First Test: 2008 Chevrolet Suburban 2500
Much More Than Meets the Eye
/ By G.R. Whale
/ Photography by Brian Vance
/
Article provided by: Motor Trend Magazine
There's no badge, no change in bodywork, not even an HD decal to visually separate the Suburban 2500 from its grocery-getter brethren. Only those clued in to such things will notice the higher rear ride height, smaller-diameter wheels with eight lugs or, if they're sitting low enough, the rear end of a working pickup truck.
UNSEEN UPGRADES
However, under the square yards of Deep Ruby metallic paint, nary a mechanical component has gone untouched. The engine drops Active Fuel Management and gets an iron block for more twist and fewer ponies than the aluminum-block 6.0-liter V-8, yet it sounds identical and pulls to the same 6000 limiter-hence, no redline on the 6000-rpm tach.
Quarter-Ton Delta
A 2500 Suburban weighs 400-800 pounds more than a similarly equipped 1500. It has a different engine, transmission, steering gear and cooler, brake booster, Z85 torsion-bar front and leaf-spring rear suspension, full-floating 10.5-inch rear axle with 3.73:1 gearset only, larger fuel tank, thicker rotors and bigger calipers, lower-output alternator, smaller wheels, and LT tires. Payload and GCWR are up about a half ton and towing by about 1500 pounds. It requires 2.5 feet more for a U-turn, a full Suburban-length extra to stop from 60, and accelerates a bit quicker. The quarter-ton upgrade adds just $1400. |
An 80-series gearbox adds two gears, raising overall first from the best half-ton's 12.5:1 to almost 15.0:1 with taller overdrive (2.87:1 to 2.50:1) at the other end and a shift toggle on the lever. Despite having fewer ponies and nearly 800 more pounds to get moving than the last 6.0-liter half-ton (with 4.10:1s) we sampled, the six-speed showed its value by getting this very-low-mile unit to 60 mph 0.3 second quicker and through the quarter in the same time but with another 3.5 mph on the dial.
The rearend is a full-floating GM 14-bolt with an overload on the leaf-spring packs and no anti-roll bar; the standard wheels are 16x6.5-inch forged alloys with LT tires. Stuff like this has kept GM pickups hauling for decades, only now with a six-speed auto and variable valve timing.
BRAKES
Inside, the rear-suspension architecture changes nothing around rear seats and wheelwells, so the cabin is the same as a 1500 except that you can't get the LTZ trim spec on 3/4-tons. This 1LT, loaded with 2LT and then some, is close to the topmost 2500. It sports four leather buckets and a $100-option three-person vinyl rear bench that split-folds 50/50. For another $1000, the 3LT package would add heated front seats and mirrors and Bose audio.
Responsive analog gauges have the "pure pickup" look set into the LTZ-style single-glovebox dash, nicely melding function and design. There's a space for seemingly everything except the DVD headphones, an issue not unique to GM, and the materials are appropriate for intent and well assembled.
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