2023 Sequoia TRD: The Destination Is Always Outdoor

Falling in love with a 2023 Sequoia TRD Pro on the Georgia trails

I was recently invited to test out Toyota’s newest TRD-related offerings in the mountains and trails surrounding the Blue Ridge, Georgia, area. The collection of vehicles to try included a few SEMA Toyota/Lexus vehicles, a trio of 2023 Tundra TRD Pros, and—the one that really caught my eye—the 2023 Sequoia TRD Pro.

We cycled through driving all of the vehicles on the pavement and on some trails throughout northwestern Georgia until we reached the finish line at 2022 Destination Outdoor.

The Goal

Toyota/Lexus brought the keys to those pretty stout and respectable off-road vehicles to share the driving experience with others. Each of the vehicles has been showcased in some way or another professionally with media, but this time, the aim was to do something different— to use them as an enthusiast would for a full off-road weekend. We took the vehicles from a shiny, waxed, detailed state and got them nice and dirty like they were intended to be.

We all met up at the Barnsley Resort, located about two hours northwest of Atlanta. Along the way, we hopped off of the pavement to put the off-road vehicles through their paces on an off-road trail, but we also had our share of fun on the road, too. Through the trails and the weekend, we were led by a full staff of the 4X4 Logistics Training Research (4X4LTR) team with Kurt Williams and Jackson Philby taking point as our ring leaders with Atlanta-local Scott Smith filling in the gaps.

The Sequoia TRD Pro

During the trip, we cycled through all of the vehicles both on and off the road, but the 2023 Sequoia TRD Pro was definitely the one that impressed me the most.

Powered by the i-Force Max Twin-Turbo V6 Hybrid engine kicking out 437 horsepower and 583 lb.-ft of torque, the Sequoia was more than able to get me around the trails. To add to that, it was a TRD Pro model flush with off-road ready bits and bobs to make the trail easier to traverse and at the very least, look great doing it.

In the functional parts department, the TRD Pro trim Sequoia features 18-inch TRD Pro matte-black forged-aluminum BBS wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak A/T tires, TRD Pro off-road suspension with Fox 2.5 Internal Bypass coilovers and rear remote-reservoir shocks, and a TRD Pro front stabilizer bar. In the make-a-presence-on-the-road department, a black “TOYOTA” heritage grille with integrated TRD LED light bar and TRD Pro dual-tip exhaust help create the most aggressive-looking Sequoia you can buy.

After driving the Sequoia TRD Pro for the long weekend, I began texting my wife to see if we wanted to trade in our 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro for its bigger sibling. The SEMA vehicles were great to drive around, but production is what you can actually buy and I wanted to buy that Sequoia TRD Pro.

Destination Outdoor

After getting the Sequoia and all of the other vehicles nice and dirty, we drove to the Toccoa Valley Campground, the location of Destination Outdoor. Parking the dirty off-road rigs is not where a true overlanding weekend ends and that is not where ours ended either.

Along route to the Destination Outdoor event, we camped a night. We set up our tents right along the river bank for some natural white noise and sat around the campfire reminiscing about our outdoor fun that day.

“Destination Outdoor is an overland-inspired outdoor meet and greet, but I like to refer to it as an off-road all-day cars & coffee.”

Destination Outdoor is an overland-inspired outdoor meet and greet, but I like to refer to it as an off-road all-day cars & coffee. At the event, along with camping, you can meet up with like-minded off-road enthusiasts, participate in a clean-up challenge to win swag and parts for your rig, tag along for multiple organized trail rides through the event, and most importantly simply enjoy the outdoors. While the event is put on by Toyota-centric groups like Team 4Runner, any make can partake in the fun.

The Perfect Bungee

The morning of Destination Outdoor, I awoke in my tent excited about the day’s activities. To start I headed over to the event registration table to get a swag bag. Destination Outdoor is free to register and every attendee gets a swag bag. It came with Destination Outdoor stickers and a t-shirt, but this year’s most functional freebie was a free bungee cord from The Perfect Bungee.

After collecting my swag bag, I began roaming the campground to check out some of the best builds on site. The newer generations certainly made up a significant portion of the field. They were certainly not outshined by some of the older generations.

Walking the grounds, it didn’t take long to get the vibe of the event. After getting my early morning share, I thought it was time to take a morning trail ride. Sadly, the new love of my life, the Sequoia TRD Pro, was spoken for, so I had to settle for the ultimate first-world problem of a Solar Octane–skinned Tundra TRD Pro—I managed to get by just fine.

On the Trails

Having been invited to the event from the folks sponsoring the event, Toyota, it didn’t seem fit to participate in the clean-up challenge to win anything, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t do our part at cleaning up the trail. Fortunately, the trail we drove only had a few bottles and a bag of chips to pick up, many trails can have much worse.

We arrived back at camp just in time for lunch. We ate some great food, chatted with friends, and checked out the builds which arrived during the time we were out on the trail. Then it was time to get some seat time in that Sequoia.

“After driving the Sequoia TRD Pro for the long weekend I began texting my wife to see if we wanted to trade in our 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro for its bigger Sibling.”

We were fortunate to get back out on the dirt to capture some shots with Toyota’s in-house media team. Action shots in the mud heightened the excitement of the day.

After returning to camp, the best evening of the weekend was upon us. Who knew pizza and drinks around the campfire reminiscing about the weekend’s fun we had would be so fun? Catching up with other like-minded people to compare driving experiences was entertaining and a great time, proving campfire chat is a highlight to any overland event.

I cannot wait until next year when new vehicles will likely be the stars of the weekend, a new location, and new fun. To check out Destination Outdoor for yourself, visit destinationoutdoor.com for more information.

 

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Jan/Feb 2023 issue of Tread Magazine.