When driving the Suburban, we were in awe of this big vehicle with its long stature and wow turning diameter of 46.4 feet. On a wide street, we couldn't make an uninterrupted U-turn without driving over the curb.Our vehicle had the standard tried-and-true 5.7-liter, 190-hp V8 engine. With the Chevy Suburban, there are two other power options: the 7.4-liter, 230-hp V8 or the 6.5-liter, 190-hp V8 turbo diesel. If you're looking for maxxed-out torque and pulling power, the 7.4-liter V8 puts out a mountain-moving 385 pound-feet of torque at 1,700 rpm. The standard 190-hp V8 was fine for most of our applications, but it did seem to run out of steam at just above minimum freeway cruising speeds. If you're going to do a lot of driving with substantial loads, we recommend one of the optional engines. The power steering performed well and provided good feedback, handling the turning requirements of this moose with ease. We gave our Suburban's standard anti-lock brakes high marks for their smooth, sure stopping ability. As we would expect from a long vehicle-219.5 inches on a 131.5inch wheelbase-the ride was smooth and stable. An effective conventional suspension of front independent torsion bars and rear multi-leaf springs and shock absorbers was tuned for a great combination of performance and load-carrying capability. The standard transmission on the Chevy Suburban is a four-speed automatic with overdrive and electronic shifting. It was a heavy-duty unit to handle the 4WD aspects, and we found it to be flawless. |
