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The best new Toyota SUV in 2023 could be the all-new Toyota Sequoia. The new Sequoia combines updated looks, off-road goodies, and up to eight-passenger comfort with a new powerful hybrid V6  — and it’s made in Texas. However, Toyota looks to have benchmarked the large 2022 Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon when it designed the Sequoia to be a three-row, truck-based, SUV that can tackle taking the kids to school or a mountain top. All of that work to improve it over the 2022 could make it the best new Toyota SUV in 2023.

The redesign was long overdue

The 2023 Sequoia could be the best new Toyota SUV when it hits dealers soon.
The new 2023 Toyota Sequoia | Toyota

After 15 years, the 2023 Toyota Sequoia is finally seeing an upgrade for 2023. The new SUV is a big step up from the 2022 Toyota Sequoia, and it should be ready to take on the best-selling SUV this year, the 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe.  Like the Tahoe, the Sequoia is big, based on a truck, has some off-road ability, and has three rows of seating. Both are even manufactured in Texas. But, unlike the Tahoe, the Sequoia comes with V6 hybrid power and can be ordered in TRD trim. Toyota says the 2023 Sequoia price starts $58,300.

The Sequoia is the most-updated Toyota SUV for 2023

Front angle view of Midnight Black Pearl 2023 Toyota 4Runner is the only major change for 2023.
Midnight Black Pearl 2023 Toyota 4Runner | Toyota

Did Toyota dump all of its R&D money into the Sequoia? The other SUVs in Toyota’s stable have mostly remained unchanged for a while. The 4Runner has not had a major update in several years, and the only new thing for 2023 is a retro paint job. The RAV4 was last all-new in 2019. The Highlander is expected to get a newer, longer, version soon called the Grand Highlander, but other than that it’s the same. The Venza isn’t new, either.

The Corolla Cross was all-new in 2022, but that SUV is based on a car and the Sequoia easily trumps it in power, utility, and off-road ability. It is quite a bit less expensive and starts at $22,445. The 2023 Toyota Sequoia price is higher, but it has a lot more capability. While Toyota calls the bZ4X an SUV, it has more wagon-like proportions than the Sequoia, and its EV nature and low ground clearance can limit its off-road ability, which is key to an SUV.

Don’t believe it? Just ask Doug DeMuro

Doug Demuro is one of the Internet’s most beloved car reviewers and is known for finding all of the little quirks and features in vehicles and for comprehensive reviews of everything from Geo Metros to Ferraris. When it comes to the Toyota Sequoia, Doug DeMuro says it’s the best new Toyota SUV in 2023 and, “It’s a really nice luxury SUV,” in his new video about the new SUV. He also says the new hybrid engine is “fantastic.”

The new hybrid V6 could be the best Toyota SUV engine

Interior of the 2023 Sequoia Capstone edition
2023 Sequoia Capstone Interior | Toyota

V8 engines are great for making big power. Because of how the pistons work, they can make more power than other types of engines. But they are big. They are heavy. And they are thirsty. In Toyota’s case, the 2022 Sequoia V8 made 381 horsepower and 401 lb.-ft of torque from 5.7 liters – but got an abysmal 13 mpg in the city.

Toyota’s new 2023 Toyota Sequoia will get a significant power boost from the i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain. The new V6 totally trumps the V8 with 437 horsepower and 583 lb.-ft of torque, that’s enough power that the new Sequoia can tow almost a ton more. The new 2024 Toyota Sequoia will tow up to 9,000 pounds. It gets 21 mpg in the city, and 24 on the highway.

It can seat seven or eight passengers comfortably

Flexible Rear Seating in the 2023 Toyota Sequoia can seat three more people, making it an eight-passenger SUV.
Flexible Rear Seating in the 2023 Toyota Sequoia | Toyota

The new Sequoia can seat up to eight. But the Capstone models – the best Toyota SUV trim -have heated and cooled second-row captain’s chairs. Second-row passengers get USB, USB-C, and even a household outlet. To get to the third row, you simply grab a handle, and the second row flops forward. The third row is also power-folding. There’s also a handle that allows you to move the way-back seats forward and backward to maximize the rear cargo area room.

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.