05/09/2008 18:09. Second time was the charm for Toyota Sequoia.

A redesign for '08 improved it all around, with an extra forward speed in its transmission (there are six now), a new fully independent suspension, more interior room and the availability of 381 hp. and 401 foot-pounds of torque from an optional 5.7-liter V-8.

Fuel economy is still dreadful, of course, but that goes with the territory. My tester had the 5.7-liter engine and averaged 15.3 to 15.4 miles per gallon, in a roughly 80-20 mix of highway and suburban local driving. So, the EPA estimates, 13 city and 18 highway, are accurate.

The standard engine is the same as last year, a 4.7-liter V-8 that, for '08, delivers 276 hp. and 314 foot-pounds of torque and whose economy is EPA estimated at a no-better 14 mpg city, 17 highway. At least... // Newsday