2007 Chevrolet Tahoe

Chevrolet's Tahoe, America's best-selling full-size SUV, is redesigned and vastly improved for 2007. But with gas prices as high as they are and potentially still climbing, some might ask, "Who cares—"


There is no question that sales of big truck-based SUVs have shrunk as the cost of fueling them has climbed, but this market segment is not going away. These highly capable and versatile vehicles have no real replacements, as there is nothing else that can do what they do—haul heavy loads of people and things in weather-tight security while towing a whole bunch more. Add go-anywhere four-wheel drive, and it's clear why folks who tow horses, boats, recreational vehicles, race cars, and whatever else for work or play continue to need SUVs.


GM's intent is to continue to dominate the segment with this new Tahoe, along with its GMC sibling Yukon, and its country club cousin Cadillac Escalade. One major key to doing that is improved fuel economy due to slicker aerodynamics, and technology that includes GM's Active Fuel Management (AFM), formerly known as Displacement on Demand. AFM conserves gas by transparently disabling half of the V-8's cylinders during light-load operation, which helps deliver EPA economy ratings that are better than those of many full-size competitors, while yielding a noticeable real-world improvement, depending on load and driving conditions.

Performance

The '07 Tahoe is built on GM's new full-size SUV platform, which boasts a fully boxed frame, coil-over-shock front suspension, and rack-and-pinion steering. The stiffer frame enables more precise mounting and tuning of chassis components while reducing vibrations, and its lower center of gravity, and wider front and rear tracks improve stability, handling, and road feel. Noise-reducing materials and components are used throughout, while the slipperier shape, new door seals, streamlined roof rack and outside mirrors, and tighter body gaps keep this new Tahoe much quieter than previous models.


These updates all work astoundingly well, giving this new Tahoe vastly improved ride quality, handling, steering and braking, better than any previous GM SUV, despite its still-hefty size and weight. An especially welcome change is the crispness of the new steering system and the newly car-like solidity and responsiveness of the brake pedal. In addition, a new segment-exclusive Autoride suspension, standard on LTZ models, uses semi-active, two-position damping control that responds in real-time to road and driving conditions for a surprisingly smooth ride, with very little body motion.