
A Chevrolet Suburban driving down the street certainly garners gawking and staring from a large crowd. It’s not because of its speed, it’s not for the show it puts on, but it is rather for the simple size and brute force this massive SUV represents. As the largest in the Chevrolet lineup the Suburban, which was fully redesigned last year, offers a great deal of fantastic features and ability to make this one of the most luxurious workhorses on the market. The only competitor for size is the Ford Expedition EL which can’t hold a candle to what the Suburban has to offer; yes the Suburban is certainly still the king on the road.
As I mentioned when you see it you nearly have to stop and stare. This SUV is such a symbol of Americana you expect each model to come equipped with flag holders on each side with the stars and stripes flying proudly. This is a massive box shaped SUV that doesn’t mind being a box; that’s how you get the space that this brawler offers. The lines are long and show some elegance to the vehicle and with an intelligent use of tinted windows and chrome accents there is no mistaking this is truly a vehicle to behold and admire.
From the inside you are presented with space galore. It feels like you will need your copilot just to fly this big boy on any road and you might wonder if it’s actually too wide for a standard lane size, but don’t worry, it fits. The interior is upgraded in many ways to make sure you can have a comfortable and appeasing ride on any road. The third row will fold flat to give you plenty of extra cargo space and when in use the third row is large enough for adults to enjoy the ride.
When you are inside the Suburban you might notice the generous amount of equipment that is in place. The base LS model will give you beautiful cloth upholstery, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, the MyLink system with an eight-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth streaming and audio and much more to give you a luxury filled ride at the base price. Moving to the LT the added standard features include forward collision alerts, lane departure warning, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, power adjustable pedals and much more. At the LTZ the upgrades include the rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, and upgraded audio system, heated and cooled seats, Magnetic Ride Control, 20-inch wheels and everything else you can imagine as a standard offering.
The options for the Suburban are many, but just to go over a few, you can order your Suburban with a front bench seat to allow the vehicle to haul nine people at one time, the navigation system, a rear seat entertainment system with a Blu-ray player, a power sunroof, several different wheel choices and a variety of wheel sizes to bring in wheels as large as 22-inches to ride in style and comfort.
Now that we discussed all these great features, which two stand out as the most impressive? Actually the entire interior layout with all the flow of an artist and the sensibility of a military member make the inside of the Suburban one the best ever laid out. The other feature that stands out is the exterior style which is large and impressive. You can’t do much with a box, but Chevrolet found a way to capture our attention with this big brute that doesn’t overdo it with the chrome but instead uses tinted windows to get the same great feeling.
With all that the Suburban offers what exactly do you have here? This is a cavernous vehicle that offers the ability to answer nearly every question asked. If you need a vehicle that can do the work, this one can answer the call just as much as it can be a smooth and elegant ride for all inside. For this new model year the Suburban adds the Driver Alert Package which adds the safety features mentioned along with a new eight-inch screen and some new colors to give you plenty of great choices for this beauty.
Of course with such a massive vehicle you need to have the power to carry it down the road. This big boy uses a 5.3-liter V8 engine that brings in 355 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque. With this engine attached to the six-speed automatic transmission you can enjoy the fuel mileage of 16 city/23 hwy mpg for the 2WD model and 15 city/22 hwy mpg for the 4WD version. The towing capacity for this beast comes in at 8,300 pounds which is more than enough to get the job done or bring the boat to the lake.
You have to know the Suburban is one of the most expensive vehicles on the Chevrolet list. The base price for the LS shows up just over $50,000 for the 2WD model and an LT will begin at $56,000. The LTZ starts its pricing at $65,500 and adding the 4WD to any of the three will increase the overall price by $3,000. With so many different options to add you can easily reach up close to $80,000 for the LTZ with every feasible feature, but at this price and with all that is offered this is certainly a massive luxury SUV that makes even the luxury names shake in their shoes.
The drive in the Suburban is proof positive that science is always at work. The ride is smooth and compliant with easy to enjoy controls that make it feel as if you are driving a luxury car. With the cylinder shut off system you can enjoy a better fuel mileage when needed to make the ride even longer. Everything you need is packed into one large vehicle that is waiting for you to visit the dealership and make your selection the new Suburban. You know you want one and it about time to put one in your driveway and start planning your next great outdoor adventure.