1996 Chevrolet Tahoe LT - Long-Term Wrapup - Road Test

One would think that Motor Trend's most popular long-term vehicle would be something exotic, something fast, or something expensive. Not so. To our amazement, everyone seemed to want or need the four-door Chevrolet Tahoe LT, and for a variety of reasons. When versatility was the name of the game, the Tahoe fit the bill on so many occasions that it would be easier to pry the keys for the beloved long-term Porsche Carrera 4 out of Editor C. Van Tune's steely grip than it was to find the Tahoe open for a weekend.

The Tahoe regularly has been called upon to taxi a large group of staffers to lunch, tow go-karts to weekend speed sessions, carry eager skiers to Lake Tahoe and Utah, carry test gear to the track, tow a variety of ski boats, deliver optimistic campers to various off-the-beaten-path locations, and even pull an exotic sports car with a dead battery up Petersen Publishing's multilevel underground parking garage ramps to a waiting tow truck outside. If you can imagine it, our Tahoe has probably done it-more than once.

Our four-door, four-wheel-drive Tahoe, a virtual twin of GMC's Yukon, was delivered shortly after we named it Motor Trend's 1996 Truck of the Year. All models include four-wheel anti-lock brakes, a driver-side airbag, intermittent wipers, and the now-legendary Vortec 5.7-liter V-8 engine. We chose the LT trim level because it included standard leather seats and leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel, power windows, and cruise control. The optional $1475 Preferred Equipment Group 1SC supplied us with a six-way power driver's seat, remote keyless entry, air conditioning, deep-tinted rear and side glass, a luggage rack, and a rear window defroster.

Additional options included AM/FM stereo with cassette and in-dash CD player ($200), a great-for-towing 3.73:1 ratio rear axle ($135), locking rear differential axle ($252), electronic shift transfer case ($123), off-road skid plates ($225), and a heavy-duty trailering package ($164). These extras and others brought the $30,464 MSRP up to $33,458, not including destination charge. This may seem like a lot to pay for these options, but in retrospect, we couldn't imagine outfitting the Tahoe with anything less. We used every option to its fullest, and not once did a staffer write in the logbook, "I wish this Tahoe had..." or "That's a silly gadget I don't need." Properly equipped, it's still a screaming deal when held up to comparably priced sport/utilities. It's no wonder Chevrolet sold more than 124,000 of these trucks in 1996.

The logbook dripped with positive comments about the Tahoe's engine. One staffer wrote, "The Tahoe had plenty of passing power on a hill while hauling a 4000-pound boat, two adults, two children, and a week's worth of camping equipment inside!" Another summed it up by saying, "In 1969, this would have been one of the best musclecar engines on earth-today it's a truck engine!" Our opinion was echoed by the survey group; long-time truck owners who bought the '96 Tahoe were equally impressed with its towing abilities and sheer power.

The 5.7-liter engine has enough vigor to move our 5400-pound four-door to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds, covering the quarter mile in just 16.7 seconds at a terminal speed of 80.4 mph. To put that in perspective, the Tahoe spanks a brand-new Ford Expedition by a full second 0-60 mph (as witnessed in our April comparison of the two sport/utes) and, at the end of the quarter mile, is a second and a half ahead of the more expensive Range Rover 4.0 SE. With all this performance, however, comes a caveat. Our one-year average fuel economy over roughly 18,000 miles could only be coaxed to a thirsty 13.7 mpg. That's a pricetag of almost $1700 for a year's worth of gas. Gulp!