Chevy Suburban is road-trip approved
2022 model speaks volumes about SUV’S longevity.
Now that Memorial Day is behind us, it’s officially summer vacation time. Road trips with the family are a long-standing tradition for so many, including my family. But yikes, the cost of fuel makes that more prohibitive right now. Nevertheless, I loaded my family into one of the largest and most gas-guzzling vehicles on the road today. Fuel prices be damned, we were Florida-bound.
The vehicle in question can also win you a car trivia question as it’s the Chevy Suburban, which is the longest-running nameplate in automotive history (not the Ford Mustang and not the Corvette). And that longevity speaks volumes as to why the Suburban has lasted all these years (since 1935 specifically).
One of the biggest reasons is the size. We had five adults and two dogs in the 2022 Chevy Suburban Premier. Even the thirdrow was spacious and comfortable, which is so rare. The passthrough between the captain’s seats in the second row was an easy passageway for the doggos to see who they would sleep with/ annoy between the second- and third-row passengers.
Getting my family from Ohio to Florida spanned five states, nearly 1,000 miles and 12-plus hours spent in the Suburban. That’s a lot of cozy family time, so thankfully we had something bigger so we were less on top of each other. And other than one smart-ass joke of “Are We There Yet?,” there were no complaints. And yes, it was me who made the
2022 CHEVY SUBURBAN 4WD PREMIER
Price/as tested price ..................................................... $68,800/$79,730 Mileage ................................................................. 14 mpg/city; 19 mpg/hwy Engine ................................................................................................ 6.2-liter V8 Horsepower ..................................................................... 420 hp/460 lbs./ft. Transmission ................................................................. 10-speed automatic Drive Wheels .......................................................................... Four-wheel drive Final Assembly Point .................................................................. Arlington, TX
“Are We There Yet?” joke, which missed as most of my dad jokes seem to do.
On looks, the Suburban still has that high-end vibe. The big, gluttonous look of this SUV doesn’t try to disguise itself. It’s a behemoth and that’s just fine. It is not without aesthetic appeal though, as the grille is chromed-up and indentations on the hood help complete the front-end appearance. A small spoiler adds a sporty, youthful tone to the back end.
And my tester came with roof racks to show it was quite ready for a road trip (although we didn’t need to use the roof rack as the interior cargo was just barely enough). More on the vast cargo area a little further down.
An SUV the size of the Suburban needs a V8 or a diesel to move it and the 2022 version has two different V8s and a turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel. My tester was the bigger of the two V8 engines, a 6.2-liter with 420 horsepower and 460 lbs./ft. of torque. For a vehicle that weighs three tons, 420 HP is just enough power. The smaller V8 is good for only 355 HP and the six-cylinder diesel is only good for 277 horsepower.
Those numbers seem sluggish too, but I can report that with the big V8 engine the Suburban is properly powered. There’s never a struggle getting up to speed or even through the varying elevations we encountered in Tennessee.
The 10-speed automatic transmission does an admirable job dealing with it all, and the allwheel drive helped keep the grip through some annoying rain. When we finally got to the sands of the Gulf of Mexico, the Suburban was not even road-weary, even though all of us were.
You cannot mention a big hulking SUV like this without discussing the fuel economy, especially considering the obscene fuel prices right now. The 6.2-liter V8 is the least efficient offering. It’s rated at 14 mpg/city and 19 mpg/ highway. Over the entirety of the trip (down to Florida and back to Ohio), we had seven fill ups for a fuel economy average of nearly 18 mpg (a lot of it was highway). Obviously the large tank had the fuel pump ticking upward of $100 each fill, but $650 in fuel was still significantly cheaper than airfare for five adults (plus the dogs).
As far as the fuel economy goes,
Chevy