2025 Chevy Tahoe

The Chevy Tahoe is an SUV but it’s also the replacement for the full-size, V8-powered and rear-drive American sedan – which is a type of car that’s not made anymore because the government regulated them out of existence via ever-higher “fuel efficiency” requirements that full-size, rear-drive sedans with big V8s can’t comply with.

SUVs like the Tahoe have survived because they were held to a less onerous regulatory standard than cars as regards how many miles-per-gallon they had to average, else the government would hit their manufacturer with “gas guzzler” fines mean to discourage their manufacture by making them more expensive to sell and thus less affordable to buy.

The last full-size, rear-drive, V8-standard American sedan was the Ford Crown Vic – and it’s been gone since 2011. It could seat six and it could tow – because it had a V8 and a heavy steel frame that could bear the load. These are two things not a single of the handful of front-wheel-drive/AWD and four cylinder-powered cars left on the market today offer.

Americans who need something that fills that gap have moved over to SUVs like the Tahoe. But working and middle income Americans are being pushed out of them, too – by the same government that out-regulated the full-size, rear-drive American sedan.

What It Is

The Chevy Tahoe is a full-size SUV – not a crossover SUV – with room for up to eight people in three rows. It features body-on-frame construction, like a truck and comes standard with a V8, like the full-size American sedans that were once commonly available in America until they were systematically pushed off the market by federal regs.

It is also the only SUV in its class that offers a diesel engine, too.

The Tahoe’s main rival is the Ford Expedition, which is similar except it no longer offers a V8 (once again, because of the federal regs). The Toyota Sequoia is another rival that’s similar in terms of its general layout but also no longer offers the V8 that used to come standard. All current Jeeps are powered by turbo’d sixes, too.

Tahoes start at $58,500 for the LS trim, which comes standard with a 5.3 liter V8, a ten speed automatic transmission, 18 inch wheels and rear-wheel drive. Adding the optional 4WD system bump the MSRP up to $61,500.

The LT ($61,700 with RWD, $64,700 with 4WD) adds a power rear liftgate ad leather seat covers.

The RST ($66,500 with RWD, $69,500 with 4WD) gets 22 inch wheels, and upgraded interior/exterior trim; the RST can also be optioned with an adjustable-height suspension with GM’s magnetically-controlled shocks, Brembo high-capacity brakes, a free flowing exhaust and air intake and sunroof, among other items.

The Z71 comes standard with 4WD, underbody skid plates, 20 inch wheels with all-terrain tires and higher-clearance front and rear ends. Z71 Tahoes can be ordered with the adaptive suspension and a limited slip rear differential.

The Premier ($73,100 with RWD, $76,100 with 4WD) gets second row bucket seats (replacing the otherwise standard three-across bench)  with heaters for both the first and second row and unique-to-this-trim set of 20 inch wheels.

A top of the line High Country comes standard with the 6.2 liter V8 that’s available as an option in the RST, Z71 and Premier trims, plus a set of 22 inch wheels.

What’s New For 2025

All but the base LS trim can be ordered with an updated version of GM’s 3.0 liter Duramax turbo-diesel inline six. All trims get a revised dash with a new 17.7 inch LCD touchscreen.

What’s Good

A big American sedan like they used to make them – that’s good in the snow, too.

Still comes standard with a V8; is available with a bigger one.

Priced several thousand dollars less than rivals like the Expedition ($57,345 to start) and Sequoia ($62,425) that don’t even offer V8s anymore.

What’s Not So Good

Even though it costs less than rival big SUVs, it still costs  much more than a big American car used to.

Will the huge touchscreen still be working ten years from now?

Both the optional diesel and the larger (6.2 liter) V8 are only available as options in the more expensive trims.

Under The Hood

Believe it or not, the Tahoe is the only remaining full-size SUV that still has a V8 under its hood.

The others used to but their latest iterations now come standard with turbo (and turbo-hybrid) sixes instead. These engines are much smaller – e.g., the Ford Expedition’s 3.5 liter V6 – and they don’t use appreciably less gas, but they do tout more standard horsepower. For example, the Expedition’s standard 3.5 liter twin-turbo V6 claims 400 horsepower vs. 355 for the Tahoe’s standard – and much larger – 5.3 liter V8.

But which will last longer?

The V8 doesn’t need a turbo to make sufficient (for a vehicle this size) power. A small six does. That’s a difference that may matter once the odometer and the calendar roll past the warranty period and that may matter to you if you’re planning on keeping the vehicle for longer than the warranty coverage.

If not, you may not care.

What’s inarguable is that the turbo sixes have turbos (and intercoolers and other peripherals specific to turbocharged engines) and that makes them cost more. It is probably why even though the Tahoe comes standard with a big V8, it costs thousands less than its  turbo-hybridized six competitors.

There’s also another – bigger – V8.

The Tahoe’s optional 6.2 liter V8 touts 420 horsepower and 460 ft.-lbs. of torque. This V8 is stronger than the Expedition’s standard 3.5 liter, 400 horsepower turbocharged V6 but not quite as strong as the Expedition’s optional, high-output V6, which touts 440 horsepower and 510 ft.-lbs. of torque.

The Toyota Sequoia comes standard with the strongest engine of the bunch, a turbo-hybrid 3.4 V6 combo that touts 437 horsepower and 583 ft.-lbs. of torque. The Sequoia also touts a 9,520 lbs. maximum tow rating, just shy of the class-leading Expedition’s  9,600 lb. maximum tow rating

The Tahoe’s max is considerably lower at 8,300 lbs.

Rivals’ turbo sixes may be smaller, but the torque-swell provided by the boost is what gives them more grunt to pull heavy loads.

Interestingly, the Chevy’s available turbo-diesel six – which touts 305 horsepower now and 495 ft.-lbs. of torque – does not up the Tahoe’s tow rating. But there is a reason why you might want to buy this engine; more about that below.

A ten speed automatic is standard in the Tahoe – and the Expedition. GM and Ford collaborated on the development of this transmission, so whether you buy the Ford or the Chevy you get the same transmission.

On The Road

The big American sedans of the past were long – and so is the Tahoe. It’s also tall – and wide – which makes it feel even bigger than a ’70s land yacht. This can be both enjoyable and a bit unnerving, depending on where you’re driving.

On the highway – or on multi-lane roads where there’s plenty of room to maneuver – the Tahoe (and other full-size SUVs) are commanding vehicles to be in, precisely because they are so big and so tall. They enjoy the deference accorded to big dudes when they walk down the street. But as any big dude will admit, being a big dude isn’t as great when you’re trying to walk down a narrow corridor – and it’s a similar thing with the Tahoe and its rivals. These things are nearly as wide as some country roads, which leaves not much room to pass that cyclist up ahead. It’s a similar situation trying to fit one of these big rigs into a car-sized parking spot at the supermarket.

That aside, the Tahoe’s standout driving attribute is the sound of its V8 engines. As strong as the turbo-sixes in rival big SUVs are, they lack the sound-appropriateness of a big V8 engine. This auditory incongruity is why Toyota uses sound augmentation “technology” to make its turbo-hybrid six sound more like the V8 it isn’t. As capable as the Expedition and Sequoia are, there’s something off about the sounds their engines make. It is like riding a Harley that sounds like a Honda. Not that there is anything wrong with the Honda. The point is that a big SUV ought to have a big V8, just as a Harley ought to have a big twin.

The optional diesel six also makes the right sounds. It also allows you to keep driving for almost 600 miles on the highway before the tank runs dry. That is more than 100 miles farther than either of the gas-burning V8s can take you. Equipped with the 6.2 V8, a Tahoe’s highway range is only 432 miles – and that’s not with a trailer behind you.

The diesel is a nice option for those who do pull a trailer (or an RV) and prefer to avoid having to stop every couple hundred miles for a fill-up.

At The Curb

The Tahoe is 211.3 inches long, which is almost exactly as long as the last full-size, rear-drive/V8-powered American sedan – which was the 2011 Ford Crown Victoria. But the Vic could only seat six – because it had only front and rear seats. The Tahoe comes standard with a third row that can accommodate two more passengers. But the most relevant point – the reason why big SUVs are the modern full-size sedan of choice – is because they can seat six in the first two rows, just like a full-size American sedan used to be able to.

There are no new sedans that seat that many. Five is the max. And none of them = not even the “full-size” ones (all of which are six figure luxury-brand sedans now) have much room in their trunks because they’re all not nearly as long as the full-sized sedans Americans used to be able to buy.

The Tahoe is thus effectively not just one big car but two of them. And that is why it and others like it have become the “family car” of choice, for those who can afford one (more about that follows).

Chevy decided – like many other vehicle manufacturers – to go big on touchscreens, too. This Chevy comes standard with an almost-18-inch LCD screen for the secondary system and an 11 inch LCD display in front of the driver. The italics are to make a point. It was only about a decade ago that only luxury-brand vehicles from Mercedes, Audi and BMW, et al came with these glowing LCD displays, which did set them apart from the run-of-the-mill brands that still had analog (or mostly analog) gauges. But LCD displays are the one thing that’s getting cheaper (a 50 inch flatscreen TV costs $300 at Wal Mart) and that’s bad news for the luxury-brands, because now brands like Chevy have screens just as big those inside a Mercedes or a BMW or a Lexus.

So – now – the Chevy looks a lot like a Mercedes, on the inside. Will it prove to be as glitchy? Time will tell.

The Rest

There is one way the Tahoe and its like are not like the big sedans working and middle income Americans used to commonly drive – which they could because there were many that were affordable. For example, a 1976 Chevy Caprice sedan stickered for just over $5,000 when it was new. Granted, 1976 was 50 years ago – but even when adjusted for inflation, a ’76 Caprice only cost about $26k in todays dollars. A new Tahoe costs nearly twice as much and – yes – it is a much nicer vehicle in terms of all the luxury features it comes with. But what good are they if you can’t afford them?

Increasingly, working and middle-income Americans cannot.

The Bottom Line

The Tahoe’s the last of its kind, probably, that will ever come standard with a V8.

And that may change come 2026 or 2027.

. . .

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