Vehicles that can do everything have been an American tradition at least since the muscle car wars, when automakers started putting their biggest V8s in run-of-the-mill sedans. That meant young owners could cart the family around all week and race at stoplights on the weekends.
Today the SUV is the equivalent of the sedan in the 1950s and '60s in that it is the main form of transportation for Americans on wheels. General Motors, with its GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe have owned the full-size SUV segment for decades.
Thanks to Tahoe's seven- or eight-passenger seating options and strong V8, you can take the whole family, and some of the neighbors, in comfort, style and speed, on or off the road.
The 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe is part of the fifth-generation of the nameplate that began in 2021, though Chevrolet's full-size SUV roots go back almost 100 years to 1935. The RST Performance Edition (an $8,875 option over the $65,300 base price) comes with more than a dozen powertrain, chassis and suspension upgrades.
They include a 6.2-liter V8 engine that offers up 433-horsepower (hp) and 467-pound-foot (lb-ft) of torque, with a Chevrolet Performance air intake system and cat-back performance exhaust. It also gets special wheels and tires, a high-performance suspension, heavy-duty brakes along with some enhanced safety features.
As Americans like, the cabin on the Tahoe is monstrous (though about 15 inches shorter than the Chevy Suburban) and the seats are BarcaLounger soft for all body types. All three rows can fit adults, though with the rear seat entertainment package the kids will most at home in row two. The Tahoe can be ordered with bench seats for the eight-passenger layout, but this tester had comfortable and adjustable captain's chairs in the second row.
The 2023 Tahoe comes with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 15-inch-diagonal multicolor head-up display and a 10.2-inch infotainment display with Google Built-in. It also has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hotspot and six months free internet connection, which is extra useful when the children are scanning through YouTube Kids on the rear seat entertainment screens (a $1,995 option).
All of that digital wizardry might be overwhelming, save for the analog controls on the center console for almost everything. Volume, climate and tuning are all done with knobs, (there's nothing more annoying than having to button tap your way from 85 degrees to 68 while trying to keep your eyes on the road), and when you do need to tap the screen there's a little shelf on which to brace your hand.
On ignition, the 6.2-liter V8, which used to find a home the Corvette before it switched to the new 5.5-liter, will wake the neighbors before it settles into a livable idle. Despite the size and heft of the Chevy Tahoe, this engine makes it feel almost jumpy on acceleration. That's better than a small hesitation when cutting into traffic but it's enough to throw your head back if not braced for the motion.
The sound too, at anything but idle is raucous and maybe a little juvenile, and the motive force is tempting to dip into on the road. The ten-speed automatic transmission will hum along at 1,300 revolutions per minute (rpm) when the driver isn't flooring the throttle. But all passing maneuvers are greeted with a split-second gear change, a leap of the front end and a roar from the V8.
Even with the quick acceleration and the big brakes that haul this beast down easily, the 5,500-pound heft can't be hidden during normal driving. This fastest Tahoe isn't meant speeding through S turns. It's more for cruising straight over any terrain with four-wheel drive engaged, using a suspension that soaks up every pothole on the road and most of the ruts off it.
Expectedly, it's a thirsty vehicle with an EPA rating of 16 miles per gallon (mpg) combined, though we saw less than that with a slightly heavier than average foot. It has a towing capacity of 8,400 pounds meaning it can haul everything but the biggest boats and campers. In that situation, gas mileage will suffer precipitously.
Giant SUVs are as American as apple pie. And this one, and its Suburban and GMC Yukon cousins are best sellers for a reason. It's main competitors from the U.S. including the Ford Expedition and Jeep Wagoneer, each of whom is in a race to find what buyers want most. Jeep is going with luxury and the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer come with staggering amounts of it.
But General Motors' stable is tried and true, hence its popularity. This generation of mega-sized SUVs won't change that a bit.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
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