Logo
No matching results

Recent Articles

Popular Makes

Body Types

2007 Chevrolet Suburban Review

Doing it all, now better than ever

Christian Wardlaw
by Christian Wardlaw
November 1, 2006
5 min. Reading Time
fallback

Chevrolet Suburban – Review: An American icon dating to 1936, few vehicles combine 8-passenger capacity, four-wheel-drive capability, a 2,561-lb. payload rating, and a 9,700-lb. towing ability in one do-it-all vehicle quite like the Chevrolet Suburban. Redesigned for 2007, the Suburban is available in 1500- or heavier-duty 2500-series specification, with two or four driven wheels, in LS, LT, or LTZ trim. We spent a week driving the Suburban 1500 4WD LT equipped with the LT3 option package, navigation, a rear seat entertainment system, and other goodies for a sticker price of $49,045 including the $875 destination charge.

Why We Drove It

Redesigned for the first time since Dubya landed in Washington, the Chevrolet Suburban is improved in every way. Key among the changes are a refined interior with high-quality materials and fit, improved driving characteristics, upgraded workhorse capabilities, stronger engines with Active Fuel Management for better gas mileage, enhanced safety features such as side curtain airbags and stability control, and contemporary technologies like a reversing camera, park assist, a touch-screen navigation system, and remote engine starting. We drove the Suburban around the Los Angeles region, including a day trip to Santa Barbara filled with people and provisions, and discovered the ultimate family vehicle.

fallback

Performance

The Chevrolet Suburban’s weight outmatches power from its 5.3-liter V8 engine. Adequate off the line and possessed with a wonderful American V8 burble, the Suburban’s passing power is lacking, the transmission takes its time downshifting, and once the engine revs up there’s little added thrust. With one person aboard, jumping into holes in traffic is difficult. To its credit, when stuffed with a full load of human cargo the Suburban doesn’t behave much differently than when unloaded – try that in a minivan. GM likes to tout Active Fuel Management and the Suburban’s highway fuel economy rating, but in a mix of city commuting and a weekend road trip, we got just 12.5 mpg. Plan on $75 fill-ups.

fallback

Handling

Handling is surprisingly good for a vehicle of this size. The Suburban takes sweeping curves with more speed than expected, slows and stops decisively, and doesn’t suffer excessive body motion. The standard 265/70 tires aren’t much to brag about, and it’s ridiculous that the Suburban so easily scrapes its front air dam on driveway aprons and drainage dips – especially the 4WD model. That trait underlines the fact that the Suburban is designed for driving on pavement, and with its soft-sidewall tires and suspension tuning clearly meant to soak up urban bumps this truck almost glides on air. That certainly serves its primary buyer, but I can’t help but think this 4WD rig should be a little stiffer.

fallback

Fun to Drive

Aside from the challenge the Chevrolet Suburban poses in urban environments, and its command-of-the-road driving height, there’s nothing about this SUV that can be remotely considered fun. This vehicle is all about function.

fallback

Front Comfort

Both of our Chevrolet Suburban LT’s front seats offered 8-way power adjustment with heating for the seatback and bottom cushion, plus power lumbar adjustment. They were very comfortable seats. The center storage box is a good spot to rest an elbow, too, and includes a handy rubber-lined storage tray in the center. There’s plenty of leg and head room, as well as hip and shoulder room. However, I didn’t like the door panel design. The upper sill needs to be wider to serve as a comfortable spot to rest an arm while driving. Side steps are almost a given considering how tall the Suburban is.

fallback

Rear Comfort

The Suburban’s second-row bench sits lower than expected, but is dished for good thigh support. Rear seat leg room is tighter than it should be in a vehicle this large, but only when tall people are riding up front. The third row is not comfortable for adults, about on par with a typical minivan. I managed to ride in moderate discomfort on a journey from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles – about 100 miles in 90 minutes. It is a seating position to be endured. Leg and foot space are tight and the seatback is too vertical for comfort. Tumble the second-row seats and the third-row transforms to limo-like comfort.

fallback

Loading Cargo

Equipped with the optional power tailgate, a nice feature especially for shorter people who might not be able to reach to pull the tailgate closed, our Chevrolet Suburban offered plenty of cargo room. Liftover height was significant because the Suburban is a tall, body-on-frame vehicle. To get a flat load floor, the third-row seats had to be removed but they were reasonably light, if difficult to reach across the cargo area. On our test Suburban, the second-row seats were power fold-and-tumble units; the resulting space was large but not flat.

fallback

Quality

Unlike previous Suburbans, the 2007 model doesn’t possess a busy cabin design that looks to have been dipped in Vaseline. The patterns on the dash and door panels match that of the leather. The mesh headliner matches the plastic pillar covers. The faux wood and metal complement one another and don’t overwhelm the cabin. Most storage areas are lined with felt or rubber. Still, for $50,000, you might expect a nicer cut of leather and soft-touch center-dash surfaces. As for build quality, we noted a few flaws inside and out but came away from our examination thinking that our Suburban was the best evidence yet that General Motors might just figure things out and turn things around.

fallback

Styling

The Chevrolet Suburban is an extremely handsome, if plain, vehicle. I prefer the wheel design on the LTZ (shown above), but our LT was good-looking and one of my favorite elements is the strong, chrome, block lettering on the doors and tailgate. Inside, the Suburban is more like a family sedan than a pickup truck, with a low-mounted dashboard, tasteful wood, metallic, and chrome accents, and a subtle but stylish two-tone décor.

fallback

Primary Controls

Technophobes will love the Suburban’s DVD player and wireless headphones, which are no-brainers to operate. Navigation is simple to program, but the small touch screen is frustrating. It doesn’t react fast enough, and requires too much pressure and too much exactness, resulting in lots of repeated action. Hard keys for stereo and navigation are too small and crammed together – my stubby adult fingers found them difficult to use. XM satellite radio can remove or add categories to cut the clutter. Nice! The triple-zone automatic climate system is effective on the hottest of days. Buttons for temperature, fan speed, and mode are large, but other functions are controlled by tiny little buttons that require precise action to engage.

fallback

`

Interested in Getting a New Car?

Used Cars Near You

No Data Available

Powered by Usedcars.com
©2024 AutoWeb, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Some content provided by and under copyright by Autodata, Inc. dba Chrome Data. © 1986-2024.