Toyota Sequoia (2023–) review: a Tundra in a Land Cruiser suit
3.8/5motorssouq Editorial Team
The TNGA-F Sequoia is mechanically excellent and a clear step up from the truck it replaced, but it sells in Bahrain against its own showroom sibling: a Land Cruiser at similar money with a longer track record here and a resale curve nothing else in the segment matches. Buy the Sequoia if you specifically want the extra size and the twin-turbo V6's punch; otherwise the Land Cruiser remains the safer call.
Pros
- Twin-turbo V6 is quicker and more efficient than the old V8
- TNGA-F platform brings a noticeably better ride and a modern cabin
- Shares parts and service knowledge with the already-common Tundra
- Panoramic View Monitor genuinely helps with the car's size
- Full-time four-wheel drive and a properly capable chassis
Cons
- Competes directly against its own showroom sibling, the Land Cruiser
- No V8 soundtrack left for buyers who wanted one
- Over 5.2 metres long is a daily tax in older Manama parking
- Resale curve has no Bahrain track record yet
Toyota finally retired the old 5.7-litre V8 Sequoia and rebuilt the truck on the same TNGA-F platform underpinning the current Land Cruiser and Tundra. The result is quicker in a straight line, meaningfully more efficient, and rides better over Bahrain's expansion-joint highways thanks to a stiffer frame and, on higher grades, an adaptive suspension the old truck never offered.
The V6 question
The twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 makes more power and more torque than the outgoing V8 while using noticeably less fuel in real-world Gulf driving — a genuine improvement rather than a compromise. What it does not do is sound like a V8, and buyers shopping this segment on nostalgia will notice immediately.
The cabin is the biggest leap: material quality, infotainment and third-row space are all closer to a modern Land Cruiser than to the truck the Sequoia replaced, and the panoramic view monitor is genuinely useful for a vehicle over two metres wide.
Living with it in Bahrain
Size is the recurring theme. At over 5.2 metres long, the Sequoia asks the same questions of Manama's older car parks that any full-size American-platform SUV does, and running costs sit closer to a Tundra pickup than to a Land Cruiser Prado. Toyota's Bahrain dealer network services it without drama, since the powertrain and much of the chassis is shared with the Tundra already on local roads.
The honest comparison for most shoppers is internal: at similar money, a Land Cruiser 300 carries three decades of reputation in this market and a resale curve the Sequoia has not had time to earn. The Sequoia's case is size and third-row space for buyers who genuinely need both.