2025 Chevy Tahoe Joins Suburban to Uphold Big SUV Dominance

In an era of electrification, it is almost jarring to see an automaker unapologetically introduce an internal-combustion engine that gets between 15-20 mpg (15.7-11.8 L/100 km) plus a turbodiesel that gets up to 28 mpg (8.4 L/100 km) on the highway.

But this is not just any vehicle. The 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe, along with its sibling, the Chevrolet Suburban, owns the fullsize SUV segment with its three rows of seating, 8,000 lbs. (3,629 kg) of towing capacity and elevated comfort. Drive one, and the idea of loading up the chassis with battery cells would seem like giving a cowboy a salad instead of steak for dinner.

For 2025, the Tahoe has been upgraded and General Motors’ turbodiesel has been added to the lineup. There’s a new front fascia, overhauled interiors for six trims and a lot of new standard equipment.

The 2025 Tahoe, 15.5 ins. (395 mm) shorter than the Suburban, starts the price/trim ladder with the LS at about $60,000 and ascends to the High Country at about $80,000. In the middle are the LT, the RST, the Z71 and the Premier.

The standard engine on all but the High Country is a naturally aspirated 5.3L V-8 producing 355 hp and 383 lb.-ft. (519 Nm) of torque. The High Country comes with the 420-hp 6.2L V-8 making 460 lb.-ft. (623 Nm). That more powerful engine is also an option on the RST, the Z71 and the Premier. All of the trim levels can also be ordered with the updated Duramax 3.0L turbodiesel.

We drove the Tahoe on a short loop course that did not involve any off-roading or towing. But we did like the diesel’s surprising smoothness and additional torque. The 5.3L felt more than adequate to handle the load of the Tahoe, though we’d like to test it while trailering. The 6.2L produced a bit of nervous torque steer on the suburban roads after we left the highway.

The Tahoe’s tow ratings range from 7,600 lbs. (3,447 kg) for the 6.2L 4WD to 8,400 lbs. (3,810 kg) for the 5.3L 2WD and 8,000-8,200 lbs. (3,620-3,719 kg) for the turbodiesel.

Fold the second- and third-row seats down, and one can see why many a millennial family opts for a Tahoe, or Suburban, or one of its competitors, instead of a minivan to haul the soccer and hockey gear and the kids who wear it.  Up front, the dash has been upgraded with a 17.7-in. (45- cm) center touchscreen. Drivers can easily customize the pecking order of frequently used apps by dragging screen favorites to the top positions for easy access. There is also an 11.0-in. (28-cm) digital gauge cluster. A nice big volume knob is stuck on the screen, though of course that is adjustable on the steering wheel too.

HVAC controls reside at the bottom of the screen, a smart choice so they aren’t buried within the menu of digital controls.

The shifter controlling the 10-speed transmission is a stalk on the right side of the steering column, leaving the console area open for other purposes, such as wirelessly charging cellphones. The console storage slides forward and aft. Second-row passengers get climate control and entertainment screens in higher-level trims.

There is an extensive menu of safety technologies including park assist, pedestrian and bicyclist alerts and automatic emergency braking. Super Cruise is now offered on both Tahoe and Suburban.

The High Country gets perforated leather seat inserts and wood trim on the dash. The High Country and Premier get upmarket features including a 10-speaker Bose audio system, heated second-row seats and ventilated front seats.

The Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban have led the mainstream fullsize SUV segment for more than 45 years. Chevrolet’s retail market share of fullsize SUVs is about 34.2%, according to GM.  Adding in its GMC sibling Yukon and Yukon XL SUVs, GM’s share adds up to 64%. Dominant, yes, but down from more than 70% when the vehicles were last fully redesigned for the 2020 model year, thanks to inroads by Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator and Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer.

The Chevy Silverado pickup, GM’s biggest profit machine, has already spawned a battery-electric version. But it’s tough to see the market for even a hybrid gas-electric engine for these fullsize SUVs. The gain in fuel economy would be negligible and towing capacities could be severely crimped. The addition of the turbodiesel to the trims seems like a smart idea to differentiate from the smaller-share rivals.

Chevrolet vice president Scott Bell says the 2025 enhancements are geared to shoring up GM’s dominance at a time when it needs the fat profits from its ICE business to offset losses on the BEV front. “Overall, they’re critical in our portfolio,” Bell says. “They’re very important to us from a profitability perspective.”