With the right equipment, a new Suburban can be rated as high as 10,500 pounds. A small distinction, perhaps, to those of us who don't plan to drag our own personal 7-11 with us when we're traveling, but max towing matters to owners of big boats or horses. The front end is the same all the way back to the windshield pillar, and, like the pickup, it requires close scrutiny to be sure you're looking at a new vehicle. The same applies to the GMC version, although in this incarnation, it no longer will be called a Suburban. Using the new truck chassis as the foundation for the new sport-utilities is a good thing, and it's a major factor in the Suburban's excellent deportment, as well as its reduced interior noise levels.
Interior pleasures Speaking of that, there are also a couple of significant improvements inside.
Though the previous Suburban was far from cramped, it's verging on recreation-room spaciousness in the new edition. The Excursion holds an edge here, but it's almost academic. No. 2, GM has dramatically improved access to the Suburban's third row seat with a second row seat system that's remarkably similar to the Excursion's. Like the Excursion, there's room in that rearmost seat for adults to sit comfortably. Beyond that, everyone on board gets a very good view of the world going by, thanks to slight seat elevation upgrades in rows two and three, plus plenty of glass area.