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The new 2023 Toyota Sequoia has won my title of “most anticipated Toyota” this year. Of course that title from me means absolutely nothing but other than the bZ4X and the new Crown, the new Sequoia has been the most anticipated for me. The new 2023 Toyota Sequoia is being marketed as a family hauler/off-roader for certain trims. Is I spent $90,000 (market adjusted number) on a new Sequoia Capstone; I probably wouldn’t want to get it too muddy? However, a TRD trim of Sequoia would make me way more comfortable to take in the mud than a Capstone.

Now here’s the question, why are current generation Highlander owners less likely to switch over to the new Sequoia? True it is more expensive and less fuel efficient but when commenters on a Facebook group post explained why, these were none of the options. On Facebook’s 2023 Toyota Sequoia group, Greg Marich asked, “Does anyone currently own a highlander in here that plans to purchase a Sequoia?”

Now the average owner of a brand-new Toyota Highlander would probably be financially stable to afford a base model Sequoia. Of course, every individual or family is different but for most, it’s just a few thousand more on a trade in. In fact, if you do decide to trade in your brand-new Toyota Highlander, you would probably get pretty close to the number you paid for. For once in history, some non-supercar owners like 2022 Toyota Tundra owners are able to trade in their new Tundra for more than MSRP. Let’s take a look and see what some owners had to say.

Amie Goddard said, “I want to, but after some of the posts regarding the cargo space in the rear I don’t know now.” I believe you can fold down the seats in the new Sequoia and also in the Highlander as well. Now if you own a pet and you plan to maybe take them on trips in the new Sequoia, then that might result in some cramped space because of the low roof line towards the trunk if you fold the seats down. Especially if you have a big dog.

Bill Altermatt said, “We had a 2021 Highlander and were planning to make the switch to a Sequoia TRD Pro; however, after the demos started coming out and we see how useless they would be off-road we started to rethink the decision.” They ended up going with a 4Runner which honestly, is not a bad decision.

So, whether or not you plan to trade in your brand-new Tundra or Highlander or even 4Runner, (which I don’t see why you would trade in a 4Runner, those are literal tank.) Remember that this new Sequoia is going to be in it’s first year of production, so we don’t know if it’ll follow the same problems as the Tundra in terms of wastegate issues or rear axle issues. But given Toyota’s strive to make better cars, I could also see them improving these issues for the next platform they put it on.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.