2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Is An Impressive True Offroad Car
The 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro will impress you with a real offroad experience. Sequoia has been around since 2001, and at that time, the TRD pro edition did not hit the streets, trails, and rocky roads.
But now, when you see TRD pro attached to any Toyota product (Toyota Racing Development), they take all the engineering from their Baja 500.
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| Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Army Green |
You know that Baja 1000 wins their trophy truck racing, and they put that DNA into this excellent vehicle. The Sequoia TRD Pro has a lot of special touches.
One thing that's important to remember when it comes to a full-size three-row SUV. There's really not much rival(s) for absolute off-road domination. So the 2020 Sequoia really fits that slot perfectly.
Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Body Design
We are glad that Toyota took the TRD pro and brought it to this truck. You will get LED headlights with LED daytime running lights.
Toyota knows the business they are in as a company that has been in off-road racing for so long. We love how the LED fog light is placed just to the left, and everything is nice and smooth.
The Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro has ten inches of ground clearance.
Now, how many SUVs have five inches of ground clearance? So ten inches of ground clearance will really make this truck very capable of those off-road trails.
The flat black TRD pro grill with the gunmetal gray Toyota logo in the center is a specialty for this vehicle.
You have some tasteful flat black horizontal slots and a slightly metallic gray finish on the bottom.
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| All images credit: Toyota |
You also have complete underbody protection. So you'll have a TRD Pro skid plate that will protect the oil filter, oil pan, and everything underneath.
You get excellent protection when you hit a rock while on the offroad terrain.
On the hood of the car, you can see very nice and bold body lines. You'll love how the hood is raised higher to give you an excellent visual reference point when you're driving on narrower lanes.
You know you'll be driving on wide-open trails with great ease. Some of them are narrower with a few trees around and others, so it would be better to know where the fenders are.
Around the bends, Toyota Racing Development works with BBS.
Those are the 18-inch off-road specific wheel. BBS is known in the industry when it comes to performance wheels.
The wheels are 3.5 pounds lighter, but they are also more robust and are wrapped in special Michelin off-road tires, 275 on the width and 65 series sidewall.
You do have a nice massive caliper and an inner suspension. So you're gonna get TRD specific Springs that's gonna help allow that ground clearance and great positive feedback as you're going down the off-road section.
You have color match mirror caps and TRD Pro badging on the side. You're also getting powder-coated aluminum TRD specific running boards. So you'll get a nice stick and grip as you're getting in and out of your Toyota Sequoia.
Up top, you do have a supermassive roof rail system.
BBS wheels are worth another look at the rear, especially with the Pro badging that they have. Also, you're gonna find a low roof spoiler blacked out on the badges.
Unfortunately, the taillights don't match the character. You wish Sequoia would do something a little different for the TRD Pro.
But Toyota notches the rear bumper a bit, and they tuck in a muffler to give you a consistent 10 inches of ground clearance. The slash cut on the exhaust also looks perfect.
Besides, you have full tow capability. But the hookup is a little bit on the lower side. You wish there was a way to get it out of the mud. Your spare, of course, is located underneath the bottom.
Toyota Sequoia Engine
You got a massive hood open, and the grille goes up with it. Underneath is a 5.7 liter V8, a naturally aspirated engine, 381 horsepower, and 401 lb-ft of torque.
It's all made it through a six-speed automatic transmission. Sequoia weighs around 5,985 pounds and has a towing capacity of 7,100 pounds.
0-60 in 6.8 seconds, and MPGs is 13 in the city and 17 on the highway. So 5.7 liter V8 hasn't been refined in quite a few years but is still going to give you over 7,000 pounds of capability.
Toyota Sequoia Price
The MSRP is around $66,0000. Let's see what you get for the money.
Toyota Sequioia TRD Pro Interior
The door panel is very dated, and there are many plastics on the dash.
The armrest is quite hard, but it's okay.
Also, you have lovely metallic silver around the switchgear for the windows and the door locks.
But you can get the optional JBL sound system. It's a 14 speaker system with a subwoofer and an amplifier.
So much hard plastic on the dash, and you do get two glove boxes.
You have a 7-inch infotainment system touchscreen, but you wish it was 8 inches like you can find on the 4runner TRD pro.
You do have Apple Carplay and Android Auto, which is really great.
Apart from that, you have navigation, excellent dual climate control, and easy-to-use bright silver.
You got blower fans dial, and being a TRD pro, you got the two-wheel drive. You do have heated seats but are not ventilated. However, the connectivity is excellent with 12 and three USBs.
You wish Toyota would do something fancy for the TRD pros key fob because you're spending that kind of money.
The automatic transmission is going to control six-speed, and it's got the TRD logo.
What's great is you could actually do the manual shifting.
You have the backup camera, but there's no trajectory. So that's a little bit of a bummer.
In fact, for several years, it has been like a nice, low flat armrest. You wish you used a softer material. But the good news is that everything will be well clean. Underneath, you have center storage and tray.
The seats have nice material leather like the TRD pro embroidery.
The red stitching is excellent, and the seats are extensive, especially the lower portion, and gonna help make it a comfortable drive.
You get power assist for the passenger and the driver. Also, you're gonna get the all-weather floor mats that have the TRD pro.
You wish to have a panoramic sunroof at this price tag. However, you do have an auto-dimming mirror, but unfortunately, it's not frameless.
Behind The Wheel
The driver seat is very comfy, and the blower portion is extended to fit a lot of different body types.
You have full electric assist with the lower lumbar and a nice steering wheel.
We've known the Toyotas steering wheel for a long time since the thickness and leather are nice.
Besides, you'll like flat black buttons even though they are dated; they're easy to use and understand.
Also, the way the gauges are laid out is spot on the money. You have a tach, speedometer, and other auxiliary analog gauges in the center. Besides, you have an excellent digital display where you could toggle through plenty of information.
You're also going to get Toyota sensing technology that's going to help keep you safe, like blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, and emergency braking.
Mid-row
You'll like how much space in the mid-row. There is plenty of headroom, and you have AC vents nicely placed on the sides of the ceiling up.
The backs of the seats have leather all the way around, and you got a nice large pocket.
You have rear AC controls, two USBs, and massive cupholders.
The seats are very comfortable, and the nice thing is that they slide nicely. You're gonna be able to recline and put it back.
But you wish the armrest a little bit wider.
Third-row
What's great about the Sequoia is you just pull up the seat, come forward, and then you have plenty of area for your feet.
The running boards just make it much more comfortable. So you're just gonna climb on in, and you have plenty of headroom.
Even if you six feet tall, your knees feel comfy. Even you could recline the seats. So, Toyota does a great job here.
There's no USB, but you got cup holders and AC vents, which is excellent. Even you have little side trays where you could put even more items.
The problem is where you plug in your phone when it dies? It'd be nice to have at least one on the 3rd row.
But this is the third row, so definitely two thumbs up for the Sequoia.
Cargo Space
You'll feel the power of dropping the rear glass window. Many Toyota products have it, whether it's the Tundra or Sequoia TRD pro, but you don't find it in many SUVs anymore.
Well, getting into the back area is very simple. You have a button, and it's a manual lift.
With the rear seats up, you get 18.9 cubic feet of space, and if you fold all three rows, you will see almost 121 cubic feet of space.
The good news is Toyota is giving you the electric button, and how to fold the seats is very simple. Simply press the button and hold it down.
Another good news is that you have storage underneath with plenty of space. Plus, you have a good 12 volts.
Drive The Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro
The offroad visibility 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro is incredible, and the seats, especially the bottom portion quite comfortable.
The upper portion of the seat is a little flat, but it covered all different body types.
The Toyota Sequoia drives very smoothly. You know, sometimes you get into an off-road vehicle that's bouncing around everywhere.
The suspension really does a great job tuning it not only for off-road but also for on-road capability.
But we think the navigation system and the infotainment screen are too small for a vehicle of this size. We hope Toyota redesigns it because it will be something awe-inspiring.
The nice thing is that you don't get much glare from the dash, which is excellent.
Toyota Sequoia has a great engine sound, and 0-60 in 6.8 secs is very respectable.
The side mirrors are nice and large. It gives you extra excellent visibility, and super smooth brakes feel good.
Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro is an impressive off-road SUV.
There's a lot of other pretenders out there, but this vehicle is the real deal.
Even though Sequoia doesn't have a TRD cat-back exhaust like the Tundra, it still has a great beat sound.
The power delivery is so smooth and naturally aspirated really gives you good feedback.
You don't feel out of control or bounce off the road. You have lighter wheels, so there is less rotational mass, which equates to better driving and steering.
Hopefully, this review has given you a great overall feel of the 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro. The controls are old-fashioned but easy to reach, and it is excellent. It's not recently redesigned but has personality and character.