Positive press -- Suburban

[jfnz24]

Wheels: Suburban a hit with one big flaw

Thursday, July 13, 2006
By Don Hammonds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Here's one for all you trivia lovers. Finish this advertising jingle: Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and .... Unless you have a really bad memory or have somehow missed all the recent radio and television ads -- perhaps cute to some and annoying to others --you know the answer is Chevrolet.

The exclusive automotive sponsor and official vehicle of Major League Baseball was in town this week for the All-Star Game, hosting all manner of special events, and providing an all-new 2007 Chevy Suburban for a test drive.

I usually research what other car writers are saying about products before I get them, and based on the buzz, Chevy's hit at least a triple with the Suburban. If it weren't for one glaring omission -- and unfortunately, it's a major one -- Suburban would be a home run. But more on that later.






The Chevrolet Suburban gets 15 miles per gallon in the city and 20 on the highway.
Click photo for larger image.





There are several models in the Suburban lineup. Half-ton LS models start at $37,190, 1/2-ton LTs start at $37,960, the 3/4-ton LS models start at $38,375, and 3/4-ton LT models start at $39,125. The top of the line LTZ model is what we tested.

Our Suburban had a base price of $39,665 but came packed with $11,490 in options, including a navigation system, power sunroof and auxiliary transmission cooling system, that brought the price to $52,030.
For that price, you do get quite a lot of standard equipment, including head curtain side air bags, OnStar, anti-lock brakes, "StabiliTrak" traction and stability control, full power equipment, running boards, heavy duty trailer equipment, and automatic headlamps.

Power comes from a 5.3-liter, 320-horsepower V-8 that is rated at 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway. The mileage is helped by a cylinder deactivation feature that shuts down some of the cylinders when they are not needed for extra sudden acceleration or other situations requiring more power.
The Suburban looks elegant, and in black appears much more prepared for a black tie event than a baseball game. It turned heads, raised questions and generally got lots of positive attention.

Inside, it has been redone top to bottom, with a lot more substantial materials, many with "soft-touch" instead of the hard stuff seen in Suburbans of old. Everything fits together well and tolerances are tighter than ever.

With the lower dashboard and redesigned gauges, it resembles a luxury car more than a truck, and as usual, all the controls work smoothly and silently. Chevy has one of the best setups in the business for making sure you can see everything clearly and easily -- even at night.

There's a more precise rack and pinion steering system, and combined with the rear-vision camera system now offered, it's a snap to park this big baby. I also suspect that the turning circle in the Suburban is much smaller than those in many similar products because it's much easier to park than even a lot of smaller SUVs.

Inside, there's room and comfort galore, and there is no better companion for a big family headed out on a road trip. What makes the difference here is that this is one of the few SUVs in which you can carry a full load of seven to nine passengers and still have plenty of room behind the third row seat for luggage. Maximum cargo capacity in the Suburban is 137.4 cubic feet. That puts it right at the head of the class.

Now about that glaring omission.
If you have any reason for folding down or removing the third row of seats, you'd better get ready to take in your belt and roll up your sleeves. I had to climb deep into the Suburban to work with the seats. After struggling with the heavy seats, I nearly tumbled to the ground behind the Suburban.

Article continued at link:http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06194/705470-97.stm

[Cortazzo]

Yeah, the seats are are major weakness in the 900s and everyone has complained about them, oh well. Besides, the suburban has so much room behind the seats it would be very seldom that you needed to remove them.

[give_it_all_]

Awesome Glad the press is positive about the beast.

[tgagneguam]

These GMT-900's are so well done. And the Tahoe/Suburban exterior design seems to be my preferred version.

I know that because GM is adopting the practice of constant improvement (ahem), it will address what appears to be the only feature about which apparently many people-the author of this article included-find reason to criticize this vehicle.

[coaster.n3rd]

Does the center console in the 3rd row come out as well?

[akbar]

I think the Lambdas will not only take away the Tahoe/Yukon sales, but also the Suburban and Escalades. In a year's time I am not confident of enough GMT 900 demands to keep 3 plants (Wisconsin, Texas & Mexico) at optimum utilization.
In terms of interior packaging the Lamda's look to be better. Advantage of GMT 900 could be the towing capacity & supposed off-road capability.
Maybe someone can post a commentary comparing & critiquing the Lambda's vs the GMT 900

[ChevroletRevived]

Great news, the 900's are great. I like the Suburban alot. I think alot of people will consider a Lambda over a 900 SUV. I know I am. I'm thinking of keeping my old Suburban for off road/towing and the Lambda just for on-road. But, I'll have to test drive both of them before I make my decision..

[jwrebholz]

These really are great trucks. And who ever would have thought you could get 20 MPG out of a tank like that?

[ChevroletRevived]

Originally Posted by jwrebholz

These really are great trucks. And who ever would have thought you could get 20 MPG out of a tank like that?

Amazing, huh? That's GM Engineering for you.

[cfch3399]

Wonder what the real life mileage is on those things.

Originally Posted by jwrebholz

These really are great trucks. And who ever would have thought you could get 20 MPG out of a tank like that?

[FireStorm2k]

Originally Posted by coaster.n3rd

Does the center console in the 3rd row come out as well?

looks like the "center console" in the 3rd row is split in half, and attached to the seats on either side..

[jbartley]

He "almost tumbled to the ground" after trying to remove the seats?

Well I suggest the following:

a) remove them correctly
b) get to the gym
c) don't drink and try to remove seats

[ChevyRules]

Originally Posted by jwrebholz

These really are great trucks. And who ever would have thought you could get 20 MPG out of a tank like that?

I get 20 MPG highway out of my 2002 Chevy Suburban 4wd. I wonder with DOD/AFM, how much that will improve. Anyway, really these people must be stupid or something. The 3rd row seat in my Suburban is a easy to get out. Flip, one button, folds the seat. Another detaches it from the floor and drag it along. Then hop out of the trunk and carry the seat. It is a bit heavy, but I can lift it. I don't work out much either.

[KAH24]

Originally Posted by jwrebholz

These really are great trucks. And who ever would have thought you could get 20 MPG out of a tank like that?

I had a 1972 gmc suburban with a small block 400 and an Edilbrock (yea I know I don't now how to spell) efi, and I would regularly get 18 to 20 in that beast, and that was old tech.

[Shotgun]

Originally Posted by KAH24

I had a 1972 gmc suburban with a small block 400 and an Edilbrock (yea I know I don't now how to spell) efi, and I would regularly get 18 to 20 in that beast, and that was old tech.

Sounds very true. Seems like truck and SUV gas milage hasn't really improved that much over the years. Cars have a little, but not to some grand degree.