2004 Chevrolet Tahoe LT 4WD

Ergonomically, the Tahoe does well. All instrumentation is easy to see and read and seating is comfortable.

The seats themselves are comfy, and it's easy to see how you could sit up here and tow that boat to the lake all day long—and not be worn out when you got there. The second-row seat is also accommodatingly comfortable, although getting in and out is not as easy as it could be. The problem here is a result of wheelbase length. In this case, not enough; the distance between the forward edge of the second-seat cushion and the forward edge of the door opening is on the small end so, depending upon shoe size, actually placing one's feet inside could involve a little ankle-wrestling.


These little nits aside, the Tahoe is pretty slick—with one major exception. It traces its mechanical family to before the days of some of the more currently conceived competition, so the third seat cannot be folded into the floor, and dealing with it is, therefore, a chore. We could go into a lengthy (trust us, it would indeed be lengthy) description of the laborious stretching and bending necessary to make all the seats do their flip-and-fold act. Suffice to say, we bet nobody will like it, and women wearing skirts or dresses will no doubt hate it.


We bring this up because the middle word in SUV is, after all, Utility, and there are competitors in which the whole business of flipping and folding the seats is much easier; in some cases, it's power assisted. Further—and from experience we think this is an important point—being able to fold the third seat into the vehicle means you can open up the cargo area, take a bunch of stuff to grandma's house, empty the stuff, put the seat back up, and then the whole family can go to dinner together. This is not possible if that third seat is sitting in the garage, 600 miles away in Topeka.


The only good thing we have to say about the flip-and-fold of the second and third-row seats is that, when they're down, at least you get a flat, level load floor, so you shouldn't have any trouble traipsing home from the local home improvement store with a few flats of geraniums and a couple of hibiscus. Or is it hisbisci?

The 5.3-liter Vortec V-8 makes an impressive bunch of power and the ride quality is more than adequate.

All that business with the seats aside, if you don't intend to do much flipping and folding with the rear-most seats, the Tahoe is pretty nice. We found, for instance, the fit and finish and general overall build quality to be solidly (even surprisingly) good; not a potential squeak or rattle anywhere. The 5.3-liter Vortec V-8 makes an impressive bunch of power, the ride quality is, if not car-like, at least more than adequately comfortable and on an even keel, and the handling is characterized by precise steering feel and sure stability going down the interstate.