For 2006 Chevrolet constructs truck-based sport-utility vehicles in three size-wise categories -- mid-size, full-size and super-size, with TrailBlazer, Tahoe and Suburban. Yet there's more this year as Chevy wagons extend to a car-based model in the compact class called Equinox, plus a big crossover sport van named Uplander. And look for the new HHR, a wild panel wagon with retro styling inspired from a vintage Suburban.

Largest SUV on Chevy's lot is the super-size Suburban that stretches 18 feet long and spreads more than six feet wide across the beam. Its enormous cabin has seats for up to nine. The series includes 1500 (half-ton) and 2500 (three-quarter-ton) versions with Vortec V8 engines and automatic transmissions. Suburban 1500 totes a 5.3-liter V8 rated at 295 hp. The 2500 stocks Chevy's 6.0-liter V8 that runs to 335 hp, with the heavy-duty Vortec 8.1-liter V8 also available for 325 hp.

Both 1500 and 2500 Suburbans host rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and four-wheel-drive (4WD) editions, but the latter has a dash-mounted switch to jockey between all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction, rear-wheel or four-wheel high and low settings. A new LTZ model stocks the 6.0-liter Vortec V8 with AWD traction and 20-inch wheels, a mono-chromatic paint scheme for the body and leather lining the cabin.

The full-size wagon one size down from Suburban has four doors and up to three tiers of seats on a 1500 wagon with two trims and RWD or AWD traction. Vortec V8 engines power Tahoe. A base 4.8-liter unit makes 285 hp, while Tahoe LS or LT gets a 5.3-liter V8 for 295 hp. Inside, there are two rows of seats plus an optional third-row bench split 50-50. Adding the third tier raises the passenger count to seven.

Tahoe's Z71 off-road chassis package brings Bilstein gas-charged shocks, tuned springs, jounce bumpers and stabilizer bars plus all-season tires. Optional safety gear reaches to StabiliTrak vehicle skid controls and power adjustable brake and accelerator pedals. For entertainment Tahoe shows choices like a DVD-based video entertainment kit and XM satellite radio service. And new issues also score a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) plus optional side-impact air bags for front seats.

Chevy's truck-based SUV in the mid-size class comes in regular-length and stretched editions. The larger version -- TrailBlazer EXT -- measures 16 inches longer with extra space for a third tier of seats, boosting the passenger capacity to seven. A standard-length TrailBlazer seats five. Both TrailBlazer and EXT use a 4.2-liter in-line-six engine rated at 285 hp. Also available is a Vortec 5.3-liter V8 now pumping 300 hp. The plant applies GM's Displacement on Demand (DOD) technology, automatically cutting in half the number of operating cylinders to save fuel.

Trims of LS and LT continue with choices for RWD and 4WD traction. But a new model for 2006 -- TrailBlazer SS – earns Corvette's LS2 6.0-liter V8 to push 395 hp through the RWD or 4WD system. Sporty SS shows special body parts and 20-inch flangeless wheels, plus upgraded cabin appointments.

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