In the ever-growing landscape of 3-row utility vehicles, the Toyota Sequoia tends to get lost in the shuffle. But Toyota is making it harder for that to happen by giving it a TRD treatment. That’s a step up that’s sure to make the Sequoia standout in any carpool lane, and maybe even at the off-road park too.

In many ways, the full-size Sequoia is the perfect vehicle to get the TRD Pro off-road treatment. It remains a true body-on-frame utility, joining the Tacoma and 4Runner, and of course the full-size Tundra pickup on which the Sequoia is based.

Big Toyota lettering on the grille is the first upgrade you notice; accented by LED headlights and LED fog lights by Rigid Industries. Underneath, there are skid plates, much appreciated grippy aluminum running boards, and upgraded springs and Fox internal bypass shocks for the suspension.

Standard is Toyota’s Multi-Mode four-wheel-drive system with locking center differential, 2-speed transfer case, as well as forged aluminum 18-inch wheels. Up top one will find a beefy TRD roof rack, and a big moon roof.

Inside, the standard leather seats add red stitching, and there are all-weather floor mats for keeping all that dirt from your many adventures out of the carpet.  There is a ton of space for seven occupants, as Captain’s chairs are standard for the 2nd row, with a 3-place 3rd row bench.

Cargo capacity behind the 3rd row is a good 18.9 cubic-ft., expanding to 66.6 with those seatbacks folded, and a max of 120.1. The Sequoia TRD Pro is also rated to tow 7,100-lbs.

Finally, for cranking tunes at the campsite, there’s a 14-speaker JBL audio system. It is definitely loud, but perhaps not as clear as some other high-end systems.

 We very much loved the noise coming through the black-chrome tipped TRD cat-back exhaust system. It is attached to the Sequoia’s more than adequate 5.7-liter V8 with 381-hp and beefy 401 lb.-ft. of torque.

On the road and on the track, we found that the steering felt really boosted and was quite sluggish. There’s plenty of body roll; but quick jabs of the throttle will rotate the vehicle pretty quickly. Still, if you get out of sync, a very aggressive stability system reins you in promptly. For long trips, the Sequoia delivers a supremely smooth highway ride, and great visibility, with a commanding view of the interstate ahead.

While most things look dated inside, all Sequoias share a few additions for 2020 including push button start, Toyota’s Safety Sense-P; and all audio systems now get Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, and Apple CarPlay capable.

For our complete road test of the Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro, be sure to catch MotorWeek episode #4010 that begins airing November 13, 2020. For a listing of the public television stations that broadcast MotorWeek, click the https://www.motorweek.org/about/station_listings/#mce_temp_url# tab at the top of our website. MotorWeek is also seen Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons on the MotorTrend cable channel. The show can also be streamed on PBS Living through Amazon’s Prime Video.

The current generation of Sequoia has actually been around since 2008.  That’s a long time by any automotive measure. But, adding the TRD package proves that even after all of that time it remains more than relevant. Rugged, yet refined, the 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro is a lot of SUV that’s easy to love.