[sk72]

Hi Folks..

We are expecting out firsy baby and we are in the market for an SUV since we have 2 sedans (ES350 and IS250) which is not really going to work for us due to the space. I am really considering the Sequoia due to it's space but I am getting a mixed reviews over internet and also heard that Toyota stopped Sequoia's Production in 2009 due to poor sales figures .

I want to know more about this vehicle from you guys and if there is any pro's and con's I should be considering since it's comes with a hefty price tag and I guess it has a lower gas mileage when compared againts Chevy Tahoe.

Please advice! Thanks in advance. :thumbsup:

 

[John Mo]

We didn't really find that we needed a full-size SUV until we had our 4th child... we got along great in a first-gen Sienna with two and three kids. The killer was that my oldest son got too big for the 3rd row about the time he hit 13 or 14. Baby seats went in the captains chairs in the middle and the big kids took the 3rd row.

We had a '96 Suburban for a while and then bought an '08 Sequoia. There wasn't an '09 model, but Toyota did/does produce a 2010 Sequoia. I don't know what their overall plans are, but I'd say the Sequoia is a safe purchase because it shares so many parts with the Tundra.

The Suburban was a great vehicle. The biggest advantage over the Sequoia is the rear cargo space. The Sequoia, with the third row in use, doesn't have a lot more cargo space than our old Sienna had. With the Suburban, you can open the back doors and just pitch stuff in. The Sequoia has to be "packed." The only other thing about the Suburban that I really liked was the 41-gallon gas tank. You'll see several threads here about how the Sequoia only takes about 22-gallons at a fill-up. It holds more, but the low-fuel light is very conservative.

My '08 Sequoia generally does better on gas than my '96 Suburban did, but I don't know how it would compare to a newer Tahoe or Suburban. I get 15 or 16 MPG in mixed, rural driving and have seen as high as 20+ on highway-only trips.

Probably the biggest selling point for us with the '08 Sequoia was seating. We like being able to carry 8 passengers (because grandparents come along sometimes). The '08 model introduced the triple-split middle row. The triple split made it possible to put a child car seat in the middle section and still operate the outboard seats on both sides for access to the third row. The third row seating position is also very good. In the Taho/Suburban, the third row seating position is knees in chest. In the Sequoia, my now adult-sized 16-year-old is comfortable. He actually prefers to ride in the third row. Overall, the Sequoia is a very comfortable vehicle to ride in.

My advice would be to wait a bit and see how you do with your sedans. As long as it has four doors, it's a good kid-car. They're not very happy about it, but in a pinch I haul all four of my kids in my '09 Corolla. It works for short hops between home and school.

 

[sk72]

Thanks a lot John for the reply. This definately helps a lot. I went down Toyota dealership today and test drove the Sequoia and I really loved esp the amount of space it has for an SUV. I can pretty much sit comfortably in the 3rd row which is a big plus. I do howevere see your point about having less space at the back when you have your 3rd row seat up.

We have not discussed the price as of yet because they did not have the combo I wanted on the lot and it was close to 9pm so they are going to get back to me tomorrow. I did some research earlier and it looks like the Platinum is going to 60K (MSRP) and folks are paying about 55K.

Do you think 54.5K is close to the magic number?

 

[John Mo]

We have not discussed the price as of yet because they did not have the combo I wanted on the lot and it was close to 9pm so they are going to get back to me tomorrow. I did some research earlier and it looks like the Platinum is going to 60K (MSRP) and folks are paying about 55K.

Do you think 54.5K is close to the magic number?

The Sequoia is an easy vehicle to like, isn't it? One other thing I've learned about the Sequoia that isn't a plus is that it has many large blind spots. I have a 35' class A motorhome that's easier to park than our Sequoia is. We don't use our Sequoia as a daily driver. It's happiest on the open road. Ours only comes out when there's a reason -- passenger count, cargo, road trips, or 4WD weather. Still, we have declared it to be a righteous vehicle.

I don't have any idea about pricing. Ours is an optioned-up Limited, we bought two years ago in the midst of $4/gal gas, and we traded two vehicles in on it. I don't even remember what our bottom line on it was. Your best bet would be to run it through http://www.kbb.com to get some idea of the invoice price.

 

[TRD-98TT]

Congrats on expecting your first child. My wife and I had our first child 6 months ago and I fully understand the vehicle situation that you are talking about. When our son was born, we owned a 2007 Camry (simililar in space to your vehilces), a 2004 double cab Tacoma and a 1998 Supra. Even though the Camry does have plenty of room to carry things/people around, it tends to get cramped when it is loaded for trips (don't realize how much stuff a baby needs until you have one of your own). The main problem is having our son in his rear facing car seat right behind the passenger seat causes the seating position for my wife in the front seat to not be that comfortable. After a long trip to my parents lake house, we decided that we needed to get a larger vehicle. Even though we love the Tacoma, it has served its purpose but was not praticle to keep any longer. We love the 2008+ Sequoias but hate the pricetag. So we decided to trade in the Tacoma on a 2007 Limited Sequoia. Yes it might be just a tad smaller than the new ones but it still has plenty of room. We found one with 38,000 miles fully loaded (nav, rear dvd entertainment, bucket seats for the second row, leather, rear air ride suspension, etc.) and paid 30,800 out the door with a 7 year/100,000 mile warranty. So for half the price, we still have a Sequoia that has plenty of room for the family and toyota reliability.

-Ryan

 

[pushr0d]

sk72,

You may have already made the plunge, but I figured I'd throw in my .02.

We looked long and hard at all the SUV's out there to replace the LOML's '97 Expedition. It was a GREAT vehicle, and we sold it only because it was 13 years old, and had over 175K on it. We just didn't 'trust' it for long trips any more.

We went with an '08 Platty. I looked at the features of the GMC Tahoe and Suburban (Chevy, maybe?) and the new Expeditions. The Armada got a quick glimpse only.

The Expedition is nice, but the 5.4L is only a bit refined from the one in our '97, and the fuel economy was still only average and a lot of reviews pan the amount of power. The GMC's were okay, but the rear seat was not a fold-flat. The Tahoe was too small in the back and the 'Burb was just too big a vehicle.

The Sequoia was the only one that had the same size rear end as the old Expy. I was looking for a Limited, but by the time I optioned one out the way I wanted, it cost almost as much as a Platty, which has even more equipment standard. One big hit (for me, my wife likes it) is the twin bucket second row seating.

I bought a used one. The new ones are just too much money. I saved a boatload by buying a two-year old vehicle, with 43K on it. It is loaded to the gills.

The only complaint I have is the rear seat entertainment system. Ours has the single, roof-mounted unit. When the (huge) screen is folded down, the rear-view mirror is rendered useless and I forbid the kids to use it while I'm driving around town. I'd prefer the headrest-mounted version.

I found my vehicle on Craigslist, using this site: http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cp

HTH!