2023 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Review: A Family Hauling, Off-Roading Jack Of Most Trades

There’s something about the 2023 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro that catches everyone’s attention. Actually, it’s a lot of things—the fender flares, the chunky tires, and if it’s orange, the paint. The once-subtle SUV that mostly blended in with other three-row family haulers is now aggro and hardcore, garnering second looks and Instagram likes in droves. Still, it’s supposed to be more than a showpiece. It’s built to haul you and six other people wherever you tell it to go.

Sure, most are told to go to the grocery store, but the TRD Pro trim is capable of a lot more if you’ll just trust it. It’s tied for the most powerful brute in Toyota’s lineup thanks to its standard hybrid twin-turbo V6, and because it shares so much with its Tundra sibling, it’ll even tow another toy behind it. The important part to remember is that it’s a mix of Toyota’s greatest strengths, and because of that, it’s an exceptional all-arounder.

Just don’t expect it to be the best off-roader, the best workhorse, or the best value. Because it combines so much into one, it makes slight compromises in each area while boasting a mighty price tag. That said, if you absolutely have to shuttle seven people at all times, it’s a premium pick that outperforms its domestic competition in both tangible and intangible ways.

2023 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Specs

• Base price (as tested): $77,660 ($80,591)

• Powertrain: 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid | 10-speed automatic transmission | four-wheel drive

• Horsepower: 437 @ 5,200 rpm

• Torque: 583 lb-ft @ 2,400 rpm

• Curb weight: 6,150 pounds

• Max towing capacity: 9,020 pounds

• Off-road angles: 23° approach | 20° departure

• Wheelbase: 122.0 inches

• Ground clearance: 9.1 inches

• EPA fuel economy: 19 mpg city | 22 highway | 20 combined

• Quick take: A do-it-all rig for those who believe that more is more.

• Score: 7.5/10

The Basics

Toyota knows the 2023 Sequoia has a ton of potential to make a ton of money. Americans especially are buying up three-row, body-on-frame SUVs like crazy as we become increasingly obsessed with having everything we may ever want, rather than what we actually need. Still, neither Toyota nor I are here to tell people they shouldn’t do that, and as proof, the automaker developed the Sequoia TRD Pro with just about every option you can imagine.

The exterior has been restyled to match the also-new Tundra pickup at the front, and I’d say it works even better on the Sequoia. It was polarizing when it launched, but most folks have had time to adjust to it by now. People either love or hate the pumped-up styling of the TRD Pro with its digital camo details and fake plastic hood vents—I could live without ‘em—but that’s the direction new car design is headed in.

It’s a similar story inside where you’ll find a 14-inch infotainment screen running Google everything, a crispy 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and chunky controls all around. Some Sequoia TRD Pro interiors are red, which would be way too much with the Solar Octane exterior on my tester, but thankfully they also come in black. The second-row captain seats are super comfy while still allowing enough room for a pass-through in the middle. And despite the hybrid battery sitting underneath the floor, it doesn’t feel cramped for headroom or legroom.

The powertrain makes an even bigger statement than the TRD Pro’s styling, which is saying something. It combines a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 with a 1.87-kilowatt-hour battery and an electric motor to produce 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque. All that comes on in a hurry, but maybe the best part is that it only comes on when you need it. The 2023 Sequoia moves in silence at drive-thru speeds, then when it’s time for the internal combustion engine to kick in, it fires up and sends power through a 10-speed automatic transmission. It’s four-wheel drive, clearly, and it makes use of a two-speed transfer case.

Driving the Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro

It’s wise to expect that everyone will look at you as you unlock the bright orange thing and climb in. That’s what you sign up for when you drive something with this many tacticool styling cues, wide fender flares, and a sport exhaust. I tested a $300,000 Bentley shortly after this and got fewer glares than I did in the Sequoia. Thankfully, there’s no complicated startup procedure, even though it looks like there might be. You just press the brake and bright red start button, then go on your way—far from anyone who questions your financial decisions.

The 2023 Sequoia glides around town and on the interstate, even though it switches back to a coil-sprung solid rear axle from the previous model’s independent rear suspension. The ride is smooth—almost numb, as is the steering—which is what most folks want from their daily drivers. You don’t really notice the transmission either, but there are plenty of turbo whooshes and exhaust noises that get piped into the cabin. I wouldn’t say it’s artificially sporty, but Toyota takes every opportunity to augment the performance driving experience.

Everything is nice and quiet inside, so much so that I could whisper to my wife in the passenger seat and my four-year-old in the second row heard every word. That roof rack did make some noise at speed, which is enough to bug you on a long trip, but I mostly drowned it out by cranking up the 14-speaker JBL stereo system. It’s a drastically more refined experience in most ways compared to the old V8 model, and if it proves to be as reliable, that’s a big win.