2005 Toyota Sequoia

The Sequoia's powertrain is as slick as warm butter sliding off a stack of pancakes, and the rest of the running gear is equally as composed. The upper and lower control arm front suspension and five-link rear axle, with coil springs and anti-roll bars, delivers a perfectly competent and appropriate level of ride comfort, handling ease and directional security. And big disc brakes at all four wheels assure more than merely adequate stopping capabilities.


But what's inside is perhaps more relevant for most SUV buyers, and the Sequoia covers the bases. For example, there is seating for eight—or seven with the optional second-row captain's chairs of the Limited's Luxury Package—but cupholders for 10. There are nine grabhandles. There are door pockets, seat pockets, storage boxes and so forth galore, including two covered compartments and two catch-all bins for the third-row seat alone. Behind the third-row seat are four hooks for those pesky plastic grocery bags. If you can't stash it, stow it or hang it up in here, maybe it doesn't need to come along in the first place.

The interior is fitted with seating for eight and the perceived quality is as good as it gets.

Unlike some other sport utes—even some of the bigger ones—the Sequoia also offers decent room in all the seats. Quite often, a third-row seat is fit only for elementary-age Olympic-class gymnasts or people you don't like very much, but the third row of the Sequoia really does offer headroom for an average-size person up to about six feet tall, and as long as none of them are particularly, well, wide—three could sit back there for at least as long as it takes to get to church.


Among the minimal number of less-than-ideal stuff is the flip/fold/removal operation of the third-row seats. In an age when some of the competition offers power third-row seats that, at the touch of a button, disappear into the floor, the Sequoia requires a person to lean in, grab handles, pull levers, lift stuff—all at awkward positions, and someone who's shorter or less physically robust could find it a daunting task with an improbable result.


On balance, however, the Toyota Sequoia is as much a sure-bet SUV as you can find. It delivers on all the product thoroughness and competence you'd expect from Toyota. It has a great powertrain that's smooth and powerful and has all the quiet response of a good butler. The fit-and-finish is without criticism, the perceived quality as good as it gets. It's so solid that, once you get in and close the door, it seems as if some guy walks up and welds it shut behind you. And there are no surprises—it is, after all, a Toyota.(www.toyota.com)