This Toyota SUV is twice as powerful as the Fortuner – And it’s coming to South Africa

South Africa will soon receive a new Toyota SUV that is far more powerful than anything you’ll find in a local showroom.

Autogroup International, a company that specializes in converting American cars to right-hand-drive, recently announced that it is importing several new models that otherwise wouldn’t be available in our market.

One of the vehicles confirmed for South Africa is the Toyota Tundra, a full-size American pickup truck that is larger and significantly more powerful than the Hilux.

It should therefore come as little surprise to learn that the Tundra’s SUV counterpart – the Sequoia – is also heading our way.

Of course, the Hilux has its own SUV sibling with the Fortuner, which means the Sequoia and the Fortuner make for a natural comparison.

The Fortuner’s big brother

The Hilux and Fortuner are undoubtedly big cars compared to your typical hatchback or sedan, which makes it all the more incredible that these vehicles are only considered midsize by international standards.

The USA famously likes oversized automobiles, which is why the Tundra and Sequoia are classified as full-size models.

To give you a better sense of what we’re talking about, these are the dimensions for the Toyota Fortuner and the Sequoia.

In fact, the Sequoia’s size means its arguably more comparable to either the Prado or the Land Cruiser 300, which are shown below:

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe the Sequoia as a monstrous Toyota, which is a description that can just as easily apply to the engine.

Like the Tundra, the SUV will be imported to South Africa in two specifications – TRD Pro and Capstone – which are described as the “off-road ready” and “luxury flagship” options, respectively.

Both versions are fitted with the automaker’s i-Force Max hybrid engine, which combines a 3.4-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol plant with an electric motor.

This gives the Sequoia a tremendous output of 325kW and 790Nm – roughly twice as much power and 35% more torque than the uprated Fortuner GR-Sport.

For comparison, this is the highest output available on the Fortuner, Prado, and Land Cruiser.

The Sequoia is so powerful, in fact, that it can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 5.6 seconds, meaning the 5.2m-long SUV can keep up with a Polo GTI hot hatch.

It also features a 10-speed automatic gearbox and a four-wheel-drive system.

Even more exciting is the fact that the TRD Pro has special off-road suspension with heavy-duty Fox shocks and a rear diff lock.

The vehicle sits atop 18-inch alloy rims, which are wrapped in 33-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tyres.

Furthermore, the SUV comes with Toyota’s Multi-Terrain Select function with various driving modes and Crawl Control (off-road cruise control).

Naturally, the car’s equipment sheet is just as impressive, as a few of the highlights include a 12.3-inch digital driver display and a 14-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It also comes with a 14-speaker JBL stereo, a moonroof, ambient lighting, a heads-up display, heated and ventilated front seats with lumbar support, a heated leather steering wheel, a wireless charger, a 360-degree camera, and three-zone climate control for the three seat rows.

Autogroup stated that the Sequoia is now available for pre-order, though it unfortunately did not disclose the vehicle’s pricing.

As you’d imagine, it won’t come cheap, as the TRD Pro retails for $80,000 in America – the equivalent of R1.4 million at the current exchange rate.

While that sounds pretty good, given that the Prado sells for roughly the same amount here, the real price is likely to be much higher once you factor in import duties and the cost of the right-hand-drive conversion.

The vehicles are being imported to South Africa via another company, Rospa International, which is based in Durban.

Each model is backed by a 3-year/100,000km warranty, and after-sales support is provided by Rospa, which has technicians stationed in South Africa’s major cities.

Toyota Sequoia