Big Family - Trade Tahoe for Suburban?

[tsltrek]

Family of 5. 2013 Suburban. Test drove a Tahoe and said if I'm getting a vehicle this big I might as well go all the way. Have never regretted it once. I can and have parked the Suburban anywhere, width is usually more of a concern than length (getting door dinged by careless others).

 

[ezstriper]

well the wheel base is longer, not just added in the rear, I will say the longer wheelbase really helps the ride quality, I have a escalade(short) and a avalanche(suburban length) and the ride is better on the av

 

[njracer]

Went from an 01 Tahoe Z71 to 11 Suburban Z71 and don't regret it at all. We are a family of 4 with 2 large dogs and both boys play soccer so at any given time there are multiple foldup chairs and one or two 10x10 EzUps in there. The extra room is great and even better when you pull out the third row.

I love the truck.....the wife HATES it! lol

 

[KSanborn]

Go Suburban/XL. Period. I'm on my second, and my wife's '10 Tahoe could be looking at it's last hurrah any day, only to be replaced with another Suburban in our garage. We have 3-kids, and 2-large dogs. Need to be able to jump in the car and go, and not worry about who has what vehicle.
As my dad loves to say regarding the Suburban vs Tahoe debate...."once you're going forward, what does the length of the vehicle behind you matter?". He's on his 3rd Suburban. I'll catch him soon.
The other response on here that said you'll hear Tahoe owners say they wish they'd bought a Suburban, but never the other way around, is 100% correct.

 

[Larryjb]

I got the Tahoe. The deciding factor for me was the ability to put it in the garage. A Suburban wouldn't fit. If I need more storage space on a trip, we're packing too much. If I'm getting 8' long material, I can use the roof rack. However, this simply reflects my needs.

 

[Fosscore]

Suburban/XL hands down. Love my Tahoe, but the LWB for the kids, dog and grandparents popping in and out during the year is worth it every time. Road trips, camping, just getting around town and the ride is great. My wife came from an Odyssey after 10 years and was nervous about the length, parking, turning, doors, etc...

Other than her recent curb rash, she wheels that big land yacht with style, she backs it in, loves the features, the room (2nd row buckets) and all the bells and whistles the LTZ offers. Get the XL and you have the bigger motor already in your favor and that extra cargo room that the SWB cannot even compete with.

I don't think you will regret it for 1 minute. Just my .02.

 

[dirtydenali07]

07 Denali XL and 01 Ford Excursion here. 6.2 vs 6.8. I love the room that having a full size (for the width) long wheelbase (for the cargo room)gives us. Three kids, one in a booster and youngest in rear facing car seat. As said before, we have folding chairs and a stroller in the back of the Yukon, with the third row seats folded up, and I carry enough tools in my X that I could disassemble it if need be. I usually have the third row taken out of the x, but the storage unit is full, so it's back in. Sometimes my wife wants to get a Tahoe or Yukon, but that's mostly because she doesn't like to(can't) parallel park. Other than that, no regrets having longer vehicles. Just need to lift them to get height-to-length ratio a little better.

 

[intheburbs]

You won't regret the extra size of the Yukon XL/Suburban. I've owned three different homes while I've owned Suburbans, and they've fit in all 3 garages. Yes, there's about six inches of room left, but they do fit.

If you're a hot-rodder, I'd recommend a Yukon XL Denali or the Escalade EXT. They have the 6.2 motor, with 400+ HP and I guarantee either one is significantly quicker than your Tahoe. You can't get a Suburban with the 6.2. My 6.0 Suburban will outrun 5.3 trucks all day, but my Sierra Denali with the 6.2, 1000 fewer lbs and 50 extra horsepower is scary-quick for a truck. It also eats Hemis all day. Only thing that can beat it is the 3.5 EcoBoost.

 

[adventurenali92]

The length of the burb/XL does take some adjusting. But for me that's because I went from a Dodge Durango to a Yukon xl. Big difference in wheelbase between the 2. I learned how to maneuver it pretty quickly and I don't think it's an issue at all. I always park further away in grocery store lots and such anyways so that made parking a bit easier with the xl.
Edit: I agree with @dirtydenali07 , parallel parking the XL is like trying to park a school bus. It does suck. But I was never very good at that anyways. So I just avoid parallel parking and find regular parking and that solves that problem! Haha

 

[S33k3r]

We have a Tahoe and a Suburban. My wife had the choice of a Denali (she hated the seat layout -- 2nd row bench), Suburban (it needed all new leather for the seats), and the Tahoe we bought (it, apparently, was JUST right). However, driving her Tahoe, I realized that I really wanted a Suburban, and her Tahoe just didn't work as a people mover AND a cargo hauler (it was good at one OR the other). So I started looking at Suburbans, and even she admitted she probably should have gotten the Suburban.

I eventually found the one I am driving, and I have slowly been restoring it.

If you can get the Suburban, given the circumstances you described, get the Suburban.