As a fan of the Toyota brand, I've grown to trust and appreciate the conservative look and feel that the brand has always represented to me. As they continue to make generational leaps in technology, power, and comfort it can sometimes be a little bitter sweet. That's how I felt driving the new 2024 Toyota Sequoia Platinum on a road trip between Toledo, OH on the shores to Lake Erie to St, Joseph, MI on the shores of Lake Michigan ... with a stop in one of my favorite cities for a guys trip - Fort Wayne, Indiana. Don't worry though, if you think maybe I didn't like it ... you'd be wrong. Toyota did a great job with this vehicle. While I have the fond memories of road tripping in Florida, Texas, and California in the previous generation ... I can't wait to do more with this new one!
Goodbye Old Friend - Hello New Buddy!
This 2024 model is actually the second model year of the new generation and it is truly a seismic shift from the previous generation that was introduced in 2008. Aside from the radically modernized look both inside and out, the biggest difference that I immediately felt was that the new Sequoia feels much larger. This is because while they both have a 122" wheelbase, the new generation is actually three inches longer.
What's odd though is that aside from looking bigger, it's actually significantly less roomy in terms of raw cargo space. While the old version used to have very modest 18.9 cu-ft of space behind the 3rd row, it had 120.1 cu-ft of total cargo space. Now though, it has a much appreciated, 22.3 cu-ft (or 11.5 cu-ft depending on the seat position) but the TOTAL space is only 86.9 cu-ft of maximum cargo room.
Oddly, this actually puts the Grand Highlander at 97.5 cu-ft above the Sequoia if you are looking for something to haul a lot of stuff!
This some trend carries through to other parts of the vehicle too. While the previous generation felt like you had space to stretch ... the new one has prioritized comfort and style over raw space.
While this is something I liked about the previous generation ... I have to admit ... I'm happy to trade that for comfort, technology, power, and style.
At the end of the day, Sequoia is still a fantastic vehicle for road trips ... and especially in situations like towing a boat, trudging down snow covered dirt roads to a cabin in the woods, and of course reaching those hidden fishing spots. These are all things that despite offering more "space" the Grand Highlander just isn't designed for like the Sequoia is. (especially with the TRD offroad package).
Sequoia Is The Masculine Family Hauler
While I do like the Grand Highlander and it's slightly smaller cousin Highlander, they feel more soft, and family friendly. On the other hand, Sequoia fills a nearly identical need but is more luxurious, more masculine, and more capable when it comes to doing things like towing and going off-road.
The Platinum trim that we had can come with an optional TRD Off-Road Package on top of the 4x4 configuration. This includes front skid plates, 20" TRD Off-Road alloy wheels, off-road suspension with Bilstein shocks, terrain modes to assist with challenging off-road trails, and of course that ever important TRD badging including seat backs, red starter button and on the week hubs.
For any guy who needs more space for the kids but also wants to go hunting and fishing on weekends and take the family skiing in winter ... this is the vehicle for them.
On-Road Performance
There's no way to sugar coat that with the off-road package and a and a beefy vehicle weighing more than 6,000 pounds, the gas mileage is far from what you might want for a road trip. During our drive - mostly on highways but also some urban driving, we averaged about 18 miles per gallon. The EPA estimated combined is officially 22 mpg (without the off-road tires).
However, despite this, the on-road experience was very smooth and the i-FORCE MAX Twin-Turbon V6 Hybrid with 437 HP and 583 lb-ft of torque made the ride fun. There was plenty of power for passing trucks and even making it a bit exciting zooming down entrance ramps.
Sequoia Offers Confidence To Do Pretty Much Whatever You Want
While a road trip means spending plenty of time sitting in the seat with your eyes glued to the road, I also found it very comfortable just sitting at the beach relaxing and enjoying a beautiful spring day.
The interior on our Platinum trim offered a good balance of luxury touches along with good technology features without falling into the trap of hiding everything behind a touch screen. It was nice to have both a big 14" media center with high-resolution camera system as well as a 10" HUD ... as well as plenty of physical buttons for everything that you need to do immediately such as climate control and adjusting the radio.
The 2024 Toyota Sequoia Platinum starts at just over $60,000 and as tested was in the mid $80,000 range.
While this is a substantial jump in price compared to the Grand Highlander Hybrid MAX Platinum (about $60,000), if you are looking for something that is ready for your off-road adventures as well as being very capable for on-road road trips then this is a great option. This is especially true if you are looking to tow since despite the metrics for cargo and passenger hauling being comparable between the two ... Sequoia can tow up to 9,250 pounds vs 5,000 for the Grand Highlander!
