Sequoia a great Japanese refinement of large American SUV's

For years the American car companies had the mega SUV market pretty much to themselves. Toyota's largest entrant, the Land Cruiser, was not quite as large as the Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator and GM equivalents, and at prices pushing 60K was not really trying to compete with those people and stuff-haulers. Nothing in the Honda stable could seat 8, or haul as much stuff. So if you were weaned on the reliability and handling smoothness of the Toyota/Honda cars but needed something bigger, you pretty much were stuck with minivans or at best a pricey 7 passenger SUV.

The Sequoia, though not perfect, addresses this gap in the marketplace. At 6000+ pounds, it is a gorilla (and eligible for a special federal tax break if used for business). But driving it is just as easy and as pleasurable as driving a car, and easier than driving a minivan. Compared with the 93 Previa we used to have, the Sequoia (due largely to its weight) is a huge advance in road stability, wind resistance, and smoothness. It powers effortlessly down the road, barely twitches even in high winds, turns crisply (a Toyota trademark), brakes smoothly and firmly (a big advantage over the GM SUV's, which seem to view stopping smoothness as an unnecessary attribute).

We have had our Sequoia for a year now. 20K miles later, there is absolutely nothing about it that bothers us. The interior is spacious, well thought out for the comfort and convenience of passengers, with a sensible array of displays for the driver. By comparison, we rented a Lincoln Navigator for a week in California earlier this year. The Navigator is probably the closest competitor to the Sequoia, nearly identical in size and power and pretty close in price. Yet the Navigator's interior layout had a lot of wasted space, particularly just behind the driver row in the middle, We could really only fit 7 passengers comfortably, and cargo was a real problem. We ended up taking the same luggage that fit easily into the Sequoia's rear cargo area and piling it on the center console in between the driver and the front seat passenger. If you are comparing the two vehicles and have a large family that takes trips, opt for the Sequoia for this reason alone.

For years, Toyota had the Land Cruiser as its large SUV entrant. But the Land Cruiser is built on different technology and, though almost 20K more in price than the Sequoia, is not quite as large in length or interior room. Despite its length, parking the Sequoia is not as hard as it looks due to the exceptional steering response. I parallel parked in Chicago yesterday with no problem. The Sequoia is tall but fits into most parking garages, including the one at O'Hare with its 6'6" clearance. You ride so high up that you feel like you are going to hit the roof of the garage, but you don't.

The big difference between the Sequoia and its American competitors is the smoothness of operation. I would rate the Navigator as having pretty good handling characteristics. But the Sequoia is a good two notches above that. It handles magnificently -- steering is crisp and smooth, cornering is excellent especially considering its girth, and it is so stable that you don't feel it is too wide even in tight lane markings in urban areas. In the wide open suburbs and open road there is no better cruising vehicle.

Gas mileage is, of course, not superb, but considering how much this thing weighs it isn't terrible. There is a tracking system in the LE model that tells you what your combined gas mileage has been. Ours is at 15.2 combined city/highway after 20,000 miles. On highway cruises at 75-80 mph it gets about 17 mpg. It also has a feature that allows you to look at your instant fuel economy. I've noticed that when cruising at 55 mph that it gets 19 or 20 mpg consistently, and only the higher speeds cause it to go down to 16-17 mpg. City driving gets around 13-14 mpg.

Oh, and one more thing -- the kids love it. We equipped ours with a flip down screen and DVD/VCR system, 6 disc CD, wireless headphones for the video system (which permit me to listen to CD's in the front while they watch movies with the headphones in the back). It's a bit unnerving to glance in the rear view mirror and see the eyes of children (and adults) gazing at a screen with almost trancelike attention. But it also cuts down on driver distraction during long trips. Family car trips have never been so good.

For large extended family trips there is really no better vehicle that I've ever driven. Worth the price.