Toyota Sequoia?

[KathyTX]

It's about time to replace my vehicle, and I'd like your opinions. I currently drive a Ford Expedition, and I'm happy with it. One possibility is replacing it with a newer Expedition.

I'm also considering the Toyota Sequoia. If you own one, or have done much comparison on one, would you share your experiences with me?

Besides handling, quality and comfort, some things that are important in this vehicle are: LOTS of head and leg room in front and second row (we're all tall.) Reasonable amount of cargo capacity, to hold plenty of suitcases/packages/labradors/Costco runs. Comfortable and pleasant interior (road-trip friendly). Good power for freeway and heavy traffic driving.

Not so important: third row passenger capacity (I would probably remove this seat), towing, off-road.

Any opinions? Experiences? Recommended equipment/options?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Lars624]

I'm sorry, I don't have one but I just had to say that saw one on the freeway on the way home from WDW last week & I fell in love with it! It is a beautiful vehicle! It looks really sharp in white!

 

[AZKathy]

The Sequoia was the top on our list for SUV's last year, but could not find any that had any good deals at the time. The seating was very comfortable and it had great cargo space with the split third seat vs. folding down the whole third seat. If we could have found a good price, we would have gotten this SUV over the SUV we got. Great SUV!!!!!

 

[Blondie]

We were admiring a Sequoia in the parking lot the other day! We really like the way it looks...haven't test driven one yet.

We are still on the fence on whether we should trade in our 2000 Blazer for a Mercury Mountaineer (which did exceptionally well in crash test ratings, you can find out here at Crash Test Ratings ) or maybe the Sequoia. Don't know whether I want an 8 cyl. or not, and the Sequoia is an 8.

 

[LindaR]

This is just my OPINION, please do not flame..........


Toyota has a much better reputation for quality than Ford and will have a higher resale value, too.

I drive a Toyota Highlander (didn't need to go bigger) but I did look at the larger model. It's just me and my daughter, toy poodle, border collie/setter mix, and large german shepherd. The smaller SUV was all we needed.

Perhaps you can look/research into the reliability histories in Consumer Reports.

Go for the Toyota!!!!!

 

[KathyTX]

You guys are fast!! Thank you!

For a ballpark idea of the deals out there right now, I'm getting quotes of about $6000 under the MSRP for an SR5 with leather interior and a sunroof. (That includes a $1000 off deal if you currently own a Toyota, which we do! Our other car is a Toyota Avalon, which we love.)

The numbers are looking pretty good to me.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

The new (2003)Expedition handles phenomonaly well compared to prior models (I have an '02). There have been a few "quality" issues with it that would make me wait a year or two before going with it.

The Sequoia is actually coming up on the end of it's existing design, and for 2005 it will be redesigned along with its Lexus counterpart the LX470.

There are also rumors of an extended size Expy to replace the Excursion (killed in 2004).

I agree that the quality you'll get with the Toyota is much better, I like the functionality of the Expy and the fold-flat 3rd row much better, although the split seats in the Toy allow even a smaller person to remove the seats easily. I also think you'll get marginally more room in the Expy.

Not sure if you plan on towing anything with it, but Ford's are by far the best when it comes to that. Additionally, Ford offers 0% for 5 years financing, not sure if Toyota is there yet, but it will still be a relatively low rate. Drive them both...on the same day if you can and really sit in them. Some sales people may have them as a demo and if they really want to make a sale they may even let you take it for a half day to really run your errands and get a "real" feel for the truck as part of your everyday routine. I'm, actually downsizing and selling/trading in my Expy very soon.

 

[dzneprincess]

I too liked the Seqouia since last year actually! But I recently got a 2003 Eddie Bauer Expy ( 2 weeks actually) and I love it! It is plenty big, and easy to manuever. I was worried about that being as I am only 5 ft tall. I also has the power fold 3rd row seat, and I love it. It has a split seat back there, so I can fold down only part of it and still have room for a person, or fold the other side and have room for 2 in the back. I also like the 2nd row bench, in the fact that the middle seat of the bench slides forward. SO when I have my new baby, I can put his car seat in the middle and slide him forward Oh yeah, it also has a rear sensing system which is pretty nifty too

 

[nativetxn]

When you get the new car will you meet me at Marshall, next time I go home?

 

[DopeyRN]

The Sequoia, IMHO, is the sharpest looking SUV on the road. My sister has one and she loves it. I test drove one, and it handles very well. But I went with the Highlander instead, as I really did not need a huge vehicle and for the price difference, I was able to get more "luxuries" instead. Plus with gas prices the way the are, the V6 fits my budget better. You will not go wrong with this vehicle.

Now flame away, but I do not see myself purchasing another American car...I have had nothing but problems with all that I owned, ESP my Ford.

 

[m&m's mom]

Toyota's are the best!
I have had a Toyota, one car or another, for almost 16 years. Never had any problems.
That being said when we went shopping for a SUV we ended up buying a Yukon XL. I was leaning towards the Sequoia but my SiL bought one right before us and we did not want to be copy-cats. Not really, DH wanted more space and the Yukon definitely has it. If it had been my primary vehicle I would have bought the Sequoia in a heartbeat.
BTW my SiL loves hers!

 

[SideshowBob]

Cool thread...

What kind of seating does the "Highlander" have.... (sorry to digress)...

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by SideshowBob
What kind of seating does the "Highlander" have

The Highlander has seating for five- I think it's about the same size as the Ford Explorer. There are some great photos of the interiors and exteriors of all the Toyotas at www.toyota.com .

Happy car shopping!

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Originally posted by KathyTX
The Highlander has seating for five- I think it's about the same size as the Ford Explorer. There are some great photos of the interiors and exteriors of all the Toyotas at www.toyota.com .

Happy car shopping!

The Highlander is actually a bit smaller than the latest iteration of Explorer. The Highlander/RX300/330 combination falls into the size-class just below the Explorer now as the Ex has a 3rd row option and the Highlander/RX do not. I would even go so far to say that the Highlander is smaller than older generation Ex's as well, I had a '93 Ex and it was definitely bigger than tmy parents' '02 Highlander.

The SUV market is getting very diverse in sizing. From the min-utes to the medium utes and large utes all while having different trim levels to create a few spin-off categories like the LUV's or Luxury Utility Vehicles and the crossovers like the Infiniti FX or Lexus HPX concept vehicle. (you've probably figured out I have NY Auto Show fever)

 

[janette]

I've been looking at the Sequoia too, looks really nice. Not quite ready to take the plunge but will definately be test driving one when the time comes. My DH has a Durango and we like it so that is another I'd consider.

 

[gravymom]

We have had a Sequoia for two years (about 27K miles) and have made 6 trips to Disney in it. We love it. We needed something that could handle three car seats, so we needed big. It drives like a dream. It was in recently for some service and we had a loaner Sequoia and it was even nicer than ours (leather, etc. - not to mention CLEAN!) Hated to give it back. Good luck.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

We have a new 2003 Ford Expedition and absolutely LOVE it.we had a 2001 Expedition and there is no comparison in the 2.Pleasse drive 1 of the new Expeditions first.ours is and Eddie Bauer.

 

[YesDear]

Today is the one year anniversary of getting our Toyota Sequoia. In the past year it has made three trips to WDW from NC.

The reason we have it is because we needed enough room for 6 to go to WDW.

It is also unique that we saw it for the first time in 2001 at WDW and it caught our eye in the parking lot.

Needless to say we love it. I have converted it to synthetic oil, etc and I am getting about 15-16 mpg in town and got 19.2 on our last trip to WDW.

We do not have the 4wd version. My last SUV had 4wd and I used it 4 times in 5 yrs. Not worth the extra money for us!

It is comfortable, and has never been a moments problem so far. We test drove just about everything else before we decided and once we got in one we were hooked. I understand about finding deals because ours had to be ordered!

You cannont go wrong with that vehicle IMHO

YesDear!!!