by Denise McCluggage

Well,” I say to my driving companions, “Whatever they charge for it they’ll have to add an amusement tax.” This delights Gary White in the back seat. He is chief engineer for General Motors full-size trucks. With my fellow journalist Ann Job riding shot-gun we are road testing a product Gary and his small and diligent team have been re-working and kneading and tweaking and smoothing. Not that it’s required that a large SUV be fun to drive, but by golly I’m having a dandy time in this redesigned Chevy Tahoe, current best seller in the large SUV segment with a quarter of the market to itself and looking to more than hang on with this 2007 model. It is now in showrooms.

We are driving on a sinuous and scenic unpaved road that follows the rim of Lake Roosevelt in the mountains east of Phoenix. The road surface offers tenuous grip at best; think Kitty Litter on a tiled floor. I am playing with the Tahoe’s light but precise steering as we follow the twists holding to just enough variance in slip angles of the front and the rear wheels to approach the sensation of skiing in balance. If that isn’t worth a tax nothing is.

I did not expect the swell of fondness I feel toward this most certainly big machine. Fond is what one feels for big-eyed kittens and flop-eared puppies, but to be honest fond describes my attitude toward this darned truck. And surprise. And stir in a dash of “at last!”

GM has too long replaced adequacy with adequacy and still succeeded. Buyers’ habit and the convenience of many dealerships have managed to keep the GM’s SUV at the top of that market and allowed the General to coast on mere OK-ness. But competition has sharpened and the General had either pull up his socks or sit down. The new Tahoe and other GM SUVs based on the same underpinnings (Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, Chevy Suburban etc.) are convincingly demonstrating serious intent.

What did the design team do?

Appearance, Exterior
Here, expect a new level of, well, authenticity. Off with the cladding; away with posturing. Yes, the Tahoe is big. It has to be to haul people (seven or eight) and stuff (up to 1867 pound payload in the two-wheel drive, less in the heavier 4x4). And to tow boats and vintage race cars and trailers full of flea market largesse (up to 7700 pounds in the 4x4, less in the 2x4.) But it doesn’t accentuate its size, which is somewhat bigger all around than the previous model. It’s not a body builder with an oiled chest; it’s a sizeable, competent performer in a tailored jacket.

The new Tahoe is a clean package communicating capability and strength without bluster. Its new demeanor has more an affinity with moving air rather than a blatant contest. Designers have pared off the superfluous (even the lip on the fuel filler door) to make this large SUV as slippery to the air stream as a Corvette of a few generations ago. That means using less fuel. This large SUV is rated at 16 mpg city, 22 highway for the two-wheel drive version, but even the 4x4 is stickered at 15/21. And regular, not premium, fuel is recommended.

Appearance, Interior
Open the doors and climb inside. Change is evident, more explicitly: great improvement. GM interiors have long seemed unimaginative, cost-conscious or unevenly conceived. (CONTINUE...)