Despite what you might suspect from the 6,150-pound curb weight, though, the TRD Pro doesn’t feel sluggish. Toyota’s hybrid system is the fix to that, sandwiching an electric motor between the engine and the transmission. A Ni-MH battery supplies enough juice for brief, low-speed forays on electric power only, though the decision there is left to the truck rather than offering a dedicated (and, frankly, pointless) EV mode.
Really, the hybridization here is for besting the torque curve. The Sequoia is positively spritely from a standing start, capable of shocking other drivers with more than just its scale. It only gets more aggressive in Sport mode, with the transmission in the “S” setting, and whether you’re in the regular 2H or 4H mode, there’s never a sense that the big Toyota is lacking in punch.
While my testing didn’t take me across any significant off-road course, the Midwest winter supplied plenty of snow and ice to test the Sequoia’s sure-footedness. Easily modulated power combined with plenty of traction made light work of handling that, and the SUV slips between 2H and 4H without the clunking pause that many rivals suffer. The steering could do with being a little firmer, mind, and feedback through the electrically-assisted system is fairly mild.
Happily, the brakes are up to the task, even if there’s something moderately disconcerting about an SUV this large hurtling at higher speeds. It’s an eager beaver, too, with pickup so smooth that it’s all too easy to find yourself cruising well in excess of the intended limit.
