2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71
2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 If the current Chevrolet Tahoe, offered in three trim levels, is a bestseller in the full-size SUV segment, then a new generation that is bigger, better equipped, more dynamic to drive, and comes in six distinct flavors should be a slam dunk.
General Motors lifted the veil of the 2021 Chevy Tahoe at an event in Detroit, home of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings hockey team and the Detroit Pistons basketball team. This is the fifth generation of the Tahoe, a bestseller that accounts for one in four sales in the full-size SUV segment.
And for this generation, Chevy doubles the number of trim levels. The LS, LT and Premier models continue. But RST, which was a special edition in the past, becomes its own level of finish. And Z71, which was once an off-road package, is also becoming a level of finish in its own right. High Country, flooded with brown leather, becomes the new level of high-end finish.
Only preliminary prices have been released so far, and while the entry-level Tahoe LS will cost $1000 more than before, some of the higher trim levels are actually cheaper than their 2020 counterparts.
Tahoe is the big SUV for those who tend to carry four people regularly, instead of six, and use all the rear space for cargo. Although it grew for the 2021 model year, the Tahoe is still a tight vehicle compared to the new 2021 Chevrolet Suburban, which is 15 inches long.
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To break what is undeniably a great vehicle, and prevent it from looking too slabby, there is a strong character line on the side, trim designed to look like the greenhouse is bigger than it is, and many different faces with a grille for each trim level. GM says it has no plans to go retro with its large SUVs, which means you can rule out the possibility of a two-door variant or front bench seat.
The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 wheelbase increased from 4.9 inches to 120.9 inches and the overall length increased from 6.7 inches to 210.7 inches. Like the Suburban 2021, the Tahoe replaces the old live rear axle with a new independent multilink rear suspension.
The result: 40 percent more legroom and a whopping 66 percent more cargo room behind the third row, giving it the best dimensions in its class, Chevy said. (Oh, and we received a brief ride in a prototype with the new suspension, and we can say that the driving quality is much better now.)
In comparison, the 2020 Ford shipment has 25 percent less loading room behind the third row. The longer wheelbase also allowed for a larger rear door to make it easier to get in and out.
Third-row passengers also have 10 inches of extra legroom and the second-row seat now slides 5.6 inches to make it easier to explore your way to the back row.
Read next: 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe RST
The top trimesters have heated seats, even in the second row, climate controls and USB sockets and power to go with the large screens that can be ordered for these rear passengers. At the front, the screens are also larger and more numerous, including a 15-inch head-up screen. The materials are an improvement over Chevy pickups.
The standard base engine on the LS, LT, Z71, RST and Premier models is the 355 hp, 383 lb-ft 5.3-liter V-8. The 420 hp, 460 lb-ft 6.2-liter V-8 is standard on High Country.
Both carry-forward engines have replaced the outgoing model’s active fuel management system with dynamic fuel management technology, which can shut down all cylinders and use more than 12 cylinder deactivation modes. The engines also have automatic start-stop.
New under the hood is an optional Duramax 3.0-liter I-6 turbodiesel which is available on all but the Z71. It generates 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.
It becomes a club of one: GM is the only one to offer a diesel in a full-size SUV in the U.S. EPA energy efficiency figures have not yet come out, but it is the engine that will display the most attractive figures and could reach some of the highest ratings in the fuel economy segment.
The architecture is flexible enough to accommodate electric motors and batteries in the future if GM wants a hybrid powertrain. But it wouldn’t be in the first model year.
2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71
GM is expected to add pure electric SUVs as well as pickup trucks in the future, but they would be on a totally different architecture, dedicated to battery electric vehicles. The custom electric platform will produce an electric pickup in the fall of 2021, said CEO Mary Barra. We expect an electric SUV to arrive later.
A-Max Trailering package is designed to make it easier to see the hitch, then improve the trailer experience while monitoring tire pressure and temperatures and adding a blind zone alert. A label on the jam of the driver’s side door will help calculate the vehicle’s exact capabilities.
SUVs have 30 safety and convenience technologies, including standard automatic emergency braking, automatic headlight control, and more. The nine different views of the camera add the rear pedestrian alert, the front collision alert, the rear park assist and the hitchhiking to the trailer.