As the season of
giving is upon us once again and many Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis
customers are re-evaluating their
personal and business needs for the year, a vehicle that has a history of 85
years and counting seems worth a look. The 2021 Chevy Suburban will go on sale
next spring, riding on the same new architecture that underpins the Silverado
HD and 1500
pickups. It also shares the foundation digs with the 2021 Chevy Tahoe, and is
billed by Motor Trend as being “Unprecedented in size and scope”.
At any one time,
10,000 people were working on development, with the intention of making sure
trim levels differentiate from each nameplate, as well as differentiate heavy-duty
trucks from the lighter. There is a definite pleasure to be had in driving
something so massive: the 134.1-inch wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than the
outgoing model, coming in at 225.7 total inches in length. For the first time,
the Suburban
is now the recipient of a multilink independent rear suspension. Together with
the longer wheelbase, the lower cargo floor created an engineering dream come
true.
This large SUV
provides passengers in the second row an extra 2.3 inches of legroom, while the
third row gets an additional 2.2 inches: if you've been crammed onto any
commercial flight lately, you know how valuable every inch is. You can simply
push a button to fold the second and third-row seats flat, and the cargo room
now rings in at 144.7 cubic feet, which is 23 more than last year's model
boasts. The extensive chassis technology designed to reduce vibration is now
paired with the rear suspension and Air Ride Adaptive Suspension that is found
on Z71 and High Country models.
The V8 engines
available are the 355 hp and 383 lb-ft 5.3-liter, and 420 hp, 460 lb-ft
6.2-liter V8. The active fuel management system is now replaced by Dynamic fuel
management, resulting in a huge efficiency gain. All engines are mated to GM's
10-speed automatic transmission, and buttons on the dash beside the touchscreen
replace the gearshift. Wheel sizes range from 18 to 22 inches, and there is
also another first onboard for 2021: the panoramic roof.
The Electrical
bandwidth now provided is five times the data processing power of the outgoing
model, which helps with rapid updates and closely diagnosing vehicle
performance. Rear passengers will have the option of catching up with that cute
new baby Yoda on 12.6-inch screens on the backs of the two front seats, which
can share content if needed. There are 30 safety and convenience technologies
onboard including standard automatic emergency braking, forward collision
alert, rear park assist, and the very useful hitch guidance for trailering,
automatic headlight control, and more.