High tech but not high fashion, Chevrolet Suburban cruises on
Leave it to the 2023 Chevrolet Suburban, the industry’s first sport utility vehicle, to sport the segment’s most advanced driving technology. You wouldn’t expect it, given that the Chevrolet Suburban is the oldest nameplate in continuous production, having been built since 1935. But with the addition of Super Cruise, the 2023 Chevrolet Suburban remains cutting edge.
Much like Tesla’s vastly overhyped Autopilot, GM’S Super Cruise is a semi-autonomous driving system, one described by the Society of Automotive Engineers as a Level 2 system. SAE rates systems from 0, for a car without autonomous assistance, to 5, for a car that drives autonomously without a steering wheel or pedals.
As for Super Cruise, it’s state-of-the-art, and its availability in Chevrolet is welcome. That said, it requires buying one of the Suburban’s top two trim levels, either Premier or High Country, to get it.
The quality of Super Cruise’s performance is impressive. Only the company’s GPS and cameras have been used to map the highways where Super Cruise is enabled. This conservative approach to its development helps its comportment, which is impressive given that the Chevrolet Suburban is the size of your topiary-obsessed neighbor’s garden shed.
Super Cruise is activated once your cruise control is set. When the vehicle indicates Super Cruise is available, you engage it. Then, sit back, take your hands off the wheel and your feet off the pedals. But keep them close by, as the car monitors you. Like adaptive cruise control, Super Cruise maintains a pre-set distance set from vehicles in front of it, a distance set by the driver.
Super Cruise’s lanecentering software expertly keeps the Chevy’s considerable bulk in its lane, tracking true through corners without the side-to-side sway typical of its competitors. Changing lanes is equally stressfree. Merely activate the turn signal, and the Suburban changes lanes on its own. But if you’re cruising and traffic slows below your pre-set speed limit, Super Cruise will check to see if the left lane next to it is clear. If it is, it activates its turn signal, changes lanes and turns off its signal without driver intervention. Trust me, this is a wow.
Yet Super Cruise knows its limits. When it reaches a place where mapping isn’t available, the vehicle makes it known in a timely manner allowing for the driver takes over.
Beyond its top-notch tech, it’s a Suburban. Styled much like a postmodern shipping container, there’s more than 41 cubic feet of cargo space, even with all three rows in use.
Admittedly, the finishes aren’t as fancy, but the Chevrolet undercuts them on price, although, at more than $91,000 as tested, this is far from a popularly priced vehicle. If you just need the space without affectation, you’ll appreciate the down-low vibe. It’s the handsome, dignified, quietly useful antithesis of our narcissist Tiktok/ Instagram/facebook age.
The 2023 Chevrolet Suburban remains useful, not affected, something its owners truly appreciate.