2021 Chevy Suburban

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: If you regularly need to haul a family, a bunch of stuff, and-- I don't know-- a boat or two, the Chevy Suburban has long been your vehicle of choice. And it's been redesigned for 2021, and now it has more of everything-- more space, more power, more capability, more cargo capacity, and on, and on. And it's actually a bit nicer to drive too thanks to some fundamental changes happening underneath. I actually happen to like it quite a bit In this video, we're going to explain why and everything you need to know about the Suburban, and click the links below to see more of what we have going on over at Edmunds, including a full review of this vehicle. Also check back later for a video review of the Chevy Tahoe as well. But let's stick to this for the time being. The suburban comes in six different trim levels from the base LS to the offroad inspired Z71 to this, the High Country. Prices range from about $50,000 to about $75,000. This High Country with all the options it has equipped is just over $80,000. Now when it comes to the changes on the outside, you really can't see a lot because the changes aren't that dramatic. Overall length is like within an inch of the previous generation, but the wheel base has been enlarged. The wheel is the distance between the front axle and the rear axle. And by making that longer, Chevy's been able to increase the interior space overall for passengers and cargo. The other change is something you can't really see unless you stick your head underneath, and that's Chevy's changed from a solid rear axle to an independent rear suspension. We'll talk about what that is and why it affects the driving experience. But for the time being, just know it's a more compact suspension setup that allows the floor to be a bit lower to also give you more space. How much space? Try 145-cubic feet with the second and third row folded. I've left the driver's side up and the second row just like you get a picture of how much space you're working with. It's massive. And even if you drive around in a more common configuration where the third row's folded but the second row is lifted up, you still have 94-cubic feet of cargo space. Not only is that more than the Expedition Max in a similar configuration, it's so much that it's actually kind of hard to picture. So just for the sake of illustration, that's 2 and 1/2 times as much as you would get in a Honda CRV. Yeah, it's a smaller vehicle and a much less expensive vehicle, but it's a much more common one so just to give you a reference of how much space you're actually working with. Now when you lift up the third row. Sometimes they take a little bit to respond. Although, I do like the fact that they're power controlled. You still have 42-cubic feet of space, and that is massive. I like all the power controls on this too. Power folding tailgates are cool, but every SUV these days has those. What every SUV doesn't have, though, is the pop-out rear glass, which has already popped because I've done this take a couple of times. What's cool about this space though is that if you've got a big dog like I do you, you pretty much already know why this is cool. But going further on down here, when you get the advanced trailer tow package, you get a pretty nice setup behind this little plastic piece, which is cool if you want to cover this stuff up. There we go. Here are your trailer hookups nice and cleanly integrated. You also get a trailer break controller. And max tow capability for the Suburban as it sits right now with a 6.2 liter V8 and so on, you can get up to 8,300 pounds. But, of course, getting that figure requires specific options and configurations, and it can be a little confusing how to track down what's applicable to your vehicle. What's nice, though, with this Suburban, and the Tahoe, and a couple others like the Silverado and such, Chevy now has a sticker on the doorjamb that tells you the specific towing and payload rating for your specific vehicle as it's equipped. That's really cool so are quad tailpipes, which you only get with the 6.2 liter V8. When you get inside the Suburban, there is a lot to look at and a lot to talk about. So brace yourselves, right? The general look and feel of the High Country is quite nice, I got to say, especially for the money that they're asking for the High Country trim level. I got to say. I drove a Z71 earlier this week, though, and the interior look and feel was just not as nice as this obviously, but it did cost quite a bit. So I have to say the interior quality and appearance is nicer than what you'd find in a Silverado. But if you're truly looking for that like upscale experience, you have to wait for the Escalade and GMC Yukon Denali. What we see here, though, in the High Country is quite nice and especially with regard to usability. There's, again, a lot of details to talk about. The first thing you might notice when you hop in is this center infotainment touchscreen display. It's 10 inches, and the placement and functionality works really well. It's actually kind of deceiving how big the screen is. You don't really notice that until you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and then those screens look really, really nice on this display. Now both of those phone projection systems work wirelessly or wired. You can use either one. You also have wireless charging down here as well. I got a call that my colleague, Mark Takahashi, when using wireless or Apple CarPlay had a couple of audio issues. I didn't experience those, but we got call them out. Now to the right of that, you have this little storage cubby here, which is interesting because it's kind of deep. And I was wondering what you could put in there until I put a candy bar in there. And then I realized, oh, that's a pretty good place to store candy bars, or skittles, or what have you. To the left of that is the shifter, and the shifter design is unique, I think we should state. Because it looks like it's a push button solution, but it's not. You push Park for park. You push Neutral for neutral. But if you want drive or reverse, you lift up on those toggle switches. We'll talk more about how that works while we drive it. For the time being, I'll just say it takes a little bit to get used to. Now directly in front of you, you have analog gauges and then a digital screen in between that's really crisp and easy to read. And then you have a massive head-up display on the High Country that's really nice. I wonder if it's too big, but I really like it for the brief time that I've had driving this car. Moving down the center stack, I like the use of buttons and knobs. This is really easy to use, really simple, really intuitive. There's not a lot of fussing around that you've got to do with the center stack. Now, when it comes to center console storage, you may sit here and think like, wow, OK, you got cup holders, cup holders, and then you've got this storage bin. Is that it? No, that's not it because the center console can slide back. I got to say, the first time I saw that I was kind of blown away because that's really cool. This isn't going to be on all Suburbans and Tahoes, but it's optional. I think it's worth getting, though, just by looking at it. Because not only do you now have this massive area for bags or other stuff, you also have a drawer here you can open up. And then you still have access to this storage area too, which is really large. Not only that, but the back seat passenger-- the second row passengers now have access to these cup holders as well. So a really cool setup which segues into where do you put Arnie? Where do you contain Arnie? And there's frankly no shortage of places to put him. You have the wireless charging pad here. You have the cup holders here. You have this big place here for Arnie to play in. You can stow him away there were no one can find him. You've got this massive area here. You've got this place here. You've got these little spots on the side of the transmission tunnel to take him. And not only that, but also on the doors-- on both driver and passenger front doors you have cubbies at the bottom. But you also have this elevated area here for phone storage as well. There's no shortage of places for Arnie to hide in. Also connectivity-- upfront you have a 12-volt outlet, a USB-C, and then a traditional older style USB port. And that's it for the front seats. As we get to the second row, let's talk about how the second row seat operates. There's a couple of neat things about these seats. One is they can slide forward and back, so you can control the amount of legroom that the second row has, also the amount of space you have available to the third row. When you fold the seats flat, they actually lower a little bit. So that way when you fold the third row you actually have a flat load floor, and that's really neat. And when they flip up, you have a ton of space to access the third row. These are, of course, the captain's chairs. You can get this with a bench in the second row, but this is what we have for the purposes of reviewing. I'll call out that putting the seat back in place, especially folding it back up, does require a bit of muscle. So just be aware of that. As we hop inside, you'll notice that of course there isn't storage here because there's no center console here because there's a wide open pass through. But there is a ton of space in the second row. And then you also get the sliding center console in the front row so you can have more access to stuff to put things. Connectivity's really strong because this High Country has the optional second row seat entertainment package, which adds these massive tablets that are really clean and easy to read. They're also adjustable to like that. And their inputs are really neat because you have two HDMI ports, two use USB-C ports, and then one 110-volt outlet. That means you can bring in your devices so your kids can bring their Nintendo Switch, for example, and get their "Animal Crossing" on while they're in the second row while you guys are going on your road trip. I like that a lot. Just be aware that there's no traditional older style USB ports. So if you have an older phone or device, you'll need to get an adapter of some kind. And also the rear doors back here have a similar neat storage solution as the front doors where you have the traditional cubby at the bottom, and then you also have another cubby right above that. And take a look at how big that sunroof is. Nice. To show off the third row, I got to get back in there. So I'm going slide this second row seat back as far as possible and sort of squirm my way back here. Now, I'm about 5' 10" and 185 pounds, and I have a ton of space back here. My knees just barely touch the second row, which is slid all the way back. And I have a ton of headroom here. Chevy's been clever and cut out a bunch of space in the roof so taller folks can sit back here. And the seats are not fantastic, but they are workable. Now in terms of interior storage in the third row, I've got space for Arnie-- very important-- a smaller cup holder right here, and then a USB-C port right there. And that's the same on both sides. This is a pretty large space back here for a full-size adult, although you'd probably put kids back here. It's nice to know you have this option to transport larger people should you have the need. And when it comes to getting out, you don't need to wait for mom. You've got a button that'll drop the seat and lift it up. How cool is that? When it comes to engines and transmissions, the Suburban is, no surprise, very similar to the Chevy Silverado. The top dog is the 6.2-liter V8 that you can only get in the High Country. It's got 420 horsepower, and you can only get it in the High Country for reasons. It's the one I want in every other trim level. But hey, it is what it is. That's got a 10-speed automatic like every other engine that you can get with the Suburban. Speaking of, the Suburban will come with a 3-liter turbo diesel straight six. That'll be available later. Chevy says Q4 of 2020. And that'll be nice because it's got a ton of work. I want to say like 460-pound-feet. And it also means it'll have a higher tow rating most likely, and you won't have to stop that often for fuel. You get a ton of range out of a tank of diesel, which is really neat. Now most Suburbans will be powered by a 5.3-liter V8. That'll be the most common engine because it's in most trim levels. That has 355 horsepower. And though adequate, it's not as fun to brag about because the twin turbo V6 in the Ford Expedition does make more power, though, I think. Most people get along just fine with that V8. As for fuel economy, the 5.3-liter V8 has 18 MPG combined from the EPA. The 6.2 has 17 MPG combined, and adding 4-wheel drive to either engine drops your average combined MPG one. I can't believe I remembered all that. [ENGINE REVVING] 6.2-liter V8 goes good, sounds good. So when we talk about driving the Chevy Suburban, there's no getting around the sheer size of this thing. This is a massive vehicle, and you're never going to be able to hide that. But what you can do is you can make a vehicle this big easy enough to drive, manageable enough to drive through city streets like Los Angeles, for example, where I've been driving this for a while. Now there's a couple ways that Chevy's been able to do that. The biggest change, of course, from this generation is the independent rear suspension. But when you combine that, as Chevy has, with air suspension and MagneRide, it makes things even nicer. Now what are those things? Well, the air suspension are air springs essentially. And the MagneRide you've probably heard when talking about performance cars before. But really what it is a type of adaptive suspension damper or shock that uses a magnetically reactive fluid, and it's able to change the viscosity of that fluid through magnetism-- through the magic of magnets-- to adjust the damping characteristics. Now, that's a really long-winded way of saying it's an adaptive damper that reacts really quickly. And combined with an air spring, you have a suspension that's able to read road conditions and adjust based on the speed that you're going and the type of driving that you're kind of driving, if that makes sense So your suspension's able of lowering a couple of inches at freeway speeds to help fuel economy or when you're parked to make it easier to get in and out. And it's also able to rise up when you have it in like 4-wheel drive low with the 4-wheel drive models to give you additional ground clearance. That air suspension's also capable of adjusting for load leveling. So it can always make sure that the vehicle's riding flat whether you're towing, or you've got load distributed inside. It's all really nice stuff. Now on top of that, Chevy's dialed in some really nice steering into the Suburban. I drove this High Country, and I drove a Z71. And I was actually pretty impressed by the steering assistance-- the resistance and the feedback coming from the rest of the car. It makes a vehicle-- again, of this size-- really easy to place within its lane. That's all nice stuff. When it comes to engines and transmissions, when you have a 10-speed automatic, it kind of doesn't matter which engine you have attached to it because the gears are so narrow. It's going to make use of that power when you step on the gas. The 5.3-liter V8 that I experienced in the Z71 trim level Suburban was totally fine. When it comes to the 6.2, that additional power is noticeable. It's really nice when you nail the gas and you can feel that resulting acceleration. Let's do it right now. [ENGINE REVVING] That's good. And yes, it's more of a bragging right to have. But man, I kind of like big V8s, and I like the bragging rights that come with them. I wish it was available on the lower trim levels. Now, the V8 in the Suburbans have a wide range of cylinder deactivation. They can selectively shut down cylinders to save fuel economy much like they can with the Silverado, all the way down to none of them running when you're at a stop. Now during normal driving on the freeway through the city commute, you don't even notice when this is happening. I can't tell. The only time you can really notice the system at work is when you stop at a light and the engine shuts off. That's pretty subtle. But when the engine turns back on when you come off the brake pedal, it's a little noticeable. I sometimes turn it off because that little shutter can be a little undesirable. So depending on how sensitive you are to fuel economy, your mileage may vary. With a vehicle this big, again, we keep coming back to one of the biggest features you can think of is driving aids-- adaptive driving aides, for example. And there's no shortage of them. And the most crucial in this High Country is the exterior camera system. It's extremely extensive. There's multiple angles that show you basically every side and view of this vehicle that you would want to see when navigating in and out of a parking spot like your garage or when you're parallel parking. It really takes the guesswork out of that, and that's important because from my seating position, which is low admittedly-- I like sitting low-- that helps me take care of my blind spots. You can almost drive this thing at low speeds through a parking lot-- almost drive this thing with low speeds-- just relying on the camera system. In fact, when we've been setting up some of these exterior shots that you'll see, I was positioning it basically just using the cameras. And that's really helpful, again, with the vehicle of this size. You can never get around the size if I haven't said that enough. But you can make that size workable, nimble, and easy to maneuver around. And that's what Chevy has done here pretty well. So let's talk about ride quality because this is a heavy vehicle-- a very heavy vehicle. And it's still built on a truck platform, let's say, even though it's a really advanced one with the rear suspension the way it is. So when it comes to ride quality, what is that air suspension doing? What are those dampers doing to quell it? Well, you do get a sense of road texture. You do feel a little bit of that constant low frequency rumble from the road. I happen to like the amount of information that's presented to you. But if you do want a completely isolated ride, you're not going to get that here. And I think physics will allow you to get that here. And I think that actually ties back into the overall control that I sense when I drive this thing, where this is a vehicle that's really easy to keep position in its lane, and it's really easy to maneuver despite its size and how much it weighs. The same thing goes for the brake pedal-- really progressive in its feedback and really easy to modulate even in bonkers LA traffic where you have to drive nose to tail just to commute successfully. I don't recommend it. That's just the way things happen down here. In fact, the only thing that I really have a complaint about is this shifter. I'm not really sure where to start on this, OK? So push-button shifters can work. Unique shifter designs can work. My favorite kind of shifter is just a column-mounted shifter like you get on a Silverado-- really tactile. You know exactly what you're getting into. You pull down for drive, and you pull lower for lower gears. You push up all the way for park. With here, it's different. That's to be sure because you're pressing buttons for park and neutral, and you're pulling up for a drive and reverse. Yet there's no texture difference on the upshift and downshift button. So you do have to refer to them when you want to downshift and upshift gears manually like when you're going down a grade. And when you're pulling a three-point turn, you have to pay closer attention. Let's show you what that looks like. OK, so what we're going do now is demonstrate why I have some challenges with this shifter. And the way we're going to do that is we're going to make a three-point turn on an intentionally narrow road to simulate what that's like when you have to do it when traffic's coming at you. It's not great. So I'm going to give that a try as soon as traffic is not nearby. I did not mean to ride in there. So I got to place my hand in this position to make sure that I have the right kind of leverage over the buttons. Turn in, grab reverse, back up. The seat vibrates when I'm getting near an obstacle, and that works. And it works because I've practiced at it a few times. I found that if I place my hand like this where my ring finger's underneath Drive and my index finger's underneath Reverse, I can make it work. Now, make it work is different than what I'd prefer it to be, and that's just a console-mounted shifter or a steering column mounted shifter that's more natural to me. So just be aware that, that shifter's going to take some getting used to. But overall, I think this is a really nice vehicle to drive given the capability it has to take on and the weight and size that come as part of that capability. Really strong here. So that wraps up this review of the Chevy Suburban, and let's look at the scorecard. Really on the negative side of the ledger you only have a couple of weird things like a somewhat strange shifter design and the fact that you can only get the 6.2-liter V8 in the High Country. Everything else though is really, really strong from the interior space to the functionality, from the technology and the sheer usability of the Suburban. It's such that we're really eager to pair it against the Ford Expedition Max. [MUSIC PLAYING]