Rental Review: 2023 Suburban LT

[The Critic]

Currently driving a 2023 Suburban LT with 25K miles.

I originally booked a minivan but upon arrival, they allowed me to choose between the Pacifica, Wagoneer and Suburban for the same price. Since I had never driven a Suburban, I chose it.

Pluses:
- 3 rows of usable seating plus a decent cargo area. Adults can actually sit in the 3rd row, and IMO, the 3rd row is more comfortable than the Pacifica.
- Ride and handling are good for a large BOF vehicle. Turning radius is shockingly good.
- 10AT excellent. Smooth shifts with good programming, better than the ZF 8HP in my Ram.
- Throttle programming is very progressive
- Fuel economy is decent. Currently averaging 17 mpg in mixed driving with lots of idling.

Cons:
- The 5.3L is slow. If I buy one, I would definitely pay extra for the 6.2L.
- Access in and out of the 3rd row can be a serious challenge. I can see why people like 2nd row captain chairs.
- The 2nd row bench seat is HEAVY. Raising them from the collapsed to the upright position may be too difficult (heavy) for some people.
- ESS isn’t the greatest - there is noticeable vibration and shudder upon restart. The 48V mild-hybrid systems really shine for this.

 

[mcrn]

Nice. I really like those. That mpg is not bad at all. I am surprised to hear that the 10spd programming is that good. Thats awesome.

 

[4WD]

Nice. I really like those. That mpg is not bad at all. I am surprised to hear that the 10spd programming is that good. Thats awesome.

made the same comments before - it is smoother than my 8 speed Mopar … at some point I’ll put in a Range DFM module in the *2022 and say:
“Wow - I could of had a V8” (it really improved the 2017)
*not out yet ?

 

[4WD]

delete

 

[ctechbob]

made the same comments before - it is smoother than my 8 speed Mopar

Which is frustrating to the people who own the Ford 'version' of that 10-speed. Ford should have stuck around for the programming class instead of taking the design and running off with it.

There are lots of times I've wished for that ZF8 instead of the 10R80 I have.

 

[fantastic]

Very good review. Didn't know GM still offered the 6.2L in a Half ton vehicle still. Is the 6.2L basically an over bored 5.3L? I'll have to look into it. It's a nice feature to have the 10 Spd. & hybrid system to get some better mileage out of this Full Size SUV. Does this activate like a Prius & is only used at <25 MPH?

 

[RhondaHonda]

I’d agree with your review. My wife has a 2021 and it’s great for family hauling duty. We had a 6.2 in the 2017 and it wasn’t available yet when we got her 2021 so we have the 5.3. It’s not terrible but if you have a full load of adults it’s noticeably down on grunt.

We do have the 2nd row captains in ours and usually just keep one folded forward.

The odd thing is her Denali XL with the 6.2 and 8 speed got better mpg than the Z71 with the 5.3 and 10-speed. Around town they are pretty much the same, but on the highway the 6.2 won out. I’m chalking it up mostly to the tires that came on the Z71.

Almost 50,000 miles on hers and I’m sure we’ll get another down the road sometime.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Interesting to hear the 5.3 is underpowered. I always heard it was pretty fast. Maybe in the old days I guess or in the Tahoe only. I don’t think I could have driven one of these for the looks though, I’d had to of taken the Pacifica or Wagoneer.

 

[PontiacHO]

I own a 5.3 crew cab. The power band is in the upper RPM range. It is a lumbering slug around town…. Never driven one with a 6.2. Heard it was a totally different experience.

 

[The Critic]

I’d had to of taken the Pacifica or Wagoneer.

I was also interested in the Wagoneer, but when it pulled up, the customer complained about a CEL. Not to add fuel to the fire, but the Enterprise rep said all of their Wagoneers have been extremely problematic and this particular, has had a CEL for the sixth time.

Also, the base Wagoneer would have been slightly small than the Suburban.

We do have the 2nd row captains in ours and usually just keep one folded forward.

In vehicles with a real, usable 3rd row
- having Captain Chairs makes sense. Unfortunately, it looks like you now have to get a Premier in order to get Captain Chairs?

 

[RhondaHonda]

I was also interested in the Wagoneer, but when it pulled up, the customer complained about a CEL. Not to add fuel to the fire, but the Enterprise rep said all of their Wagoneers have been extremely problematic and this particular, has had a CEL for the sixth time.

Also, the base Wagoneer would have been slightly small than the Suburban.


In vehicles with a real, usable 3rd row
- having Captain Chairs makes sense. Unfortunately, it looks like you now have to get a Premier in order to get Captain Chairs?

Hmmm. That’s news to me. We have a Z71, which I’m not sure the hierarchy anymore with the different trim levels. I won’t buy another without 2nd row captains.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Nice upgrade, renting that monster is normally $500 - $600 daily even with the Costco rental car discount.

 

[ls1mike]

Nice upgrade, renting that monster is normally $500 - $600 daily even with the Costco rental car discount.

Sweet Lordt. The Compass was 649.00 for 4 days.

 

[The Critic]

Nice upgrade, renting that monster is normally $500 - $600 daily even with the Costco rental car discount.

$54/day for me.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Nice upgrade, renting that monster is normally $500 - $600 daily even with the Costco rental car discount.

Oops, I looked at the weekly price instead!

 

[The Critic]

Hmmm. That’s news to me. We have a Z71, which I’m not sure the hierarchy anymore with the different trim levels. I won’t buy another without 2nd row captains.

Looks like the captain chairs are available in the lower trims.

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/chevrolet/na/us/english/index/shopping-tools/download-catalog/10-pdf/2023-chevrolet-suburban-ebrochure.pdf

But for some reason, I do not see any option of a 2nd row bucket when I select the Z71 luxury package.

 

[4WD]

I was also interested in the Wagoneer, but when it pulled up, the customer complained about a CEL. Not to add fuel to the fire, but the Enterprise rep said all of their Wagoneers have been extremely problematic and this particular, has had a CEL for the sixth time.

Also, the base Wagoneer would have been slightly small than the Suburban.


In vehicles with a real, usable 3rd row
- having Captain Chairs makes sense. Unfortunately, it looks like you now have to get a Premier in order to get Captain Chairs?

Not sure - but our 2022 Tahoe is an LT and has captains seats
(the 2017 does as well) …
We don’t really use the 3rd row - so, when ordering a full mat set - opted to put a large WeatherTech mat in the back - handy for mulch etc …

 

[dlundblad]

Nice.

The suburban is just too big to be visually appealing to me. For traveling, I’m sure it’s great though.

Dad had a Tahoe with the 3.0 diesel on order for quite a while. They kept trying to put him in a 5.3 and he kept saying no. He did test drive a Z71 with the 6.2 and that thing was very nice. That or the AT4 Yukon with the 6.2 would be my pick if MPG’s and the fact that it needed premium fuel did not matter.

 

[RhondaHonda]

@The Critic - I went to the build and price and couldn’t add them either. Im thinking it’s some supply-chain issue and they don’t have them on all models at the moment. When we were buying in 2021 there were limited choices with options and they weren’t doing some things like power running boards, steering wheel lock, auto start-stop, etc.

I think 2024 might bring a mild refresh as well. I’m surprised they don’t have the option to build a 2024 yet which might have to do with some upcoming changes.

Edit - looks like they moved the mid cycle updates to 2025.