The Official Car of Texas - Silverado Meets El Dorado

The new Suburban: Silverado meets El Dorado. Now that the 2001 model is no longer the debut year for the new Suburban, comparisons to last year's model are a bit dated. However, it's hard to resist commending GM for the excellent job in engineering this Suburban versus the previous generation. Everything is better - period. There's no mistaking the Suburban blueprint which has remained faithful to it's fans but when the General decided to upgrade the model, they started from the ground up and nothing was overlooked. Starting from the now 16" tires up to the headliner where more efficient A/C ducts now live, improvements were made to fill every space in between and it shows. The Suburban has years of polish and refinement over the likes of the Ford Excursion which is revealed in the experience of driver and passenger alike. Ford's new Suburban killer rides like a truck, weighs considerably more, consumes fuel at an abominable rate and cannot tow as much as a Suburban - returning only marginally more interior space than Chevy's offering. Judging from the slow sales and production cut backs on Excursion, I'm not the only one wondering why anyone would take the Big E route.

The list of features is lengthy and luxurious on the high end LT model. Dual front bucket seats with luxo-car adjustability. My passengers race for the shotgun chair because of the heated seat switch which has gotten far more use than I ever imagined. Leather surfaces wrap entirely new cushion designs which are more substantial, more comfortable and a darn near reason enough for previous generation owners to upgrade. The HVAC system on the LT is set by temperature which is maintained whether heating or cooling is appropriate. The automatic control extends even to the degree that air register selection is automatic. You'll find cool air coming from the dashboard vents and heated air delivered to the floor or windshield without having to adjust a knob. Of course, all manual controls are still available but I've found the auto settings to work commendably. The popular rear seat controls for HVAC are given the luxury of automatic register and temperature controls as well as the front. The factory sound system is surprizingly good consisting of a custom 126 watt, 9 speaker system including a large rear mounted sub-woofer for accentuating bass frequencies. No seat in the Suburban lacks for clear stereo audio. AM, FM, cassette, and CD come standard on the LT. The Delco receiver surprizingly lacks the RDS capabilities offered in many other GM products.

The driving experience is likely to surprize the un-initiated thanks to a host of features. Starting with an extremely comfortable bucket where adjustments accomodate short or tall drivers, getting behind the wheel is a pleasure. Suburban now includes GMs excellent Message Center which reports on up to 19 different operating system conditions. The Message Center will report on conditions ranging from subtle to serious. For example, if your engine oil level is at the Add mark, the Message Center will kindly let you know. Transmission fluid getting too hot while towing your boat? No problem, message delivered. Time for an oil change? Heck, the GM oil life monitor system watches how you drive and tells you when it's time to change the oil based on real-world usage. This has the added benefit of saving natural resources by not changing your oil before it's life is spent. You'll know when it's time to change your oil when the Message Center tells you (actually, the indication comes on at 95% oil life giving you time to change the oil without having to panic). The Message Center uses graphics in addition to text to communicate with the driver, and is in my opinion (e-pinion?) one of the best new auto features going.

Under the hood you'll find the new Vortec 5.3L V-8 engine on LT-1500 models. This super-smooth performer is derived from a high-performance Corvette engine design. Get this, the 5.3 replaced the 5.7L engine on the previous generation and both horsepower AND mileage improved. The 5.3 should provide about 4% better economy and kicks out 280 horses. You'll never miss the old engine, this design represents one of the finest pushrod V-8s on the planet. The same care that went into redesigning Suburban went into redesigning the new generation of Vortec engines. More durable, more power, more reliable, better cooling, better sealing - what a difference! I had a friend who owns a '99 with the 5.7 drive my 5.3 to confirm my own driving impressions. The result is unanimous: the 5.3 is every bit of the old engine and then some. The 4-speed automatic transmission is mated to the 5.3L engine knowing full well what owners do with their Suburbans: tow, haul, travel and play. Special shift programming is activated with the touch of the tow/haul switch on the shift stalk and is designed to reduce the frequency of upshifts when you've got a serious load. It does NOT lock out overdrive as is the sole function of many a transmission, but holds on to the gears for a little longer, and upshifts a little easier than normal mode too. As a plus to Suburban owners, you can order up different axle ratio's to suit different trailering needs much like a Silverado owner would do with a pick-up.

Acceleration and braking are first rate in light of the vehicles weight. 4 wheel disc brakes come standard and the pads now offer longer life compared to the 90's versions of this vehicle. Traction Control is an option of the 2WD version of Suburban which serves to detect wheel slippage and react in 2 ways: 1 is to cool the jets on the Vortec engine so your lead foot doesn't land you in a ditch, and secondly the system looks for a wheel with stable traction and get's power over to it so you can move. The system is even sophisticated enough to cancel your cruise control in the event of a traction loss on the highway like hydroplaning on the interstate. GM claims that there is 5 times the computing power aboard the Suburban than went on the first lunar landing mission capsule. How 'bout that?

On the road the ride and quiet of the Suburaban are indeed impressive. Even at highway speeds (OK, so I really mean going over 70 mph) the absence of wind noise and the isolation from road noise will make you think more El Dorado than Silverado. This IS a cruising vessel. No, this is THE cruising vessel. For a family with an active lifestyle I can think of no better alternative. While the Suburban will never rival a Civic for MPG, you are indeed getting a high degree of fuel efficiency to go along with all the power which comes in a Suburban. If a Civic could tow 7800 pounds, it wouldn't see the high side of 20 mpg either, and make no mistake - there are worse to be owned. In fact, my new Suburban rivals my previous 1996 Ford Explorer 4.0L in highway mileage. That's quite a testament to engineering in my book considering the dichotomy of these 2 vehicles.

Ask someone who drives a Suburban what their next car will be and they're likely to say another Suburban. I'm only on my first, but I may be joining that club. In fact, at the recent Dallas Auto Show, I took time to check out the new Cadillac Escalade (based on the same GMT-800 platform as Suburban/Tahoe) and walked away happy that I had the 'Burb. It's 95% of what Cadillac offers, and in many ways more. People who buy Suburbans have their own reasons for doing so. People who buy Suburbans to replace Suburbans can rest easy - this is every bit the Suburban you had before - and then some.