A massive Toyota Sequoia SUV, seen on a dusty day in Beijing. The Sequoia was modified quite a lot, with raised suspension, huge all terrain tires, side steps, and a roof rack with four search lights.
The super cool wheels are manufactured by Pro Comp and branded as Metal Mulisha, a clothing brand. The helmet and the S look a tad too Nazi Germany for me, but apparently that’s okay today.
The Toyota Sequoia is made in the United States and primarily developed for the American market. The first generation was made from 2000 until 2007, and the current generation debuted in 2008 and continues until today. Our Beijing car is an early second generation example.
Toyota officially sold the first generation Sequoia in China from 2003 until 2007. Then they stopped selling it until 2010. In 2017, Toyota stopped selling the Sequoia once again, due to new Chinese emission regulations that applied to carmakers’ entire lineups. These regulations also killed the Toyota 86 in China.
In China, the Sequoia was only available with the big 5.7 liter V8 engine, with an output of 386 hp and 544 Nm. The motor was mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox, sending horses to all four wheels. The ‘flex fuel’ engine can run on petrol or ethanol, but that isn’t of much help in China where ethanol for vehicle-use is very rare.
Price for the Sequoia started at 1.1 million yuan in 2010, which was a lot of money. Still, Toyota managed to sell quite a few of them and it was a popular vehicle among wealthy outdoorsy folks who like to head for the steppes of Inner Mongolia in the weekends. Even now the Sequoia is still popular, there is no official import anymore, but many cars arrive via the gray market, where Chinese dealers buy their cars directly from dealers in the U.S. I will post some more Sequoia’s later on!
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