2023 Toyota Sequoia Fuel Economy Figures Quietly Released

Toyota’s on a roll. It’s been hard at work pumping out new designs geared toward the track or the trails. Perhaps that’s why it’s held off on updating the Sequoia, which received an all-new design for the first time since 2007.

We’ve tested the Toyota Sequoia before, and we can tell you it is competing in a crowded market. Competition is stiff and includes the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Nissan Armada. Given the incredibly tough and varied competition, Toyota will need to make the Sequoia stand out as best it can in all categories, fuel economy included.

The numbers represent an impressive increase over the last-gen Sequoia’s fuel mileage. The 2023 Sequoia is rated for 21 city/24 MPG highway, showing improvements of 8 and 7 miles over the 2022 model. Rear-wheel-drive models will achieve 22 combined MPG, besting the old model by 7 miles.

Equipping the Sequoia with 4-wheel-drive will see numbers drop 2 MPG across the board, to 19 city/22 highway. In all, these numbers are close to the fuel stats of the Tundra pickup. Nonetheless, it still trumps the Chevrolet Tahoe, EPA-rated at 15 city/20 highway for a 2-wheel-drive model.

How did Toyota do this? Well, the Sequoia uses the same powertrain seen in the identical Tundra. This means a 3.5-liter V6 equipped with a pair of turbochargers. In addition, the engine is bolted to a motor-generator fitted somewhere in the transmission’s bell housing, qualifying it as a hybrid. This means you can eke out almost 100 highway miles more out of the new Sequoia versus the old one, bringing the driving range to 540 miles.

The only way competition would fare better is if the optional 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six diesel engine was equipped, which sees the best EPA improvements in the Chevy Tahoe (GMC and Cadillac utes are lower). It’s rated for 28 highway MPG but will tow over 1,600 lbs less than the Sequoia (7,900 vs. 9,520). Your own shopping priorities will determine which route to go.

Speaking of, the 2023 Sequoia will be available in SR5, Limited, Platinum, Capstone, and TRD Pro trims; the latter being 4WD-only. It should start arriving in dealers before the summer is out.