2022 Toyota Sequoia Test Drive Review: A Lumbering Giant

Sequoia trees are known for their ancient, majestic, and enduring nature and the 2022 Toyota Sequoia SUV has at least one of those qualities. It is now 15 years old in its second generation, and while the Japanese automaker has done its best to keep the vehicle up to date, there is no denying that its age is showing. It still relies on a massive 5.7-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine, which generates 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque, pairing with a six-speed automatic transmission, old-school truck-based underpinnings, and a choice of 2WD or 4WD to compete against the likes of the Chevrolet Tahoe, Nissan Armada, and Ford Expedition. With an all-new model around the corner for 2023 with a hybrid powertrain and more refinement than ever before, is the 2022 Sequoia still worth shopping for? We spent a week with the old lumbering giant to find out.

What's the Price of the 2022 Toyota Sequoia?

One of the most attractive things about the Sequoia has been its reasonable pricing, insofar as any eight-seater SUV with such an enormous engine could be deemed reasonable. But, it no longer offers the kind of value that makes its low starting price appealing. The base SR5 will cost you $50,500, while the TRD Sport asks for $53,215. The mid-tier Limited jumps up considerably to $59,520, and the Nightshade Special Edition breaks $60k with its $60,605 price tag. The TRD Pro and Platinum barely differ at $64,625 and $66,550 respectively. However, the TRD Pro already includes the four-wheel drivetrain, which will cost you an additional $3,225 on any other trim. These prices are MSRP and do not include Toyota's $1,495 destination charge.

Handling and Driving Impressions

Big SUVs are not known for their dexterity, so you won't find a Toyota Sequoia review claiming that it handles anything like the car-based crossovers that are becoming more popular. It's big, it's heavy, and it's clunky. That said, the steering is quite light, meaning that it is easy to make adjustments on the road, and you'll need to - particularly on the freeway if there's even a slight breeze. The downside to this is a lack of feel for what the wheels are doing. On-road comfort is adequate and, counterintuitively, even more so on the more rugged TRD Pro - though the smaller tires on the SR5 and TRD Sport make them better-suited to city living.

The Sequoia is capable of venturing off the beaten path, despite its length compared to the more wieldy Toyota 4Runner. It also has no specific drive modes to improve its off-roading abilities, but we spent hours on dirt tracks and fire roads and the Sequoia ate them up with comfort and confidence. When it comes to on-road enhancements, the only model that stands out is the top-of-the-line Platinum, which gets load-leveling rear air suspension as well as an adaptive variable suspension.

Verdict: Is the 2022 Toyota Sequoia A Good SUV?

There is a lot to like about the Toyota Sequoia. It is a large and appealing SUV, with three rows of seats and plenty of passenger and cargo space. It even gets a decent consignment of standard safety and infotainment features. Nevertheless, it is a difficult vehicle to recommend to buyers in 2022. This is because too many aspects of the car are hampered by the fact that it is well over a decade old. There are only so many updates an automaker can install before needing to rip out the foundation and put a new one in to support more modern tech and mechanical enhancements.

There are now other SUVs that can boast the same, if not better, interior dimensions, such as the Hyundai Palisade, although that lacks the off-road credibility of the Sequoia. They also have more up-to-date infotainment suites with larger screens that are easier to interact with. As far as advanced driver assists are concerned, today's car owners expect almost all of these to come standard. Even the TRD Pro, which sells itself on off-roading capabilities, cannot best the likes of the Nissan Armada or GMC Yukon, which feel more premium at a similar price to the Toyota Sequoia.

All in all,it is time for this great tree to be cut down and refined into something more appealing for the next generation of shoppers. The only people we can see picking up a 2022 model now are those that want that all-but-guaranteed robustness of a decade-proven platform and Toyota V8.

What New Toyota Sequoia Model Should I Buy?

There is only one real standout model in the range, and we recommend it grudgingly since we think the Sequoia as a whole is desperately in need of an upgrade. The TRD Pro includes almost all the premium features available to the Sequoia but also gets off-road-focused mechanical enhancements to the suspension. It is expensive, but if you want to save money, there are SUVs out there with much better value.

2022 Toyota Sequoia Comparisons

2022 Toyota Sequoia vs Toyota Land Cruiser

The Land Cruiser is slightly smaller than the Sequoia, but it is a far more premium offering, which should be obvious by its mid-$80k starting price. It makes better use of the V8 engine they both share, and can off-road quite well by virtue of its more compact size. Naturally, it loses out on passenger and cargo space, since it isn't as large. The 2021 model year is the last for the Land Cruiser in the USA. An all-new model has been launched globally that will not make it stateside, but the 2021 model holds up here if you don't need space, but do want luxury and off-road capability from a body-on-frame SUV.

2022 Toyota Sequoia vs Nissan Armada

The Nissan Armada is proof that a full-size SUV with an enormous, naturally aspirated V8 can be modern and refined in an age of turbocharged units. The motor in the Nissan makes 400 hp and 413 lb-ft, which trumps the 382 hp and 401 lb-ft in the Sequoia. The Armada's cabin boasts better build quality, has more upscale materials, and the infotainment suite is lightyears ahead. Both are equally capable off-road, but the Toyota has a little more room on the inside. Despite its age, the Sequoia is still slightly more expensive than the Armada, which received a substantial facelift in 2021. If you want your money to work for you, the Nissan is the way to go, but if you care more about space than anything else, the Sequoia might still catch your attention.