Tahoe vs Suburban

[krutoy]

Good morning everyone, my name is Mike and I am a “new guy” here at TYF. I am sure I will be asking the questions that have been answered (I just can’t find them yet), but here they are.

I currently have a Trailblazer 5.3 V8 (LOVE IT) and looking to purchase a Tahoe or a Suburban. Anything I should know about the performance, gas millage etc Tahoe vs Suburban? I have a large family, and I think Suburban might fit us batter but I am just not sure. On www.chevy .com it says that Tahoe does about 15-21 mpg and Suburban 13-18. When I drove the Suburban, the sticker said 15-21mpg. Need some help guys. I think Suburban is tooooooo long, but I might not have a choice.

 

[1slowtahoe]

I got my tahoe with third row....suburbans are a little to long for my taste.......lol.......gas mileage after my mods is pretty bad....when I first got it tuned it I would get around 450 miles on a full tank.....now I get 250 miles on a full tank.....but I do drive a little faster after my mods....lol......btw welcome to the forum

 

[07Burb]

Welcome to TYF

I, too, was weighing your very same decision 2 years ago and we decided on a Suburban. The reason is we take road trips a few times a year and have 3 kids. 3 kids require considerable cargo space to haul all of our crap around and also require 3 rows for seating capacity. With that a Tahoe or Yukon would NOT have been sufficient because the cargo space behind that 3rd row is minuscule at best! So that was the deciding factor for us. Things like MPG and that kinda thing is a negligible difference between the two as well. We get 18 MPG on the highway with our Burb when it's loaded down which I find to be pretty decent.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents

 

[Suburbinator]

We went Suburban for the cargo space. Kids take up all three rows, and every little bit helps. But there are two Burbs' and two Hoes' in the extended family, and everybody is happy.
Longer truck = more weight, but realistically, overall performance is darn near identical. The NNBS Burb has hit a best of 21mpg highway average, compared to 18mpg for my '02, over the same highway runs.

 

[THE YETI]

We average about 15mpg between city and highway on the Burban. I dont think the gas issues are considerable enough for a Tahoe to outweigh a suburban, just gotta get used to the size. Some guys can't handle having something so big.. Lol.

 

[07Burb]

We average about 15mpg between city and highway on the Burban. I dont think the gas issues are considerable enough for a Tahoe to outweigh a suburban, just gotta get used to the size. Some guys can't handle having something so big.. Lol.

 

[LuSe4]

If you have a big enough family that you will use the third row, be aware that the Tahoe's third seat is very tight and there is no cargo room behind it when in use. I would get the Suburban if I were you. It is too big for me, but it is just my wife, me, and my Lab with no kids..........ever! Lol.

 

[felixgun]

I have one kid and with a stroller in the back we can't even have the third row seats down. Once I have another kid in the next few years i'm definitely going Suburban. If you have a big family the Burb or Yuk XL is the only way to go really... gas mileage difference in both of those is not a big enough factor to matter.

 

[domin8]

OP, can you explain what you mean by having a big family? I have opinions to, but which to encourage you to purchase it's dependent upon your situation.

For me, I bought the Tahoe. Yes, I only have 1 kid right now, but we want to have 4 when all is said and done. My Tahoe has the bench seat in the second row and 50/50 (mini) buckets in the 3rd row. This has afforded me more flexibility than those with captains chairs in the second row. Reason being, I have had situations where I needed to seat 4 people while hauling tables and chairs and much more. All of this fit without a single complaint because the 2 people in the second row were fairly comfortable. For this particular situation I did have the 3rd row folded flat. For everyday use, I keep my 3rd row folded forward and in the truck at all times. I carry a 3-wheeled jogging stroller at all times in the back, along with several other things. When I did need to seat 7 people in my truck I had 6 adults and an infant. 2 of the adults, both female, say in the 3rd row. They actually had compliments abort how spacious it was compared to other vehicles 3rd rows, i.e. Jeep Commander. One of those ladies had also been in the 3rd row of a GMC Acadia. They said the Tahoe offers slightly better leg room. As for the length of the truck, I'm not bothered by its lack of length, our the length of a Suburban. I have a CDL and have drive Gillig Low Floor buses. If I can get one of those through the tight streets and corners of Park City, Utah I'm sure the little SUVs will be no problem. In fact I love the corner ability of these trucks. Being able to square a turn is awesome, unlike my last car. The only reason I went with a Tahoe over a Suburban, besides lack of available options in my area (such as 4wd), my wife doesn't like driving large vehicles and was very nervous with a Suburban. She says the Tahoe is a little bit much, but more manageable. She prefers something more carlike such as the GMC Acadia.

 

[07Burb]

For what it's worth....there's no way I would do a second row bench with three kids in car seats and booster seats. That doesn't work well at all.