The 2025 Chevrolet Suburban underwent a significant glow-up for the new model year. The popular three-row has been the bar and leader of the full-size SUV pack for decades, and from where I’m sitting, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. While photographs reveal the cosmetic updates, living with one for a week proved that many of the flaws with the previous model have been addressed. Those updates range from usability and functional bits to safety and ergonomics.
It’s clear the Chevy team read previous reviews and got to work, but then again, not every flaw has been addressed.
The Basics
The refreshed front end is more intricate and defined, featuring split LED daytime running lights. The headlights are now mounted lower than before and have been darkened to be hidden from view during the day. Some models gained LED fog lights, while the rear (finally) gained LED taillights and a black panel between the flip-up rear glass and the bottom half of the tailgate to break up the metal visually. It’s all small stuff, but it adds up to be a more interesting-looking vehicle, and the LED taillights on a car that can cost more than $90,000 now are welcome.
The interior updates are fairly dramatic up front with a new dashboard. Chevy has harmonized the design with the Silverado EV giving the Suburban a familiar looking 17.7-inch horizontal touchscreen that bleeds into the 11-inch digital gauge cluster. Both feature the same interface as the latest Chevrolet vehicles, even the Blazer EV SS. The look is far more integrated than before and the tombstone iPad rising from the dash is no longer. Buttons, knobs, and toggles remain for essential climate and audio functions, including a volume knob, and the same goes for the four-wheel-drive system and headlights. The push-and-pull gear selector has been replaced by a column-mounted unit out of other Chevys like the Traverse. It’s the little things.
The second and third-row seats are still spacious for adults, with no one having a legitimate excuse to complain about legroom. My kids fawned over the spacious interior of the Suburban. The seats are narrower and firmer than those in the Ford Expedition, making them less fatiguing on long road trips, but also less supportive. The second row still perches occupants too high compared to the Expedition due to the flip and tilt folding mechanisms, which is far less family-friendly than the Expedition’s tilt and slide setup. This means car seats don’t have to be removed to access the third row.
Driving the 2025 Chevrolet Suburban
The heart of the Suburban remains the same with three carryover powertrains: a 5.3-liter V8 with 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, an available 6.2-liter V8 with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, or a 3.0-liter turbodiesel-six with 305 hp and 495 lb-ft of torque. Every Suburban has a well-behaved, smooth-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission. While rear-wheel drive is standard most will be optioned with four-wheel drive. My swanky High Country tester had a 6.2-liter V8 under its hood and power output was plentiful with plenty of passing and pulling power, even with a 5,000-pound fishing boat strapped to the back. The throttle and brake pedals aren’t progressive, so it takes some personal recalibration with strong throttle tip-in and grabby brakes that engage early in the pedal’s travel.
At 226.3 inches long, the Suburban is one of the largest three-row people movers on the market. Three-point turns are frequent, the Costco parking lot isn’t its friend, and pulling into a barnyard with a narrow gateway takes some attention.
That length enables a 134.1-inch wheelbase, which on the High Country tested is paired with air suspension and adaptive dampers to help smother the pavement even on 22-inch wheels. The ride can be described as smooth, but not plush, and it’s clear that it is based on a truck.
The redesigned dashboard features a new heads-up display cowling that sits relatively high, reducing forward visibility for the driver, despite the driver being 5-foot-10. It was difficult to see the actual hood over the cowling if I didn’t want to raise my seat bottom higher than comfortable.
At night, the headlights, lowered into the middle of the front end, paid dividends over the outgoing Suburban, with noticeably better low- and high-beam performance. The addition of LED fog lights to the High Country model tested increased the lower level light output that was previously missing in the outgoing model.
At night, the large, angled 17.7-inch touchscreen and 11-inch digital gauge cluster, which reflect in the driver’s door window, can be distracting and annoying. Worse, this is just a lot of, and even in the dimmest setting, it felt harsh on the eyes.
GM’s fantastic and market-leading Level 2 hands-free driver assistance system, named Super Cruise, was standard on the High Country tested. It made road tripping less exhausting, and the radar sensor array could easily “see” farther into the night darkness than my eyes could in terms of deer on the road. Still, at $96,130 as tested, the fact that the Suburban didn’t have night vision seemed crazy considering Audis at this price point have that type of tech. Here in General Motors’ world, it’s reserved for the Cadillac Escalade.
For anyone who’s towing, there are plenty of camera views with 14 angles in total, including down the side of the SUV to watch the trailer while going around a tight corner. Clutch. However, the receiver itself is positioned close to the mounting hardware on the SUV, resulting in a tight fit with the hitch pin clip, which was striking the receiver’s metal bracket, as shown in the photo above. But the safety chain hookups are flat, large, and like in the Ford Super Duty not thick, which makes it so older trailers don’t have an issue with smaller emergency brake connectors.
Quick Verdict
The 2025 Chevrolet Suburban isn’t cheap at $65,095 including a hefty $2,595 destination fee. The Suburban High Country, as tested, nearly hit the $100,000 mark, which is bananas.
Its packaging might not be as family-friendly as the second row of the Ford Expedition Max, but it has a more controlled ride, easier-to-use controls and interfaces, and Super Cruise wins the day on a road trip over Ford BlueCruise every time. The refreshed 2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer with the extended-range electric powertrain is interesting, and the Expedition Max’s split-tailgate is clutch, but it’s hard to argue that the Suburban isn’t the king of the segment for a reason.
Chevrolet provided The Drive with a seven-day loan of this vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.
| 2025 Chevrolet Suburban High Country Specs | |
|---|---|
| Base Price (High Country as tested) | $65,095 ($96,130) |
| Powertrain | 6.2-liter V8 | 10-speed automatic | four-wheel drive |
| Horsepower | 420 @ 5,600 rpm |
| Torque | 460 lb-ft @ 4,100 rpm |
| Seating Capacity | Up to 9 (7 as tested) |
| Curb Weight | 5,859 pounds |
| Towing Capacity | 8,100 pound |
| Cargo Volume | 41.5 cubic feet behind third row | 93.8 cubic feet behind second row | 144.50 cubic feet behind first row |
| Ground Clearance | 8.0 inches |
| Top Speed | 113 mph |
| EPA Fuel Economy | 14 mpg city | 18 highway | 16 combined |
| Score | 8.0/10 |
Quick Take
Big, Expensive and comfortable, the 2025 Chevrolet Suburban sets the bar in this segment for a reason.
Chevrolet provided The Drive with a loan of this vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.