Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4X4 Review

A Sequoia is one of the largest trees you'll ever see. A great name for a vehicle meant to do battle with the Chevy Tahoe...since Sequoias (the tree) tower over Tahoe (the lake).

You really can't knock the Sequoia on merit...it's a Toyota...solid, rugged, with a reputation that fairly screams reliability.

But what seemed like a great idea at the time ("Let's make the Tahoe look small!") seems like an iffy-ish proposition now.

There are people for whom this size SUV is not only a good match but nearly a necessity. Those folks just need to figure out whether the Sequoia Platinum 4X4 (it would take forever to list what is standard...just surf to the Toyota website for the list) is worth a base price outlay of $57,625 (more than $23,000 above a base Sequoia), not to mention an as-tested price that edges above $60,000 with the addition of a rear-seat entertainment system, cold kit, Dynamic Laser Cruise Control (really!), daytime running lights and a cargo mat.

The timing seems all wrong for that kind of excess...but Toyota's not alone. Chevy dropped off a Tahoe LTZ yesterday. It stickers at $57,335 as equipped. Which I always thought was Escalade money, just as the Sequoia Platinum 4X4 price seems more in line with Lexus SUVs.

Like I said, you can't knock either of these vehicles but is anybody really looking for a version of an SUV that's nearly $25,000 more than the base model? Use the comments feature to discuss.