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Text by Dubspeed Media Staff, Zerin Dube
Photos Courtesy of GM

As I pulled onto my street in my latest driving assignment, the 2007 Chevy Tahoe, I spotted the neighborhood wives’ club sitting outside, carefully watching over their playing children. I drove past them on the way to my house, and watched the reactions on their faces, as I knew the new Tahoe would make them look twice. In almost Olympic synchronized precision, their heads turned and followed the Tahoe until it was parked in my driveway. Before I could even gather my road warrior travel accessories from the Tahoe and make my way into my house, I was mauled by four moms that all wanted a closer look at it. The moms crawled through every inch of the Tahoe, all the while uttering “ooohs” and “ahhs” as they pushed buttons and checked out various features of the vehicle. After this twenty minute inspection, the moms were satisfied, and the Tahoe got the unanimous seal of approval. They had all decided they wanted one, and would be bringing their husbands over later to show them the Tahoe. I thought they were kidding, but my night was constantly interrupted by the wives’ club dragging their husbands over in succession to get a first-hand look at all the things the new Tahoe offered. This might have been a nuisance for me that night, but for the moms of America, this was a vehicle to get VERY excited about. This level of excitement is exactly the reaction that General Motors is banking on.

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The 2007 Tahoe is based on GM’s new GMT-900 large truck and SUV platform, which also underpins the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. When GM announced that they were going to focus their efforts away from passenger cars and onto this new truck platform, industry insiders everywhere exerted a collective “Huh?” We all wondered why GM was focusing on a large, gas-guzzling SUV platform when gas prices were at an all-time high. The reasoning is quite simple if you stop to look at the numbers. The GMT-900 line is the most profitable line of vehicles for GM, and big truck sales have been the primary source of revenue for GM over the last several years. In addition to profit, trucks also build brand loyalty. That said, the launch of the GMT-900 based Chevrolet Tahoe is one of the most important new-product launches in the history of GM and its dealer network. GM felt the pressure, as they knew they had to get the Tahoe as close to faultless as possible right out of the gate. In the eyes of this journalist, they have achieved a resounding success.

GM engineers started with a clean slate for the 2007 Tahoe, rather than attempting to improve the existing design. The Tahoe is new inside and out, top to bottom, with a new frame, suspension, powertrain, interior design, and exterior design. About the only component carried over from the old design is the floor pan, and even that has been modified for the new Tahoe.

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The most obvious change is in the Tahoe’s exterior appearance. GM has smoothed out the sheetmetal, giving it a much cleaner and streamlined appearance, partially thanks to the steep rake of the windshield. In an effort to improve the perception of quality, panel gaps have also been reduced to 4mm, where the gaps on the previous-generation Tahoe were up to 30mm wide. Details such as moving the fixed-mast radio antenna from the hood into the windshield also contribute to the clean look of the new Tahoe. Designers gave the hood of the Tahoe a power bulge and fresh fenders with aggressive wheel flares to hint at the performance side of the vehicle. The new headlamp assemblies combine the lights and turn signals into one unit, and lend a much more aggressive look than the previous generation’s separated units. The Tahoe is also the first truck to feature the new corporate face of Chevy, with the large gold bow tie centered on the twin-port horizontal grille. The front of the Tahoe almost appears to be sneering at you from a head-on view. On the back side of the Tahoe, designers raked the rear glass and smoothed out the roofline. Overall, the result is a much cleaner and more muscular appearing vehicle, which in turn gives the Tahoe a much more upscale and elegant look. These improvements are not strictly visual though, as GM engineers have reduced the coefficient of drag down to 0.36 with these changes. This is great news, as better aerodynamics mean better fuel economy and a reduction in wind noise.

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Other design details that help the Tahoe achieve this muscular and upscale look are the sporty five-spoke 20-inch wheels that were standard on our LTZ trim test vehicle. These wheels, combined with a wider track width, help give the Tahoe an athletic stance. My only concern about the 20-inch wheels is that many customers will likely be shocked when it comes time to replace that first set of tires. Doing some price checking on some of the popular online tire warehouses, I found the OE 20” tires for $152 each. The OE 17” tires found on the Tahoe LT are only $108 each. While enthusiasts might be accustomed to paying $150 or more for performance tires, I feel the general consumer is probably not. I don’t want to fault GM for fitting the Tahoe with these 20” wheels, as they do compliment the design well, but consumers should exercise caution when considering the options list on their new Tahoe.

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To me, the most striking design change of the new Tahoe is the interior. Somewhere, in some GM R&D facility, there are several Audis and other German cars stripped down to their innards. How do I know this? Well, Audi interior design has been the benchmark of automotive interior design for several years, as they are thoughtfully laid out and very easy to use from a driver’s perspective. The new Tahoe interior mimics SEVERAL of the interior design cues that Audi has become so famous for. The attention to detail in the panel gaps around the gauge cluster and center stacks is among the best I’ve seen in any vehicle, let alone Domestic manufacturers. Interior surfaces are soft-touch, and are nearly identical to the high quality materials found in more expensive German sedans. The faux wood combined with brushed metal accents on the interior actually work harmoniously together. This is the first time I’ve seen faux wood actually contribute to the interior of a vehicle, rather than detract from it.

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Controls are extremely intuitive to use in the Tahoe, and are laid out in a manner that not only makes sense visually, but also aesthetically. You don’t have to reach all over the dash to adjust the HVAC, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the trip computers. Two 12-volt accessory outlets are provided on the dash, perfect for charging a cell phone and simultaneously powering a radar mitigation device of some sort. Large gauges in front of the driver are clear and easy to read in all lighting conditions. The blue-green backlight of the gauges at night looks a little cheap, but is certainly livable. The chicken wing shift lever of the previous generation Tahoe has been replaced by an ergonomic and easy to grip triangular shaped shift lever, and is smooth in movement.

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Our test vehicle featured the optional nine-speaker Bose stereo system, which was controlled through the optional 6.5” touch-screen DVD-based navigation/radio system. The sound quality of the Bose system was somewhat mediocre, with almost no low-end frequency reproduction. Highs and mid-range frequencies were reproduced clearly, but lacked proper imaging and staging. The average Tahoe buyer likely won’t be bothered by the sound quality, but I immediately felt that this Bose system was not as good as it has been in other vehicles I’ve tested. One nice feature that GM included with this particular radio is an auxiliary input for iPods or other portable music devices. This seemingly simple feature is lacking from most vehicles, and an aftermarket solution can become expensive. The navigation system in the Tahoe is one of the simplest interfaces I’ve used in any vehicle, and maps were very detailed and easy to read. Other in-vehicle entertainment comes by way of the Rear Seat Entertainment option, which features a flip down 8-inch Panasonic wide-screen display. This “infotainment” unit allows rear seat passengers to watch a movie, and delivers sound by way of wireless headphones that are included in the package.

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The 12-way adjustable Meridian leather seats in our Tahoe LTZ were wrapped in leather that was both appealing to the eye and very comfortable. I was able to find a comfortable driving position within 30 seconds of entering the vehicle. The 60/40 split second-row seats provided plenty of leg room, but I wish the seat backs reclined. Despite being an additional two degrees rearward than the previous generation, I still felt the seatbacks were still too vertical for comfort. The second-row seats can be tumbled and folded forward automatically, by way of two switches on the overhead console. This eliminates cumbersome lever releasing and unlatching. Third row seats are reserved for small children, as there is no place for adult legs due to the flat floor configuration. Third row seats can be folded flat, or tumbled forward by way of two levers on the seats. Removing the third row completely is as easy as folding the seats flat and pulling on a handle to release the seats from their wheeled tracks. With the third row seats removed, the Tahoe yields 60.3 cubic feet of cargo space, and 16.9 cubic feet with the third row in place. Speaking of cargo, the tailgate in our Tahoe could be electrically operated via the key fob, or by a button on the upper console. This makes opening the loading areas a breeze if you are carrying an arm full of kids or groceries.

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Though the Tahoe’s interior is nearly perfect, there are a few things that I found to be sub-par. The tan color of the upholstery on the A-pillars was completely different than the tan color of the headliner material. This particular detail made the otherwise high class interior look extremely cheap. The folding second row seating in our Tahoe was very easy to put down, but sometimes difficult to put back up. I found that the wider side of the folding seat would not stay up without pushing down on the manual lock mechanism to secure it in place. This may have just been a problem with this particular vehicle, but it was still a problem nonetheless. The biggest complaint about the Tahoe is that there is no way to get a perfectly flat load floor. Even with both rear rows of seating folded flat, the second row still sits higher than the rear. With the third row seats removed, there are still the raised tracks of the seats to contend with when loading cargo. With the exception of the flat floor complaint, the other complaints can probably be fixed with a few tweaks by the companies that supply the respective parts to GM, and will hopefully be resolved as production progresses.

Up to this point, I was very impressed with what GM designers and packaging engineers were capable of building, but how did the GM powertrain and suspension engineers do? Once again, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the GM engineers put as much emphasis beneath the Tahoe as they did inside the Tahoe. Powered by a new 5.3 liter V8, the 2007 Tahoe produces a healthy 320 horsepower, 25 more than the V8 in the outgoing model. Despite this additional power, the Tahoe gets a very respectable EPA combined mileage rating of 21.3mpg. This is accomplished in part by the better aerodynamics, but most of the credit goes to the new “Displacement on Demand” (DOD) feature of the new engine. This active fuel management system shuts off four cylinders under low or no-load conditions. Drivers can actually see this feature working through an informational display on the dashboard computer readout. I found that the DOD was very effective when coasting in stop and go traffic during rush hour, and when coasting between stoplights. I was able to achieve a very solid 19.8 mpg with the Tahoe in a very mixed driving environment. To further keep fueling costs as low as possible, this 5.3 liter V8 runs on regular 87 octane gasoline. Look around at some of Tahoe’s competition and you’ll be hard pressed to find many vehicles that don’t have a premium fuel requirement. All this talk of efficiency might lead one to believe that the Tahoe’s engine was designed for economy and not performance, but this is not the case at all. Mated to a computer-controlled four-speed transmission, the 5.3 liter V8 provides plenty of muscle to propel all 5500 pounds of vehicle quickly and controllably in all driving situations.

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Speaking of control, GM engineers made driving the Tahoe an absolute breeze. While some SUVs are built on a car-based platform to retain ease of drivability, GM had the daunting task of making a truck-based platform drive like a car. The Tahoe does just that, and is as easy to maneuver on the roads and in parking lots as a mid-sized car thanks to tight rack-and-pinion steering ratios. Our Tahoe LTZ was equipped with a standard Z55 real-time Autoride damping system, which provides dynamic suspension changes based on wheel speed, body position, speed, steering angle and braking. This feature was very welcome, and made the Tahoe extremely comfortable to ride in, even on the very rough roads of Houston. During cornering maneuvers and high-speed lane change maneuvers, the Autoride system kept body roll to a minimum, and kept the vehicle headed exactly where it was pointed. For a vehicle of this size, the Tahoe was very nimble and agile. To help the Tahoe come to a halt, GM equipped the vehicle with large 13.0” rotors in the front, and 13.5” rotors in the rear. Assisted by the new Bosch 8.0 four-channel ABS system, the Tahoe stops smoothly and precisely. I particularly liked the feel of the brake pedal, which gives the driver solid and progressive pedal feedback the instant the brakes are engaged, rather than the mushy and vague feel of the previous generation Tahoe.

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Despite all this new engineering, refinement, and high equipment levels, the Tahoe remains a relative bargain. Following GM’s new value pricing model, the MSRP of the base Tahoe LS has been set at $33,990, which is almost $2,000 cheaper than the outgoing model. Our top of the line Tahoe LTZ test vehicle has a base price of $44,015. With the optional $2,145 DVD based navigation system, and $195 rear view camera system, the price-as-tested of our 2007 Tahoe came to $47,455. This is only marginally more expensive than a 2006 Ford Expedition Limited, which offers nowhere near the level of equipment or refinement of the Tahoe.

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Historically, I have not been the biggest fan of General Motors, nor have I been a huge fan of SUVs. I felt that General Motors always had products that were big on badge engineering, but lacked real engineering. The vehicles appealed more to rental car fleets than to my driving senses. SUVs in general are too big for my needs, were difficult to drive, and uncomfortable to ride in. My opinion of both GM and SUVs has changed since driving the Tahoe. The new Tahoe is much more than a fantastic vehicle in almost every regard, it’s also proof positive that GM can deliver quality, and relevant vehicles. I won’t ask what took so long, but rather hope that this renaissance of engineering and design finds its way into other GM models. This is the first time I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed every aspect of driving a vehicle from “The General” outside of the legendary Corvette and Z06. The Tahoe delivers huge value compared to its competitors, is a pleasure to drive, and will impress even the most discerning passengers with its fantastic looks. Most importantly, the new Tahoe appeals to the average American family. The scene played out in my driveway is already occurring on dealer lots. Since its launch in January of 2006, Chevrolet has already delivered over 45,000 Tahoes to buyers, or an increase of 37.3% percent over the same period last year. This new Tahoe won’t be the Holy Grail that single-handedly saves GM, but it’s a damn good start. I can’t wait to see what else GM has in store for us in the future.