2023 Toyota Sequoia Leaked Photos Reveal Tundra DNA

2 years, 10 months ago - 29 January 2022, autoevolution

Hours ahead of the long-awaited premiere, the all-new Sequoia has leaked in three flavors.

The people-hauling utility vehicles in the photo gallery come in the guise of a red-painted Capstone, a white-painted TRD Pro off-roader, and a black-painted Limited towing an Airstream trailer.

Speaking of towing stuff, the third-generation Sequoia is rated at up to 9,000 pounds (make that 4,082 kilograms) when properly equipped. That’s a tremendous improvement over the outgoing model despite losing the free-breathing V8 for a twin-turbo V6 available solely with hybrid assistance.

Codenamed XK80, the Sequoia promises up to 437 horsepower at 5,200 revolutions per minute and 583 pound-feet (790 Nm) at 2,400 revolutions per minute, figures that perfectly match the i-Force Max V6 in the Tundra.

Scheduled to be revealed today at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, the Sequoia is available with a so-called Tow Tech Package that steers the trailer in reverse. In addition to the aforementioned trim levels, the full-size utility vehicle will also be available in SR5 and Platinum flavors. It’s not currently known if the extremely popular Nightshade Edition will return for the 2023 model year, but nevertheless, here's hope Toyota will cover all the bases.

The SR5 and Limited can both be had with the TRD Off-Road Package as long as you specify four-wheel drive from the options list. In no particular order, highlights include Bilstein shocks with specially-tuned springs, a locking rear differential, 18-inch wheels, and Crawl Control. The SR5 can be alternatively had with the TRD Sport Package that brings 20-inch wheels, stiffer springs and shocks, and aluminum pedals. The no-nonsense TRD Pro levels up to Fox internal bypass shock absorbers, a beefy skid plate, and too many badges.

Gifted with rear independent suspension instead of a solid axle, the all-new Sequoia comes standard with two-wheel drive across the board, with the notable exception of the TRD Pro. Even the Capstone comes with 2WD, although it’s the plushest specification available, which is a little weird if you ask me. Open-pore walnut veneer, semi-aniline leather upholstery in black and white, and rather vanilla 22-inch chrome wheels are its highlight features.

To be produced in San Antonio, Texas, alongside the 2022 Tundra, the 2023 Sequoia can be optioned with a 14-inch touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster. Look forward to the first examples arriving at dealers this summer.