The Suburban is a huge, old-fashioned, truck-based SUV; the quintessential family truckster for large families who live beyond the suburbs. What sets it apart from other SUVs is that it provides three rows of seats -- for carrying up to seven, eight, or even nine people -- yet still retains generous cargo space, along with a hefty towing capacity. Add a luxurious and quiet interior to the added traction of four-wheel drive and you get a uniquely capable vehicle.
Based on the frame of the full-sized Chevrolet Silverado pickup, the Suburban -- and its GMC Yukon XL twin -- was one of the last few SUVs with real truck capabilities in a world where nearly every other SUV had adopted carlike unit-body structures. Despite the Suburban's major updates for 2015, it still delivered a relatively truck-like driving experience and fuel economy, when compared to better handling car-based SUVs. Then again, none of those "crossovers" can match the Suburban's particular combination of talents.
The revised interior is beautifully finished and offered all of the latest technology of the time. The Suburban, and its shorter Chevrolet Tahoe sibling, also got a new chiseled look and returned slightly better fuel economy than before.
The first thing you notice when driving the Suburban is its exceptional quiet, which is a lot like that of a good luxury car. Handling is sound and responsive enough, with no excessive body lean, but the feeling of bulk is ever present. The Suburban's ride is stiff and somewhat snappy with lots of jiggle at low speeds. Choosing the top LTZ trim with its Magnetic Ride Control improves the ride significantly and pays dividends in handling.
With its 355-hp, 5.3-liter V8, the Suburban seems like it ought to deliver plenty of gusto, but it doesn't, feeling a little underpowered and flat-footed -- all of that weight is the culprit. One consolation is its 16 mpg overall, which is a substantial improvement over the old model and is pretty good for this sized vehicle.
You could almost live in this spacious coach. With the second-row captain's chairs, accommodations are sumptuous for four people. A power-release makes access to the third-row easier. However, while it has enough room for adults, we can't say they'll be comfortable back there.
The power-folding third-row seat added to this version of the Suburban gives it a flat load floor (previous versions had to be removed and were quite heavy at 70 pounds). However, even though you no longer need to wrestle the third-row seat out of the truck to open up cargo space, it doesn't fold into a well so the load floor is higher than it could be. This robs some cargo space and means you have to lift luggage high when loading.
The interior is plush, with lots of soft touch padded surfaces highlighted by nice stitching, which gives it a tailored, hand-sewn look. Controls wrap around the driver and feature an easy to use MyLink touchscreen managing audio-, climate-, phone- and navigation functions. The only blemishes are the '70s-like high-effort, long-reach column shifter and a foot-operated parking brake.
Cabin storage includes a seemingly endless supply of large and small bins, both open and covered. Up to six USB ports are available, plus five 12-volt power ports and a 110-volt outlet.