized adult. ***josh*** Hell, more than one. ***mikespin*** /giphy **grown-ass man** ![giphy-downsized.gif]() **giphy** ***josh*** If not that suburban parent demographic, who's buying this? It rolls around like a canoe and parking spots big enough only emerge every full moon. ***mikespin*** Plus no standard Wi-Fi hot spot, no Android Auto, no Apple CarPlay. You could buy a 2014 and not notice any difference. So why buy new? ***josh*** Oh, but there's TOYOTA'S version of CarPlay, Entune, which of course we've all been clamoring for. ![message-editor%2F1536859378509-sequoiainfotainment.png]() **Toyota** Also, there's no reason not to buy a 2014 model. ***mikespin*** We could make this a review of the 2014 Tacoma. Or 2012. Wait—19 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats. That's massive. Space is the killer app. ***josh*** I'm saying, the sheer footprint has to be the main selling point. You can't teach big. ![message-editor%2F1536859573884-2017cas\_2018\_toyota\_sequoia\_trd\_sport\_be27e0ac5ae42a488bcde471b7b52168b1ee3227.jpg]() *Yuuuuge., *Toyota** ***mikespin*** True. Also, torquey engine. It's almost fun. ***josh*** I was just looking around, and apparently nobody's buying this: Sales are half of what they were in 2008 (the last time this was refreshed), according to a *Daily News* piece. This car should be, what, $40K? Just based on merit? ***mikespin*** Wow, if they dropped the price by $10K they'd sell every one of them and still turn a profit. They should do what Aston Martin did with the run-out, 10-year-old Vantage. Offer a GT model for a massive discount. ***josh*** Exactly. Like you pointed out, they've already paid this car off. ***mikespin*** Just make it a complete stripper. $35k out the door. ***josh*** Hell, I'd buy one. ***mikespin*** Hell yeah I would too. Cloth seats. Just totally with nothing. Roll-up windows even. ![message-editor%2F1536859782798-2018\_sequoia\_trd\_sport\_02\_be92d10ee2dcddc592bce52e39ad34fee4691f4f\_low.jpg]() *Toyota* ![message-editor%2F1536859798788-2018\_sequoia\_trd\_sport\_04\_f7089e3dfdeb2c325b98d8aed8d30de4bbe46c61\_low.jpg]() *Toyota* ![message-editor%2F1536859826717-sequoia-trd-sport-headlights\_o.jpg]() *Toyota* ***josh*** Yeah, right, but the base model is pretty close to what you're describing now—cloth seats, broke-ass infotainment—save for the safety stuff, costs FIFTY ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. \[*After-the-Fact Check: Again, the test vehicle's as-tested sticker price was actually $59,840*.\] ***mikespin*** /giphy **money money money** ![giphy-downsized.gif]() **giphy** ***josh*** Priced like that, we're just playing with a soon-to-be-dinosaur. We're watching extinction happen. ***mikespin*** Yeah, they don't care. GM treats its large SUVs like [Mercedes treats its S-Class](). ***josh*** Is there another market for these cars? ***mikespin*** Hmm. ***josh*** Russia? ***mikespin*** Maybe? It doesn't have the same reputation as the Land Cruiser though. ***josh*** The build quality doesn't feel remotely acceptable for the Middle East. ***mikespin*** Oh! Though I think it must sell in Saudi Arabia. Toyotas do pretty well there. And UAE. ***josh*** /giphy **desert racing** ![giphy-downsized.gif]() **giphy** ***mikespin*** YES. Interesting though. This Sequoia came out in the middle of the 2008 economic apocalypse. They've spent 10 years making their money back. Maybe they really just paid off the development. ***josh*** I wonder how low it would have to go, sales-wise, to actively kill it. Everything about this vehicle feels like sheer inertia. ***mikespin*** But I'd say Middle East, Russia and China are probably the biggest other markets for this. *Hmmm*... ***josh*** The question I'm poking around is: Why? Why does this still exist? It's a big bouncy fun truck, but I just don't see who's buying it, where, or—at that price—why? And Toyota obviously isn't investing in it. ***mikespin*** Probably just bridging to the 2020 Tundra redesign. Likely the new one is on the way. ***josh*** But why Sequoia AT ALL? The full-size space seems too competitive (again) to have a comically outdated competitor. ***mikespin*** Why Tundra? WHY ANYTHING, JOSH? ***josh*** I mean, Tundra only sucks up the leftovers from the domestic Big Three. ***mikespin*** Maybe the next Sequoia will be kickass. Or more of a crossover. ***josh*** Maybe it will be a motorcycle. ***mikespin*** Or a dragon. ***josh*** I like it: it's big and bouncy and unkillable, like the SUVs I grew up with, but there's not much to say about this truck. It's both old and expensive, not built fully for work or real off-roading fun. It just seems like a hauling specialist, whether that's kids or a boat (or kids and a boat). ![message-editor%2F1536859856661-sequoia-trd-sport-with-trailer\_o.jpg]() **Toyota** ***mikespin*** It's behind the leaders in towing capacity but not interior space. It's really telling that it's a middle-of-the-pack player, when it should be the last thing anyone ever cross shops against a Yukon. It does have some goofball appeal. ***josh*** It's hard to recommend. ***mikespin*** It is hard not to as well. ***josh*** In what way? For *$51,000*??? ***mikespin*** /giphy **paradox** ![giphy-downsized.gif]() **giphy** ***josh*** Either this thing is old and cheap or it's new and expensive. It can't be old and expensive. There's not enough there there. ***mikespin*** It can't be recommended for $51k. But It's a bargain at $30k. So the move is buy a used one. ***josh*** And there we have it. ***mikespin*** Because it'll never break. And it looks great with big tires and a lift kit. ![giphy.gif]() **giphy** ## Author Josh is a former editor at *Details*, *Road & Track*, and *MSN Autos*, and has contributed about a variety of topics to publications including *The New York Times*, *Men’s Journal*, *Automobile* and *Men’s Fitness*. ### Author social links