In my previous video, I didn’t get a chance to take the Tahoe out on the interstate, which is where these vehicles spend a great deal of their time. I already filmed a Tahoe, so I will mainly be discussing my updated impressions and whether or not my opinions of the Tahoe have changed since the last time I drove one. I also look forward to talking about how the Tahoe rides and handles at highway speeds.
In my previous video, I talked about how the Tahoe has a very truck-like steering feel. My thoughts on the steering still carry over. It feels coarse and chunky, definitely not like a unibody crossover. You get that pronounced, raw communication between the tires and the chassis through the steering as well. It is electrically assisted, so it does feel a bit lighter and quicker to respond compared to older American trucks, but it certainly feels every bit like a truck. It is decently matched to the front tires, but this is a heavy truck so it’s not laser responsive or extremely communicative with what the front tires are doing. It’s definitely a unique steering feel compared to vehicles like the Explorer and the Traverse. That said, I like the way the steering responds around slight bends at higher speeds. On the highway it feels pretty composed and the vehicle tracks really well with curves on the interstate. There’s not much steering input required in highway driving and overall the steering feels decently controlled for such a large vehicle.
The handling is as you would expect. It’s a large, heavy truck, and it feels like a large, heavy truck. You really feel those 2 3/4 tons just about all the time. Whether you’re accelerating, cornering, or just cruising on the highway, you always feel the weight. I’ve seen some people say that the Tahoe drives smaller than it looks, but I disagree. Maybe in the new RST models, but as for the regular Tahoes like the one shown in the video, this thing really makes no apologies for its curb weight. It’s not a bad thing, as people buying a vehicle of this size are going to expect that. There are also plenty of old school truck fanatics who will appreciate that heavy, burly, classic American truck feel in their SUV, and the Tahoe certainly does a good job at delivering that feel.
The Tahoe doesn’t feel all that cumbersome though. Even though the weight and the handling don’t necessarily “shrink” when you get behind the wheel, it doesn’t feel like you’re driving a house in terms of the dimensions. On smaller and narrower roads, this vehicle does take up nearly the entire space between the yellow and the white lines, but it still feels decently manageable. I think the steering does a good job at planting the Tahoe where you want it on the road and inspiring at least some form of confidence, even though the precision is lacking. Not a vehicle for corner carving by any means, but I think most people would be fine driving the Tahoe, even people who are a little wary of driving big vehicles.
The ride quality feels very smooth over level roadways with minimal imperfections. When you do get it on bumpier roads, the Tahoe does tend to jostle and bounce around. You can definitely tell you’re in something built for utility. It’s not buttery smooth like some unibody crossovers out there, but for the most part it goes down the road just fine.
I was always curious about how larger vehicles like this handled at highway speeds. For being so big and heavy, I see so many Tahoe drivers pushing 85 mph in the passing lane. In the Tahoe’s natural habitat (the interstate), I can tell you that it can feel lumbering when you’re on narrower, curvier highways. It can be a bit stressful keeping it in its lane when you’re on a road with particularly winding lanes and fast moving traffic, but doesn’t feel totally untamed like older body on frame SUVs. It’s just a normal characteristic of a vehicle like this. It’s certainly not the type of vehicle that eggs you on to bob in and out of traffic and pass aggressively. If you do decide to pull quicker maneuvers, the Tahoe can handle it just fine, but more driver finesse and concentration will be involved. The Tahoe just felt more at home cruising in its own lane. The 5.3 Vortec V8 has good passing power on tap, but if this vehicle had any smaller of an engine it would certainly feel sluggish on the highway and it wouldn’t inspire much confidence.
When you’re out on a smooth, level, straight highway, the Tahoe feels fine. When you kick back and set the cruise at 75 out on the open road, the Tahoe does a good job at just gliding down the pavement without much drama. The steering doesn’t fuss at higher speeds and it pitches itself into the curves with good accuracy and precision. If you want to make a pass or speed up by 10 mph, you do need to put some legwork into the accelerator to get a downshift. I do wish that downshifts were a little more responsive, as adjusting your speed in this car, even by small increments, typically require a downshift from the transmission. It’s nothing crazy where you have to floor it and wait 10 seconds like other vehicles I’ve been in, but the downshifting and passing power could feel a little more responsive.
My opinions on the 6-speed automatic mainly carry over. It does whine a bit too much, and it doesn’t feel like the most refined transmission. I also noticed that the shifts are definitely on the slow side. It does shift pretty smoothly though, and it tends to listen to your foot and keep the revs higher when you want to drive a bit faster, so its not heavily tuned for fuel economy like other modern vehicles. I think the intuitiveness could be slightly improved, as it can feel sluggish to downshift at times, and it holds onto the gears for longer than I would like before upshifting, which makes off the line acceleration feel a bit lumpy. Overall though, it doesn’t feel like a bad transmission. Shift quality is pretty smooth and the transmission does its job just fine.
I have some revised opinions on the visibility as well, after driving the Tahoe a little more and experiencing it in situations where I had to rely on my rearview mirrors more. In my previous video, I said that the side mirrors seemed too small. After getting the Tahoe on the highway, I didn’t have any issues seeing out of them. You do have your normal blindspots but the side mirrors provide a fairly unobstructed view around the sides of the vehicle. The rear window is also nice and open with the third row folded down. You can see just about everything as you would in a normal hatchback SUV. The front hood is also always visible right to the very tip of the vehicle, but car and truck buyers today seem to like that, and it doesn’t seem to hamper outward visibility.
Would I buy a Tahoe? Well, if I was concerned with hauling, towing, carrying extra passengers, driving in bad weather, and the off-road capabilities, I might consider it. It’s definitely not a driver’s car, that much is obvious. If I wanted a full size SUV but didn’t have much concern with utility, I would probably feel happier in an Explorer or a Highlander. The Tahoe is all about utility and not so much the driving experience. As I mentioned in my previous video, you probably would not like using the Tahoe as a daily driver if you’re more focused on comfort and agility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85q7DmwOdc