- Styling From Different Ends of the Spectrum
- Mostly Comparable Performance
- Improved Interiors
- Different Tech Experiences
- Neither Is Cheap
Full-size truck-based SUVs aren’t as popular today as they were in their glorious heyday of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the domestic automakers were cranking them out by the hundreds of thousands. The gas price shocks and Great Recession of the late ‘00s put an end to their dominance for a time, as consumers switched to smaller, more sensible car-based SUVs. But that doesn’t mean the big behemoths have gone away, just that they’ve become more specialized in terms of who they appeal to.
The Ford Expedition has been around since the beginning of the craze. Based on the F-150 pickup, the SUV comes in two lengths and can seat seven people in comfort, tow, go off-road, haul a bunch of stuff or cruise boulevards looking good. New for the 2022 model year is the Stealth Edition Performance Package, which adds the high-output twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, a sport suspension and blacked-out looks that make it the (relative) street fighter of the lineup. It’s a popular choice for people looking for a full-size SUV despite its hefty sticker price these days.
There’s also a new arrival on the full-size SUV scene that bears a familiar name: the 2023 Toyota Sequoia, which is based on the all-new 2022 Tundra. Everything about it is new, from its frame that’s shared with the latest Lexus LX 600 SUV to its standard hybrid twin-turbo V-6 powertrain to its audacious looks.
The question then becomes: What has Toyota wrought? Is the new Sequoia, which has gone 14 years without a significant update, good enough to hang with the refreshed players in the class like the latest Expedition? I recently had some back-to-back seat time in both the new Sequoia and a 2022 Ford Expedition Limited Stealth Edition Performance to see how they compare.
Styling From Different Ends of the Spectrum
The Expedition looks much like it always has: It’s sleek, simple and has clean lines that work to deemphasize its size. Believe it or not, it’s within millimeters of being the exact same size as the Sequoia despite the Toyota looking like a much bigger SUV when parked side by side. That’s due to the differences in the Toyota’s styling: It’s much more blocky, aggressive and styled to look like an off-road machine than the Ford’s on-road appearance. Both are considered Limited trim levels, but the Expedition takes it a step further with the Stealth Edition Performance Package, blacking out a lot of the trim, adding big painted wheels and making the truck look as sporty as a two-box, seven-passenger, pickup-based SUV can look. The Sequoia’s Limited trim instead accentuates things like the fender flares done in a contrasting black, giving it a more trail-ready look.
Frankly, this is a subjective decision based on the customer’s preference in the matter. Want the blocky and aggressive look? The Toyota does it well. Looking for a more sophisticated, slickly urban feel? The Ford nails it.
Mostly Comparable Performance
Both of these big SUVs are powered by twin-turbocharged V-6 engines, but that’s about the only similarity between them. The Expedition has a high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that comes with the Stealth Edition Performance Package. Its hefty 440 horsepower and 510 pounds-feet of torque are routed through a standard 10-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive is optional. The Toyota, by contrast, employs hybrid technology to augment its own twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. Total system output is 437 hp and 583 pounds-feet of torque, also routed through a standard 10-speed automatic transmission with optional four-wheel drive.
Suffice it to say both of these powertrains are outstanding, with plenty of power on tap to move their respective SUVs with speed and quickness that’s astonishing for vehicles this size. Both engines are fiercely powerful, with acceleration that throws everyone back in their seats. The Toyota has a rumbling growl that’s almost certainly more sound effect than actual exhaust noise; the Ford, on the other hand, has a performance exhaust as part of the Stealth Edition Performance Package, so the noises making their way into its cabin are real. Both powertrains are smooth in their power delivery, with the Toyota using its electric drive augmentation to cut the engine out now and then, or to start itself moving in electric mode with the gas engine quickly chiming in.
Both SUVs also ride and handle with a mix of compliance in preventing road imperfections from entering the cabin and sufficient body control to allow for decent high-speed cornering on twisty roads. The Sequoia does experience more pronounced body roll than the sportier Expedition, which enjoys a sport tune to its suspension that makes for a stiffer ride, though not punishingly so. The more surprising take is that the Toyota doesn’t suffer dynamically from reverting to a solid rear axle from the previous generation’s independent rear suspension. The Ford still retains that setup; it doesn’t seem to benefit it much when it comes to handling, however. Both feature strong brakes that are able to haul the big SUVs down from high speeds with ease and confidence.
Even though they’re evenly matched, the Ford pulls a little ahead because of its fuel economy. My week with the 2023 Sequoia saw it return just 15 mpg combined, considerably less than its EPA-rated 19/22/20 mpg city/highway/combined rating. By comparison, the Expedition got 19 mpg combined during my week with it, pretty much nailing its 16/22/18 mpg EPA rating. The fact that the Toyota significantly underperformed in fuel economy despite being a hybrid is surprising, and it makes me question what use the hybrid system is if it’s not providing any benefit versus a non-hybridized twin-turbo V-6 of the same displacement. One possible explanation: The Sequoia is heavier than the comparably sized Expedition, likely due to the addition of its electric drive components and hybrid battery pack, plus the Expedition’s significantly greater use of aluminum body panels.
Improved Interiors
Ford seems to be continuously improving its interiors, with the latest Expeditions featuring cabins that are finally starting to feel like they’re worth the money being charged for them. The Stealth Edition Performance Package added to the Limited brings dark leather seats, red stitching in the seats, doors and dash, and dark trim throughout to give it a sophisticated, upscale look. There are still plenty of actual buttons for controls, as well — not everything has gone touchscreen like on some newer vehicles — and everything is easy to locate and use.
The new Sequoia is a vast improvement over the old one in terms of layout, materials and assembly quality, design and style. It has a different feel than the Expedition, with a high, blocky dash and squat windshield that make outward visibility more challenging than in the airier, taller-feeling Expedition. Driving the Expedition feels like driving a smaller, easier-to-handle SUV, while the Sequoia feels like a tank. The Toyota’s front row feels more cramped than the Ford’s, with a super-wide center console that makes for a tighter cabin. The second row in both of these SUVs is spacious, with plenty of legroom, but the third row is very different between the two.
Simply put, adults fit comfortably in the Expedition’s third row, and they do not in the Sequoia’s. Blame the decision to go with a solid rear axle in the Toyota versus the Ford’s independent rear suspension. Atop that (literally) are the Toyota’s hybrid batteries that make for a taller floor in the cargo area and third row, which means cramped seats that don’t fold flat and are best suited for children. The Ford’s second and third rows fold flat, enabling you to slide in long items, sheets of plywood or lots of big suitcases; the Sequoia, despite its size, has a severely compromised cargo area where even a trip to Costco can be a challenge to keep things from falling all over or rolling around. It’s frustrating that two of the main reasons to buy a full-size SUV — plentiful cargo room and a usable third row of seating — aren’t well served by the Sequoia.
Different Tech Experiences
The Expedition’s setup uses the latest Sync 4A system and is displayed on a massive, vertically oriented 15.5-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen. It offers a lot more functionality and customizability, allowing the operator to change the layout, add custom shortcuts and make it into something uniquely their own while displaying everything they want — and eliminating things they don’t.
Meanwhile, the Sequoia features the brand-new Audio Multimedia system, a clean-sheet design displayed on a horizontally oriented 14-inch touchscreen. The system is much less versatile and displays a lot of wasted screen real estate in any mode other than navigation. It doesn’t have a “home” screen — it simply displays whichever function you’ve tapped from the menu bar on the left. And in some screens, such as audio playback, you’re left with a big screen displaying a whole lot of nothing. Toyota’s system also relies heavily on cloud-based data processing. That’s great if you have a cellular data subscription and want to link your Google account with the car, but it stinks if you’re somewhere without a data signal and suddenly find yourself without certain features like navigation.
Neither Is Cheap
From a price perspective, neither of these behemoths is cheap. The cheapest Expedition available as of this writing — the XLT, as the XL STX trim is not currently being built — starts just a few hundred dollars shy of $60,000 (prices include destination fee). The loaded Expedition Limited Stealth Edition Performance Package I tested stickered at just short of a stunning $84,000, with the Stealth Edition Performance Package adding nearly $10,000 to the bottom line all on its own. The Toyota Sequoia starts at a similar price of almost $60,000. The Limited model I drove rang in just shy of $72,000, but even if you option up a Sequoia to the top luxury Capstone trim, it still doesn’t break $84,000. The Expedition, on the other hand, can be optioned up to $90,000 for its top trim level, which is jaw-dropping money for a mass-market brand — yet people are paying it, so it must not be too much. Still, the Toyota does have the upper hand here in keeping pricing at least comparably reasonable.
The old standby Ford Expedition has been continually improved to the point where it truly is an exceptionally comfortable, easy-to-use, comparably efficient, technology-loaded seven-occupant family hauler (with a soul-crushing price tag). But the brand-new, completely redone Toyota Sequoia is attractively styled and impressively powerful. However, while excellent to drive, the Sequoia struggles to do some of the things that it should do without issue, like haul seven full-sized humans or carry a bunch of stuff.
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Keyword: 2023 Toyota Sequoia Vs. 2022 Ford Expedition: How Do the Big SUVs Compare?