It"s a truth we"ve all known since we were little kids: playing in the dirt is fun. Fortunately, it"s also what the 2023 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro was designed for, và we"re happy to lớn report that Toyota nailed it. The Sequoia itself may be a three-row kid-haulin" SUV that’s larger than the new Land Cruiser, but a quick rip around a muddy field is enough khổng lồ make the driver wonder if they"re the kid this vehicle was really intended for.

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Toyota laid out an off-road course for us to chạy thử the Sequoia TRD Pro, so we couldn"t resist the opportunity to lớn see if the spec sheet stats translate into real world capability. For the first time, the TRD Pro offers a standard selectable locking rear differential, which is great for getting out of big trouble where one wheel has traction and the other doesn"t. That’s definitely a nice tool khổng lồ have since I see more Sequoias getting filthy on remote trails as opposed to heavily-trafficked off-road parks.

Aside from the TRD Pro-specific visual mods like "technical camo" seat patterns, a dual TRD Pro exhaust tip and a grille that houses a tiny light bar, you get a pretty functional short danh sách of other upgrades. There’s a quarter-inch aluminum front skid plate under the oily bits up front, TRD-tuned Fox internal bypass shocks, increased offset 18-inch BBS forged aluminum wheels wearing 33-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, & black technical camo overfenders to lớn cover the wider stance. The controls for the electronically controlled two-speed transfer case are pretty easy khổng lồ use, too—no finicky levers here. The đứng top of the steering wheel is even marked with a little red loop lớn help with wheel placement when you"re crawling around.

Base TRD Pro price:$78,395 (including destination)Powertrain: 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid | 10-speed automatic | four-wheel driveHorsepower: 437 hp
2,400 rpmSeating capacity: 7Wheelbase: 122 inchesCargo volume: 86.9 cubic feet (max) | 49 cubic feet (behind second row with third row down) | 22.3-11.5 cubic feet (behind third row, depending on how seat is adjusted)Max towing capacity: 9,020 poundsOff-road angles: 23° approach, 20° departure (TRD Pro) Ground clearance: 9.1 inches (TRD Pro) Curb weight: 6,150 poundsFuel economy: TBAQuick Take: The TRD Pro is enough to lớn make even zeros feel lượt thích heroes off-road in spite of its gargantuan size. Score: 7/10

Toyota"s demo course started off with dirt elements that were meant lớn showcase some of the Sequoia’s skills on steep grades and large bumps. Nothing on the course was so extreme that we needed khổng lồ disconnect the sway bar—which you have to vày manually, unlike on the Land Cruiser—but the TRD Pro still had plenty of articulation. This was where some of the rig’s off-road tech really got a chance to lớn shine.

The Sequoia TRD Pro has the updated Crawl Control và Downhill Assist Control that we"ve previously tested on the current-gen Tundra; they"re pretty slick, acting as a sort of cruise control for off-road situations. Various sensors judge the conditions ahead and can control acceleration and braking for each wheel as needed—down to only braking one wheel if need be. I used Crawl Control on these fairly easy obstacles, where it smoothly kept the Sequoia truckin" along at a mix speed. You can choose from five different crawl speeds depending on the obstacle at hand, but it"s particularly helpful on bumpy terrain that sends a truck bouncing around every which-a-way and makes it difficult lớn hold your foot steady on the throttle.

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There"s also Multi-Terrain Select, which lets you adjust the truck"s traction control và other systems" behavior to work appropriately in different off- and on-road situations, some of which will need to lớn allow for a bit more wheelspin than others. The TRD Pro"s Multi-Terrain Monitor—a camera view that displays what"s around the truck at low speeds—also helped navigate through obstacles where the hood was blocking my view.

Yet as I soon found out, Crawl Control can be outsmarted sometimes, as I managed lớn get it stuck on a rock-covered incline during the wettest part of the storm. According lớn the instructor leading us through that element of the storm, Crawl Control can be a bit pulse-y even though it feels pretty smooth behind the wheel, which hindered its ability khổng lồ adjust for completely slick rocks underneath. As you can see in the đoạn phim below, the Sequoia"s wheels slipped too much, & it was unable lớn keep its momentum going up the hill.

So, we turned Crawl Control off, and the Sequoia showed itself lớn be more than capable of clawing itself up the hill with my manual inputs. The 33-inch stock tires are plenty grippy & while I"m not as smooth as a computerized system, the Sequoia was plenty responsive lớn my inputs. This is the one time I actually wished there was a little more feel in the steering—it"s there, & Toyota"s electronic power nguồn steering box is very good—but a bit more feedback at lower speeds off-road would be awesome.

Of course, where the Sequoia TRD Pro really shines is straight-up, ripping-around-a-field hooning. The last section of the thử nghiệm course was an open dirt path where we could send the big beast along at whatever tốc độ we wanted to. There were a couple little jumps to unload and re-load the suspension, some banked turns and a whole lot of laughter.

Here, I have to credit the Sequoia"s drivetrain for being an absolute gem to lớn drive. It"s got a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 mated lớn a hybrid system that gives it a substantial bump in power & torque (435 hp và 583 lb-ft!) over the closest vehicle to the Land Cruiser we get here, the Lexus LX 600. Frankly, it"s so good that I"m surprised that it didn"t make it into the more upmarket LX. If your goal is lớn have some fun off-road, why pay more for less power?

If anyone asks, you can say you have a quick, practical, three-row Toyota hybrid SUV with a straight face. It"s not the most efficient SUV in the world—EPA figures aren"t out yet, but our road tests of various Sequoia trims saw average fuel economy in the high teens, max, across both highway and city miles—but given the extra bulk you"re carrying around in a 6,150-pound SUV, it makes sense. That"s the only big downside, though. While you can"t force it to lớn wheel in EV-only mode like you can with the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, that hybrid system still does a nice job of filling in ample low-range torque for whatever you need khổng lồ do. Plus, having the weight of the battery low-down in the middle of the truck means it"s pretty stable when you"re messing around, whether that"s on odd inclines or sliding around in the mud.

The TRD Pro"s Fox shocks và off-road-tuned suspension vì chưng make for a bumpier ride on the road than the other Sequoia trims without it, although it"s still not terrible. The progress trucks have made in on-road manners since my dad"s K5 Blazer in the "80s & even his "94 Explorer never ceases to lớn amaze me. Out on the muddy "speed course," this off-road suspension absolutely shined as a true highlight of the TRD Pro trim. Admittedly, I wasn"t at full send on a course that was new khổng lồ me in weather that made the mud extra-slick, but it made for a soft landing after the lumps & an easy to control ride off-pavement no matter how much I tried khổng lồ throw it around. Traction control did come on a couple of times and it will kill your slide if you"re intentionally trying lớn drift it around, but as Ken Munkelt, Toyota"s senior hàng hóa education planner and my oh-so-forgiving passenger pointed out, that"s all working as intended.

There are aspects of the Sequoia TRD Pro I"d lượt thích to spend more time with if given the chance. "A big muddy field for shenanigans, possibly with traction control off" is absolutely one of them. It"s like some engineer at Toyota asked your inner child for advice on what to bởi vì with a big family SUV. The whole package eggs you on to take more risks, try khổng lồ get sideways and drag that brake pedal into turns lượt thích you"re gunning for max angle—in other words, drive it like a $300 Subaru that belongs khổng lồ someone else. It wants to go faster & do sillier things in a way that belies its big size.