In the heat of summer, under the bright lights of Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas — home field of F.C. Dallas — Toyota showcased several of their key new vehicles for 2022 and 2023. We spent a few hours with the 2022 Corolla Cross, the 2022 Tundra Capstone, and the 2023 Sequoia, test driving them on the roads and highways surrounding the stadium. What a story just a few miles can tell!
2022 Corolla Cross First Impression
The soul of a hatchback in a compact SUV form, the Corolla Cross strikes both familiar and fresh notes at the same time. Many design cues in the Cross that will remind Toyota fans of the standard Corrolla but the added interior room will remind you more of the RAV4. The Cross sits lower to the ground compared to the RAV4, giving it an agile and sporty feel. This is a car perfect for a young driver who loves hauling around friends or needs an introductory family vehicle.
On the road the Cross feels lively but only when its in higher revolutions. Acceleration is sluggish and the engine loudly protests its efforts but straightaway speed isn’t the point here. The Cross is about comfort and casual driving suitable for the day to day commute. The Cross comes packed with a 2.0 liter four-cyclinder engine attached to a continuously variable automatic transmission – together they produce 169 horsepower.
The Cross is roomy, both in front and in back, and while I didn’t have my daughter’s car seats available to place inside, the rear of the cabin appears to be plenty spacious and should accommodate car seats and more. 24 cubic feet of cargo space behind that second row is a useful amount to work with and laying down the rear seats flat offers up even more possibilities.
Word from Toyota is that a hybrid version is coming down the pipeline and I can’t think of a better vehicle suited for that type of power setup. The current Cross already garners an impressive 31 miles per hour in the city and 33 miles per hour on the highway. The extra mileage a hybrid version would bring to the table could make the Cross an even more attractive option in the future.
The 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross starts at $28,8840.
2022 Tundra Capstone First Impression
The Toyota Tundra is all new for 2022, stepping in for a Tunda generation that was nearly a decade old. This new iteration is chock full of new design, new tech, and a new swagger that keeps the Tundra at the top of the Truck heap. Apparently, Toyota also heard the clamoring from some of its fanbase who wanted an ultra premium trim level that could compete with the likes of say, GMC’s Denali lineup. Toyota’s answer is the 2022 Tundra Capstone.
Brimming with exclusive, premium features, the Tundra Capstone cranks up the juice on an already amped truck — specifically the CrewMax cabin with the 5.5 bed version of the Tundra. Under the hood, the Capstone comes equipped with the top-level I-Force Max turbo-V6 hybrid powertrain that produces 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque. It’s a powerful experience and during my limited time test driving it, I was thrilled to find that it not only made for a comfortable ride but it actually felt quite nimble for a truck of its size.
Of course all I wanted to do was park it somewhere and admire all the details, big and small. The 22 inch chrome wheels are spectacular and the fact that the molding surrounding the gigantic maw of a grill is now the same color as the rest of the truck makes for a much more cohesive front end. Inside, the semi-aniline leather seats were uber comfortable, the dark walnut trim across the interior was swanky, and the Capstone-exclusive black-and-white interior scheme is a thing of a beauty. I was also interested in learning that the Capstone is the only Tundra that comes with acoustic front windows that aid in creating a quieter ride.
I felt like a badass sitting in and driving the 2022 Tundra Capstone but realistically I’d have to be banking like a badass to afford one. Starting at just above $74,000, the Capstone certainly carries a premium price tag, especially considering that the base level of the Tundra begins at a reasonable $36,000. Still, it’s easy to see why the Capstone is top dollar when everything about it is top billing. I wasn’t expecting to find my new favorite premium truck at this event but this just might be it.
2023 Sequoia First Impressions
Now that the Land Cruiser has been retired, the Sequoia is the new flagship SUV in Toyota’s lineup. My family is in the market for a third row SUV and with that in mind, I took a hard look at what makes the 2023 Sequoia tick. I found that the Sequoia’s appeal could secretly lie in its foundations — namely the foundation belonging to its cousin, the Tundra. The Sequoia shares the modular platform of Toyota’s full size truck and as such the Sequoia feels brawny and tough.
All new for 2023, the Sequoia looks every bit modern in design and surprisingly aggressive. I dig the hard lines throughout the exterior body design and the fact that the 2023 Sequoia is actually 3 inches longer than last year only adds to its long and lean shape. The Sequoia’s frame isn’t the only thing it shares with the Tundra either — a similar I-Force Max turbo-V6 hybrid powertrain sits under the hood. This engine configuration provides a confident and comfortable drive, though I’ll admit the experience wasn’t something I would call “thrilling.”
The Sequoia sports an undated interior design as well, one that proves much more spacious and luxurious upfront then it does at the rear of the vehicle. The driver and the passenger seats are roomy and Toyota’s new 14 inch infotainment screen looks perfectly at home in the dash. I’m not a fan of large screens in vehicles but the horizontal hulk of a screen feels proportional in the Sequoia and I quickly found navigating Toyota’s new user interface software a joy.
I had my wife climb into the third row of the Sequoia to get a feel for leg room. Interestingly, the third row seats can be moved forward and backward to accommodate for extra legroom at the expense of cargo area. With the seats pushed back, my wife enjoyed ample leg room but she had a bit of difficulty getting in and out of that third row, mostly due to the fact that the second row seats do not shift forward but instead fold forward. Pushed back, the third row does indeed eat up a ton of cargo space leaving very little to work with. I’ve always been of the opinion that our family would rarely use a third row so laying them flat would be my default position. However in the Sequoia, this would be an awkward cargo configuration due to the fact that the third row doesn’t lay down flat.
40th Edition 4Runner Special Edition
While I didn’t get an opportunity to drive it, I did find myself drooling over the special edition, 40th anniversary edition of the Toyota 4Runner. The sick, retro-inspired graphics drew me in, but as I approached it I was blown away by the bronze 17 inch alloy wheels and similarly bronzed front grill emblem. Against the black paint job, these colors compliment each other to glorious effect.
Only 4,040 of these 4Runners were produced this year and I can’t imagine that all 4,040 won’t be spoken for. 40 years of success deserves an edition this good looking.
Phillip is a filmmaker, an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and craft beer aficionado. He writes about cars, car tech, and various other cool Dad things. He lives, works and plays in Dallas, Texas.
