Chevy’s full-size SUVs have undergone minor exterior updates and an impressive interior makeover as they approach 2025. And we mean better when we say different. The 2025 Tahoe and Suburban accomplish a clever trick by maintaining the physical controls while capturing the neatness of a minimalist cockpit.
A More Powerful Diesel Engine
The 3.0-litre turbocharged Duramax diesel engine was tricked into producing a little bit more power by the engineers. The announcement may be obscured by the eye-catching new decor, but it could be the greatest subtle upgrade for these influential figures. Undoubtedly, whether you go for the six-pot diesel or the V-8 engine, the massive Suburban and marginally smaller Tahoe continue to consume copious amounts of fuel. To be honest, the Duramax produces all the power you require and is your only chance of getting above 20 mpg. even if you choose the brand-new, 24-inch wheels—the biggest that the manufacturer has ever supplied for these enormous SUVs.
Quick Specs: 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe / Suburban
- Engine: 5.3-Liter V-8 / 6.2-Liter V-8 / 3.0-Liter I-6 Diesel
- Output: 305 – 420 Horsepower
- Weight: 5,509 – 6,053 Pounds
- Base Price / As Tested: $60,495 / $86,195
Modernized Interiors with Physical Controls
Recently, Chevrolet has had a lot of success with its interiors. With the 2025 revisions, the Suburban and Tahoe will get a huge centre touchscreen that seamlessly integrates into a digital driver display, like the other SUVs in the Bowtie lineup. This model’s 17.7-inch centre screen is audacious and resembles the next-generation Traverse in both dimensions. It feeds into the driver display, which is an 11.0-inch screen that comes standard on all trim levels, from the base LS to the top-of-the-line High Country. Wide climate control vents are tucked away behind the primary display, and a tidy row of knobs and buttons for fast (and simple) climate control is situated beneath that.
A Stunning Cabin with Smart Design
Pictures don’t fully convey the renovated interior. Even in a vehicle as big as the Suburban RST, I drove through the Fort Worth, Texas, backstreets, screens take centre stage in the front cabin. As a consequence, the interior of the car feels utterly contemporary while still featuring practical, tactile buttons for frequently utilized functions.
Physical buttons are significant for this category, according to Chevrolet, and they won’t be eliminated. That’s “good,” but the interior’s seamless integration of digital and analogue components by Chevy makes the car “great.” Chevy currently has it more balanced than most other automakers..
Seamless Tech Integration
It’s easy to access everything but the most hidden car settings—which you should never access while operating a motor vehicle. This includes the systems that are still present in the Tahoe and Suburban, such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. When I inquired about the future of the widely used technology—which General Motors had promised to eventually remove from all of its cars—a Chevy representative remained ambiguous. But both remain very much a part of the Tahoe/Suburban experience—at least for the near future. When it comes to navigation, Google is the default app if your phone is not with you. It remains the finest in the industry.
Shifting Concerns
Things aren’t all hugs and puppies inside, however. Amid the modernized cockpit, Chevy adds an honest-to-goodness column-mounted shifter for 2025. It’s identical to the small stalk used in the Equinox and Traverse, but this isn’t an old-school PRNDL mechanical linkage. It’s digital and easy to use; simply pull back and down for drive, or back and up for reverse. Park is engaged with a button on the end of the stalk, but there’s a problem.
The self-centring lever can inadvertently engage reverse if, say, it slips out of your fingers while going into drive. This happened to me a couple of times during my short first-drive experience. And I also once engaged in reverse when I thought I was in park, but that was purely my mistake. Years of driving a column-shifted Silverado have conditioned me to shift up for park, but it’s a habit that all experienced PRNDL drivers could find difficult to break.
Safety Concerns and Driving Impressions
More worrying is the “bounce” from drive to reverse that can happen. If you don’t glance at the driver display or notice the “R” illuminated on the stalk before setting off, accidentally reversing into something is a legitimate possibility. And let’s be honest for a moment—engaging drive on an automatic transmission generally doesn’t elicit the most attention from a driver. I can easily see this becoming an issue that eventually leads to either a redesign or a safety recall.
With the right gear finally engaged, though, I can say the 2025 Suburban and Tahoe feel pretty much like last year’s models. That’s because the 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8 engines carry over unchanged, along with the 10-speed automatic transmission and multi-link suspension. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a full-size SUV with more space for cargo and passengers—up to nine if you choose the LS and nix the front bucket seats for a split bench.
Performance on 24-Inch Wheels
The ride is still comfortable too, even with new 24-inch wheels wearing Bridgestones with a 40-section sidewall. I expected a tooth-jarring experience on the big wheels, and to my defence, there is noticeably more harshness with the 24s. But that only comes through on truly broken roads, and even then, it’s easily tolerable. If you often find yourself on dirt roads, I’d recommend sticking with the smaller rolling stock. But there’s no denying the visual punch of the 24s on something as big as a Suburban.
Diesel Dominates: The 3.0-Liter I-6 Engine
Be it dirt roads or paved ones, I definitely recommend the 3.0-litre I-6 diesel over the V-8s. The refreshed Suburban/Tahoe now has the 305-horsepower version of the mill, but of greater benefit is the engine’s 495 pound-feet of torque. That’s a 35 lb-ft increase, and you feel it for everyday driving. I sampled this engine in both a Tahoe Z71 and flagship Suburban High Country; the torque lets you easily flow with slower-speed city traffic, but there’s still enough punch to cruise at 80 mph on the highway.
Fuel Efficiency and Real-world Numbers
It’s an efficient choice, too. When I stepped out of the High Country diesel, the on-board mileage display sat at 21 mpg—an impressive number considering a bunch of journalists had been hot-footing it for several days. The RST and its 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8 showed just 15.5 mpg, but it’s worth noting these aren’t official EPA stats. Those ratings will come later, but I have little reason to believe they’ll be far removed from my real-world experience.
Pricing and Value
It’s not inexpensive to enter the world of full-size, body-on-frame SUVs. For slightly more than $60,000, the base 2025 Tahoe LS with two-wheel drive nonetheless comes with a stylish cabin that emphasizes technology and a host of standard driver-assist features. In contrast, the price of an outfitted Suburban High Country is $86,195, clearly putting it in the premium category. You can get an entry-level Cadillac Escalade ESV for just a few hundred bucks more.
According to Chevrolet, the Suburban and Tahoe LS, which cost more than $60,000, are “affordable” and crucial for customers looking to join the spacious three-row market. Once the redesigned models hit dealerships by the end of the year, we’ll see how those consumers react.
