2008 Toyota Sequoia

Editor: John Stewart
All-new SUV bigger, stronger, and more versatile.

Driving Impressions

Driving the 2008 Toyota Sequoia is like sitting in your den, watching the world go by. It may be big, but it's not tiring to operate as the day goes on.

We had a chance to spend two days driving the Sequoia on a variety of North Carolina roads and highways. We drove the Platinum model with the 5.7-liter V8, which had every possible option including laser cruise control. Our testing included an off-road track, and retrieval of a boat we would estimate in the 7000-pound range up a steep boat ramp, and onto the highway.

After all of that, we could see the Sequoia is made with a 1000-mile day in mind. It's the kind of vehicle that an American family will want for a long, long day on the interstate. It's got long legs and an effortless cruising pace. There is low noise and vibration, so you can listen to the audio system or converse at a normal tone of voice. It gets around 19 mph on the open road, so it can gobble up almost 500 miles between fill-ups on the highway. The more people, the more load, the more stuff you have, the better. No doubt about it, the Sequoia is at home on the biggest of North American roads.

In everyday driving, the suspension is surprisingly compliant for a vehicle built to carry heavy loads. There is a minimum of tummy jiggle on broken surfaces, and yet, when hard braking is called for, the front end does not dive wildly or pitch about. We had the active air suspension on our test unit, which has the ability to maintain more even ride height with heavy loads, but without a load, we're not sure the suspension would be much different. The standard setup is an independent A-arm setup at all four corners with coil springs and anti-roll bars.

We didn't do it, but we suspect the Sequoia would score highly in the drive-through fast-food test. That's the one when Dad, son, and half the little league team picks up shakes and French fries on the way home after the game. There are eight cup holders, eight bottle holders, console surfaces, everything you would want to eat in the car, and go. And then, lots of door pocket space for trash.

Driven empty, the Sequoia has an impressive reserve of torque. We loafed along at 2000 rpm or less, all day long, without feeling the need to punch the throttle. The 5.7L V8 makes most of its torque below 3600 rpm, so when you do decide to pass, acceleration is impressive. The 5.7-liter is Toyota's newest truck engine, so it is ULEV-II compliant. It's designed with four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust. The internals are made with high-strength materials, and a low-friction valve train is employed for better efficiency. Consistent with the internal component quality is the exhaust, which is made from stainless steel and has four catalytic converters: two for cold starts and two main.

We've driven the standard 4.7L V-8 in the past, and it's no slouch, but the 5.7L shows how far engine technology has progressed at Toyota in just a few years. It's revealing that the bigger, cleaner, more powerful 5.7 V8 also gets better mileage.

To be fair, a good part of the mileage improvement is due to the six-speed electronically controlled transmission that comes with the optional 5.7L engine. Like the standard five-speed automatic, it's controlled by a shifter that allows sequential shifting, and has a lock-up torque converter for better towing efficiency and heat control. With the six-speed, there is a Tow/Haul mode that changes the shift points for heavy loads and long, uphill grades.

Just like the Tundra, the Sequoia has a two-speed transfer case with 2.6:1 low range. We found Low range easy to get in and out of, even on ground that was not perfectly level. And enhanced gearing seemed low enough, given the 275/65 tires, that the Sequoia could crawl at speeds low enough to slog up very steep terrain. Also like the Tundra, the front and rear differentials are larger than previous versio