2025 Toyota Sequoia 4WD Hybrid 1794 - Review by David Colman
2025 King of the Road
![]() David Colman |
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL
If you've been watching college football lately, you might have seen Ralphie the Colorado buffalo, or Bevo the Texas longhorn, cavorting pre-game. Ralphie, at 500 pounds, and Bevo, at 1800 pounds have nothing on Toyota's 1794 edition of the 2025 Sequoia, which pegs the scale at 6,119 pounds. While the wild gridiron romps of Ralphie and Bevo require dozens of handlers, the three ton Sequoia demands the laser-focused oversight of just one driver: you. It can be a daunting assignment.
If Olympic size matters, the 1794 edition of this Toyota swipes the gold in every dimension, with an overall length of 208 inches (that's 17.3 feet), a width of 80 inches, and a height of 74 inches. Our tester's TRD Off-Road Package ($2,135) elevated ground clearance by half an inch over lesser Sequoias, from 8.6 to 9.1 inches. The first time I climbed aboard, I realized cabin entry demanded a double step up - one foot on the crackle-finished "1794" logoed running board, the other swung into the lushly carpeted bronze leather cabin. Ensconced in the meticulously upholstered driver's throne, I surveyed my surroundings from the Sequoia's eagle perch. The elevated cockpit ensures that the only other drivers you will make direct eye contact with are those piloting Suburbans, Escalades or Semis. It wins Roger Miller's King of the Road trophy for 2025.
The 1794, which carries a base price of $80,135, is named for the San Antonio, Texas cattle ranch where Toyota now builds Tundra and Sequoia trucks. When I attended the 2004 National Press Preview of Toyota's future Texas build site, it was nothing but a hundred acres of barren crabgrass. Back then, it was hard to envision that one day, 20 years later, I would be testing Toyota's most lavishly equipped Sequoia, festooned with 1794 logos burned into its real walnut dashboard trim. The interior of this SUV is simply exquisite, done with understated panache. The combination of mocha/bronze leather, artful stitchery, and swatches of satin walnut produces a state of welcome you will relish every time you climb into this cab.
While the comfort rating is high, the exterior vision from the driver's seat is low. You can't see any of the corners, so you'll need to rely on the beeps emanating from the Toyota Safety Sense proximity warning system to keep you from running into or over stuff. Also, direct rear view is obscured by a sea of second and third-row headrests. This issue can be marginally improved by flattening all those seatbacks, but doing so rather interferes with the practicality of owning a 7-seat SUV. The cargo practicality of the Sequoia is also compromised by the positioning of the third row bench seat. When you use the handy electronic buttons to flatten row 3's 60/40 seat backs, you're not left with a continuous flat floor loading area. Rather, the folded seats form a load platform that's 9.5 inches higher than the trunk floor immediately behind it. That height differential makes loading objects through the hatchback very difficult. In a vehicle that boasts 89 cubic feet of cargo space behind its front seats, you'll discover to your dismay that those numbers lie when you need to slip a bed, furniture, or even a bike through the tailgate.
On the other hand, with its TRD chops, the 1794 is brutally effective as an off-road stormer. Let's start out with the fact that this SUV, which is based on the Tundra truck frame, is in fact beefier than the pickup, thanks to boxed frame reinforcement. Using that ingot chassis as a building block, TRD replaces stock Sequoia underpinnings with off-road-worthy suspension components. Bilstein gas dampers maintain equilibrium. A set of skid plates protects the underside from damage, augmented by a $385 optional TRD front skid plate. At each corner, TRD bolts a set of 20-inch diameter, off-road specific, machined-face alloy wheels shod with TW 600 Falcon Wildpeak AT3wa all-terrain radials (265/60R20). The TRD fitment also includes an electronically controlled locking rear differential. A multi-terrain cockpit monitor indicates which setting you have selected from the many Multi-Terrain Select (MTS) options available. Crawl Control and Downhill Assist Control are also part of the professional grade TRD package.
Under that gaping hood lies the same 3.4 liter V6 hybrid used to power all six (SR5/Limited/Platinum/TRD Pro/1794/Capstone) versions of the '25 Sequoia. This beauty of an engine is twin turbocharged and intercooled, and drives all 4 wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid part of the equation is handled by a 48hp AC motor which stores energy in a 1.9 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery pack. This potent I-FORCE MAX drivetrain makes 437hp. It also produces 583lb.-ft. of torque, which enables the 1794 to tow a 9,000lb trailer with utter dispatch. A factory-installed hitch kit is standard equipment. In 1794 trim, this Sequoia represents a new milestone of achievement for Toyota. In many significant ways, it bests purportedly superior SUVs from sister division Lexus.
2025 TOYOTA SEQUOIA 4WD HYBRID 1794
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• ENGINE: 3.4 liter V6, twin turbocharged, intercooled, DOHC, 24-valve with Dual VVT-i + electric motor generator
• HORSEPOWER: 437hp (Combined)
• TORQUE: 583lb.-ft.
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 19MPG City/22MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $85,630
HYPES: Bravura Interior and Drivetrain
GRIPES: Poor Outward Vision, Clumsy Storage Space Design
STAR RATING: 9.5 Stars out of 10
©2025 David E Colman