diff --git a/NEWS.rst b/NEWS.rst
index 36a681e..6e5c8ff 100644
--- a/NEWS.rst
+++ b/NEWS.rst
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ New Features
 * All augmented assignment operators (except `%=` and `^=`) now allow
   more than two arguments.
 
+Other Breaking Changes
+------------------------------
+* ``HySequence`` is now a subclass of ``tuple`` instead of ``list``.
+  Thus, a ``HyList`` will never be equal to a ``list``, and you can't
+  use ``.append``, ``.pop``, etc. on an expression or list.
+
 Bug Fixes
 ------------------------------
 * Statements in the second argument of `assert` are now executed.
diff --git a/docs/language/internals.rst b/docs/language/internals.rst
index a89b356..2fb29bc 100644
--- a/docs/language/internals.rst
+++ b/docs/language/internals.rst
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ Adding a HySequence to another iterable object reuses the class of the
 left-hand-side object, a useful behavior when you want to concatenate Hy
 objects in a macro, for instance.
 
+HySequences are (mostly) immutable: you can't add, modify, or remove
+elements. You can still append to a variable containing a HySequence with
+``+=`` and otherwise construct new HySequences out of old ones.
+
 
 .. _hylist:
 
@@ -90,11 +94,6 @@ HyDict
 ``hy.models.HyDict`` inherits :ref:`HySequence` for curly-bracketed
 ``{}`` expressions, which compile down to a Python dictionary literal.
 
-The decision of using a list instead of a dict as the base class for
-``HyDict`` allows easier manipulation of dicts in macros, with the added
-benefit of allowing compound expressions as dict keys (as, for instance,
-the :ref:`HyExpression` Python class isn't hashable).
-
 Atomic Models
 -------------
 
diff --git a/hy/compiler.py b/hy/compiler.py
index 34a9dd5..7b48822 100755
--- a/hy/compiler.py
+++ b/hy/compiler.py
@@ -1345,17 +1345,16 @@ class HyASTCompiler(object):
 
     def _compile_assign(self, root, name, result):
 
-        str_name = "%s" % name
-        if str_name in ("None", "True", "False"):
+        if name in [HySymbol(x) for x in ("None", "True", "False")]:
             raise self._syntax_error(name,
-                "Can't assign to `%s'" % str_name)
+                "Can't assign to `{}'".format(name))
 
         result = self.compile(result)
         ld_name = self.compile(name)
 
         if isinstance(ld_name.expr, ast.Call):
             raise self._syntax_error(name,
-                "Can't assign to a callable: `%s'" % str_name)
+                "Can't assign to a callable: `{}'".format(name))
 
         if (result.temp_variables
                 and isinstance(name, HySymbol)
diff --git a/hy/contrib/hy_repr.hy b/hy/contrib/hy_repr.hy
index 3baaebb..a3c7631 100644
--- a/hy/contrib/hy_repr.hy
+++ b/hy/contrib/hy_repr.hy
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@
     (hy-repr (dict x)))))
 
 (for [[types fmt] (partition [
-    list "[...]"
+    [list HyList] "[...]"
     [set HySet] "#{...}"
     frozenset "(frozenset #{...})"
     dict-keys "(dict-keys [...])"
diff --git a/hy/contrib/multi.hy b/hy/contrib/multi.hy
index 1a19fc9..c84adf9 100644
--- a/hy/contrib/multi.hy
+++ b/hy/contrib/multi.hy
@@ -70,9 +70,6 @@
        (with-decorator (method-decorator ~name)
          (defn ~name ~params ~@body))))
 
-(defn head-tail [l]
-  (, (get l 0) (cut l 1)))
-
 (defmacro defn [name &rest bodies]
   (setv arity-overloaded? (fn [bodies]
                             (if (isinstance (first bodies) HyString)
@@ -83,14 +80,10 @@
     (do
      (setv comment (HyString))
      (if (= (type (first bodies)) HyString)
-       (setv [comment bodies] (head-tail bodies)))
-     (setv ret `(do))
-     (.append ret '(import [hy.contrib.multi [MultiDispatch]]))
-     (for [body bodies]
-       (setv [let-binds body] (head-tail body))
-       (.append ret 
-                `(with-decorator MultiDispatch (defn ~name ~let-binds ~comment ~@body))))
-     ret)
+       (setv [comment #* bodies] bodies))
+     (+ '(do (import [hy.contrib.multi [MultiDispatch]])) (lfor
+       [let-binds #* body] bodies
+       `(with-decorator MultiDispatch (defn ~name ~let-binds ~comment ~@body)))))
     (do
-     (setv [lambda-list body] (head-tail bodies))
+     (setv [lambda-list #* body] bodies)
      `(setv ~name (fn* ~lambda-list ~@body)))))
diff --git a/hy/contrib/walk.hy b/hy/contrib/walk.hy
index d30f29e..691645e 100644
--- a/hy/contrib/walk.hy
+++ b/hy/contrib/walk.hy
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 ;; license. See the LICENSE.
 
 (import [hy [HyExpression HyDict]]
+        [hy.models [HySequence]]
         [functools [partial]]
         [importlib [import-module]]
         [collections [OrderedDict]]
@@ -17,9 +18,7 @@
   (cond
    [(instance? HyExpression form)
     (outer (HyExpression (map inner form)))]
-   [(instance? HyDict form)
-    (HyDict (outer (HyExpression (map inner form))))]
-   [(list? form)
+   [(or (instance? HySequence form) (list? form))
     ((type form) (outer (HyExpression (map inner form))))]
    [(coll? form)
     (walk inner outer (list form))]
@@ -46,22 +45,24 @@
   (setv module (or (and module-name
                         (import-module module-name))
                    (calling-module))
-        quote-level [0]
+        quote-level 0
         ast-compiler (HyASTCompiler module))  ; TODO: make nonlocal after dropping Python2
   (defn traverse [form]
     (walk expand identity form))
   (defn expand [form]
+    (nonlocal quote-level)
     ;; manages quote levels
     (defn +quote [&optional [x 1]]
+      (nonlocal quote-level)
       (setv head (first form))
-      (+= (get quote-level 0) x)
-      (when (neg? (get quote-level 0))
+      (+= quote-level x)
+      (when (neg? quote-level)
         (raise (TypeError "unquote outside of quasiquote")))
       (setv res (traverse (cut form 1)))
-      (-= (get quote-level 0) x)
+      (-= quote-level x)
       `(~head ~@res))
     (if (call? form)
-        (cond [(get quote-level 0)
+        (cond [quote-level
                (cond [(in (first form) '[unquote unquote-splice])
                       (+quote -1)]
                      [(= (first form) 'quasiquote) (+quote)]
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ splits a fn argument list into sections based on &-headers.
 returns an OrderedDict mapping headers to sublists.
 Arguments without a header are under None.
 "
-  (setv headers '[&optional &rest &kwonly &kwargs]
+  (setv headers ['&optional '&rest '&kwonly '&kwargs]
         sections (OrderedDict [(, None [])])
         header None)
   (for [arg form]
@@ -169,7 +170,7 @@ Arguments without a header are under None.
                                                 #{})))))
   (defn handle-args-list [self]
     (setv protected #{}
-          argslist `[])
+          argslist [])
     (for [[header section] (-> self (.tail) first lambda-list .items)]
       (if header (.append argslist header))
       (cond [(in header [None '&rest '&kwargs])
diff --git a/hy/core/macros.hy b/hy/core/macros.hy
index 1021c76..e1d5d48 100644
--- a/hy/core/macros.hy
+++ b/hy/core/macros.hy
@@ -48,16 +48,14 @@ be associated in pairs."
 
 
 (defn _with [node args body]
-  (if (not (empty? args))
-    (do
-     (if (>= (len args) 2)
-       (do
-        (setv p1 (.pop args 0)
-              p2 (.pop args 0)
-              primary [p1 p2])
-        `(~node [~@primary] ~(_with node args body)))
-       `(~node [~@args] ~@body)))
-    `(do ~@body)))
+  (if
+    (not args)
+      `(do ~@body)
+    (<= (len args) 2)
+      `(~node [~@args] ~@body)
+    True (do
+      (setv [p1 p2 #* args] args)
+      `(~node [~p1 ~p2] ~(_with node args body)))))
 
 
 (defmacro with [args &rest body]
@@ -87,29 +85,19 @@ Shorthand for nested with/a* loops:
 
 The result in the bracket may be omitted, in which case the condition is also
 used as the result."
-  (if (empty? branches)
-    None
-    (do
-     (setv branches (iter branches))
-     (setv branch (next branches))
-     (defn check-branch [branch]
-       "check `cond` branch for validity, return the corresponding `if` expr"
-       (if (not (= (type branch) HyList))
-         (macro-error branch "cond branches need to be a list"))
-       (if (< (len branch) 2)
-         (do
-           (setv g (gensym))
-           `(if (do (setv ~g ~(first branch)) ~g) ~g))
-         `(if ~(first branch) (do ~@(cut branch 1)))))
+  (or branches
+    (return))
 
-     (setv root (check-branch branch))
-     (setv latest-branch root)
-
-     (for [branch branches]
-       (setv cur-branch (check-branch branch))
-       (.append latest-branch cur-branch)
-       (setv latest-branch cur-branch))
-     root)))
+  `(if ~@(reduce + (gfor
+    branch branches
+    (if
+      (not (and (is (type branch) hy.HyList) branch))
+        (macro-error branch "each cond branch needs to be a nonempty list")
+      (= (len branch) 1) (do
+        (setv g (gensym))
+        [`(do (setv ~g ~(first branch)) ~g) g])
+      True
+        [(first branch) `(do ~@(cut branch 1))])))))
 
 
 (defmacro -> [head &rest args]
@@ -213,7 +201,7 @@ Such 'o!' params are available within `body` as the equivalent 'g!' symbol."
   (defn extract-o!-sym [arg]
     (cond [(and (symbol? arg) (.startswith arg "o!"))
            arg]
-          [(and (list? arg) (.startswith (first arg) "o!"))
+          [(and (instance? HyList arg) (.startswith (first arg) "o!"))
            (first arg)]))
   (setv os (list (filter identity (map extract-o!-sym args)))
         gs (lfor s os (HySymbol (+ "g!" (cut s 2)))))
diff --git a/hy/models.py b/hy/models.py
index fbced02..55d0b79 100644
--- a/hy/models.py
+++ b/hy/models.py
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ class HyComplex(HyObject, complex):
 _wrappers[complex] = HyComplex
 
 
-class HySequence(HyObject, list):
+class HySequence(HyObject, tuple):
     """
     An abstract type for sequence-like models to inherit from.
     """
@@ -256,7 +256,8 @@ class HySequence(HyObject, list):
         return self
 
     def __add__(self, other):
-        return self.__class__(super(HySequence, self).__add__(other))
+        return self.__class__(super(HySequence, self).__add__(
+            tuple(other) if isinstance(other, list) else other))
 
     def __getslice__(self, start, end):
         return self.__class__(super(HySequence, self).__getslice__(start, end))
@@ -326,10 +327,10 @@ class HyDict(HySequence):
                 return '' + g("HyDict()")
 
     def keys(self):
-        return self[0::2]
+        return list(self[0::2])
 
     def values(self):
-        return self[1::2]
+        return list(self[1::2])
 
     def items(self):
         return list(zip(self.keys(), self.values()))
diff --git a/tests/native_tests/contrib/walk.hy b/tests/native_tests/contrib/walk.hy
index 2e59cfe..08922bf 100644
--- a/tests/native_tests/contrib/walk.hy
+++ b/tests/native_tests/contrib/walk.hy
@@ -21,17 +21,16 @@
              walk-form)))
 
 (defn test-walk []
-  (setv acc '())
-  (assert (= (walk (partial collector acc) identity walk-form)
+  (setv acc [])
+  (assert (= (list (walk (partial collector acc) identity walk-form))
              [None None]))
-  (assert (= acc walk-form))
+  (assert (= acc (list walk-form)))
   (setv acc [])
   (assert (= (walk identity (partial collector acc) walk-form)
              None))
   (assert (= acc [walk-form])))
 
 (defn test-walk-iterators []
-  (setv acc [])
   (assert (= (walk (fn [x] (* 2 x)) (fn [x] x)
                    (drop 1 [1 [2 [3 [4]]]]))
              [[2 [3 [4]] 2 [3 [4]]]])))
@@ -44,19 +43,19 @@
   (assert (= (macroexpand-all '(foo-walk))
              42))
   (assert (= (macroexpand-all '(with [a 1]))
-             '(with* [a 1] (do))))
+             '(with* [a 1])))
   (assert (= (macroexpand-all '(with [a 1 b 2 c 3] (for [d c] foo)))
-             '(with* [a 1] (with* [b 2] (with* [c 3] (do (for [d c] foo)))))))
+             '(with* [a 1] (with* [b 2] (with* [c 3] (for [d c] foo))))))
   (assert (= (macroexpand-all '(with [a 1]
                                  '(with [b 2])
                                  `(with [c 3]
                                     ~(with [d 4])
                                     ~@[(with [e 5])])))
              '(with* [a 1]
-                (do '(with [b 2])
-                    `(with [c 3]
-                       ~(with* [d 4] (do))
-                       ~@[(with* [e 5] (do))])))))
+                '(with [b 2])
+                `(with [c 3]
+                   ~(with* [d 4])
+                   ~@[(with* [e 5])]))))
 
   (defmacro require-macro []
     `(do
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@
                '(foo `(bar a ~a ~"x"))))
     (assert (= `(foo ~@[a])
                '(foo "x")))
-    (assert (= `(foo `(bar [a] ~@[a] ~@~[a 'a `a] ~~@[a]))
+    (assert (= `(foo `(bar [a] ~@[a] ~@~(HyList [a 'a `a]) ~~@[a]))
                '(foo `(bar [a] ~@[a] ~@["x" a a] ~"x"))))))
 
 (defn test-let-except []
diff --git a/tests/native_tests/quote.hy b/tests/native_tests/quote.hy
index 84371f0..9560bcc 100644
--- a/tests/native_tests/quote.hy
+++ b/tests/native_tests/quote.hy
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
   "NATIVE: test for quoting functionality"
   (setv q (quote (a b c)))
   (assert (= (len q) 3))
-  (assert (= q [(quote a) (quote b) (quote c)])))
+  (assert (= q (HyExpression [(quote a) (quote b) (quote c)]))))
 
 
 (defn test-basic-quoting []
diff --git a/tests/test_models.py b/tests/test_models.py
index b9e6a90..52d4518 100644
--- a/tests/test_models.py
+++ b/tests/test_models.py
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ def test_list_add():
     a = HyList([1, 2, 3])
     b = HyList([3, 4, 5])
     c = a + b
-    assert c == [1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5]
-    assert c.__class__ == HyList
+    assert c == HyList([1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5])
+    assert type(c) is HyList
 
 
 def test_list_slice():
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ hyset = HySet([3, 1, 2, 2])
 
 
 def test_set():
-    assert hyset == [3, 1, 2, 2]
+    assert list(hyset) == [3, 1, 2, 2]
 
 
 def test_number_model_copy():