Still not for us: Chevrolet gives Tahoe and Suburban brawny update

With its bakkie sibling, the Silverado, having benefitted from a number of updates since its debut five years ago, Chevrolet parent company, General Motors (GM), has now afforded the equivalent Tahoe and Suburban their first mid-lifecycle tweaks since sales started in 2019.

Outside and underneath

Key models for GM, the GMT T1XX underpinned Tahoe and Suburban’s aesthetic makeover mirrors that of the Silverado Heavy Duty by consisting of C-shaped LED headlights, redesigned front and rear bumpers, a gloss black logo bar regardless of the trim level, and a new animation for the new taillight indicators.

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In a first for both nameplates, the sporty RST and luxury High Country derivatives feature the option of 24-inch alloy wheels, while two new colours; Cypress Grey and Lakeshore Blue Metallic, round the exterior off.

Underneath, Chevrolet has offset any dimensional gains by revising the chassis and suspension, as well as recalibrating the electric power steering.

Model depended though, the off-road focused Z71 and RST benefit from GM’s Air Ride Adaptive Suspension with automatic load levelling and damping, although as an option, this can be swapped-out for the Magnetic Ride Control system fitted as standard to the Premier and High Country.

More techier

Once again comprising six trim levels; LS, LT, RST, Z71, Premier and High Country, the Tahoe and Suburban’s interior adaptations are more extensive and consist of a new 11-inch digital instrument cluster and a 17.7-inch infotainment system across all variants.

The later now angled towards the driver and replacement for the previous 10.2-inch unit, Chevrolet has also fitted a new steering wheel, redesigned the centre console and replaced the push-buttons for the 10-speed automatic gearbox with a new selector located on the steering column.

New on the safety side, albeit not standard on all, is a cloud-connected 360-degree surround-view camera system, an automatically sensing electric tailgate, improved array of towing tech and from 2025, GM’s fully autonomous Super Cruise system.

Boosted diesel

Up front, the Bowtie brand has retained the previous three engine options, but revised the 3.0-litre Duramax straight-six turbodiesel to produce 227kW/671Nm as opposed to 206kW/624Nm.

Sales are, however, only expected to start in 2025 on all trim levels, including the Z71 for the first time.

Unchanged are the petrol options made-up of the 5.3-litre V8 developing 265kW/519Nm and the High Country-only 6.2-litre V8 rated at 313kW/623Nm.

As mentioned, the only transmission option across all three powerunits is the 10-speed ‘box co-developed with Ford.

RHD for Down Under only

Set to enter production next year at GM’s Arlington Plant in Texas, sales of the Tahoe and Suburban will remain a left-hand-drive only affair with no plans to offer the steering gear on the right anytime soon.

Confirmed for introduction in 2025 though, the mechanically related GMC Yukon and Yukon XL will both have right-hand-drive, but only in Australia via General Motors Special Vehicles (GMSV) that replaced the former Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) division following the Lion-brand’s demise three years ago.

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