Chevrolet Tahoe – big, American and almost affordable
American cars have always differed from their European, and even more so Asian counterparts in presentability, impressive size and, alas, price. Therefore, such crossovers as the Cadillac Escalade are more like a dream for an ordinary motorist. But more recently, Chevrolet introduced its updated Tahoe SUV, which can become a direct competitor to the Escalade and similar cars.
Body, salon
Externally, the car turned out, of course, purely American, “Smooth lines, no, they didn’t hear it,” the designers said and made the body simply monumental. Large grille, divided by a strip with a nameplate, an almost horizontal line of the bumper cover. You can’t call all this beautiful, rather there is more practicality here. The interior of the car is just as utilitarian, without any frills, replete with control buttons. Moreover, even the transmission is controlled using the keys located on the front panel. The solution is original, although it will require a certain manipulation skill.
The keys on the left “poker” control the wipers of both the front windshield and the rear window, the panoramic roof and its blind are opened using the keys on the ceiling. In general, the abundance of buttons, including those that you can program yourself, just ripples in the eyes. In general, the “old school” salon should like it, what is the cigarette lighter alone worth? And this is not about a 12 volt connector, but about a cigarette lighter. Of the modern technical solutions, it should be noted wireless charging is already in the base, a multimedia screen with a dimension of 10.2 inches. A multimedia system without any frills, with the ability to connect Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, but without built-in navigation.
The second screen, 8.2 inches in size, is located on the instrument panel and displays not only basic data, but also the percentage of wear on filters and brake pads. The heating system may seem rather strange. It includes heated steering wheel, seats, and for the front seats, you can choose to heat the seat or backrest separately. But there is no heating of the windshield, let alone nozzles. There is no protrusion from the transmission on the second row, so a comfortable fit for three people is possible. It offers second-row passengers their own climate control unit, 4 cup holders (two in the armrest and two in the center console), two USB and HDMI ports.
By default, the crossover will come with three rows of seats, but only children will fit in the third row. The tailgate with a volume of 722 liters can be opened either partially, in the upper part with glass, or completely with a “virtual pedal”. In the trunk there is a button for automatic folding of the third row and a 220-volt outlet. But a small spare wheel is installed under the bottom of the car optionally, but free of charge. In the same way, for free, but optionally, instead of a third-row sofa, two “captain’s” chairs are installed.
Dynamics, controllability
A 5.3-liter engine with a capacity of 343 “horses” is installed on the crossover, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The motor has an intelligent piston shut-off system, allowing you to save fuel. In the future, it is planned to install a diesel engine with a volume of 3 liters exactly, with a capacity of 281 hp, which will be cut down to 249 hp.
Of course, the dynamics for such a car is far from the most important thing, but it accelerates to 100 km / h in 8 seconds. Which for a mass of almost 3.5 tons is very good. By default, the car already has an air suspension, but it manifests itself in a rather strange way. In manual mode, the car can only lower the ground clearance by 50 mm for comfortable boarding. Otherwise, in normal mode, the suspension changes profile only at high speed. In the US version, it can also increase ground clearance by 50 mm in off-road mode.
We do not have such a feature in the air suspension. Off-road, the car behaves confidently, since the “lower” is already in the database. But off-road storming is still not worth it, although the manufacturer positions the crossover as a travel car. The fact is that the official clearance of the car in 220 mm in some places is reduced to critical figures.
So, for example, to the levers of the rear wheel suspension is only 140 mm. The handling of the car is adequate, but the suspension is somewhat harsh. Even when passing relatively small obstacles, there are tangible impulses on the steering wheel. Among the pluses is a decent sound insulation that cuts off third-party noise even at high speeds.
Outcome
In total, two complete sets are offered for sale, the initial Z71 and the more advanced RST. The difference between them is a different grille, a more presentable interior and 22 inch wheels instead of 20 inch ones. Although for driving comfort it is just preferable to 20 inch.