The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Impressive towing ability
- Strong, smooth engines
- Lots of available tech
- Optional Super Cruise
Dislikes
- Not efficient, not at all
- Turbodiesel is pricey
- Big and cumbersome
- Meh outward vision
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 Tahoe returns as a top towing choice, with a new layer of tech.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe? What does it compare to?
The Tahoe three-row SUV sports seats for up to nine (!) people plus cargo, with heavy-duty V-8 or turbodiesel powertrains for big towing ratings. Its rivals include the Ford Expedition, Toyota Sequoia, and Chevy’s own Suburban.
Is the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe a good SUV?
Sold in six trims—LS, LT, RST, Z71, Premier and High Country—the Tahoe rides well, pumps out lots of torque in all versions, and can tug a trailer or boat with strength and confidence. We rate the updated 2025 Tahoe at 6.4 out of 10. (Read more abouthow we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe?
The Tahoe’s been mildly changed outside, with crisper lines around the grille and tail. It’s still the Columbia sleeveless fleece of big SUVs, with your choice of NCAA logo embroidered on the chest. Inside the revamped dash splays touchscreens and digital displays further and wider, to handsome effect.
Chevy’s bread-and-butter 353-hp 5.3-liter V-8 returns this year, coupled to a 10-speed automatic and a choice between rear- and four-wheel drive. It’s standard on all models save for the RST. That model takes on the upsized 6.2-liter V-8 as standard; with 420 hp, it’s an option on almost all other trims. The bigger news for 2025, and this may be the last big diesel news from any domestic brand, is that the optional turbodiesel engine comes back with 305 hp and 495 lb-ft of torque, up from last year’s 277 hp and 460 lb-ft. Towing ratings max out at 8,400 pounds. New functionality helps drivers calculate driving range with a vehicle in tow, and helps navigate tow ramps and drive paths around tight corners.
The Tahoe’s controlled, firm ride and decent handling get minor upgrades this year, mostly in the form of retuned steering. An air suspension and magnetically controlled dampers remain on the menu; Chevy offers the latter as standard equipment on the Tahoe Premier and High Country and as an option on the RST and Z71, while the air suspension costs extra on the RST, Z71, and High Country.
With its ladder-frame design, the 2025 Tahoe has a vast interior with seating for up to nine passengers with the base bench-seat edition. Passenger safety has garnered mixed crash-test ratings—the NHTSA gives it four stars—but this year’s additions to the safety roster include automatic crash recordings and surround-view camera imaging for both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. GM’s hands-free Super Cruise system will be offered in 2025.
How much does the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe cost?
The base 2025 Tahoe costs $60,495 and comes with cloth upholstery, a 17.7-inch touchscreen, wireless smartphone connectivity, and 18-inch wheels. Four-wheel drive costs $3,000. We like the $63,695 Tahoe LT, which has leather seats and a power tailgate. At the top end of the lineup, the four-wheel-drive Tahoe High Country costs at least $83,195 and gains a head-up display, 22-inch wheels, wood trim, and the more powerful V-8.
Where is the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe made?
In Arlington, Texas.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Styling
The 2024 Tahoe casts an imposing shadow.
Is the Chevrolet Tahoe a good-looking SUV?
We score the 2024 Tahoe at 7 out of 10, allotting one point for its exterior and another for its car-like cabin.
For the new model year, the Tahoe adopts some of the wide-screen interfaces found on its ritzy Cadillac Escalade cousin, as well as new front and rear end styling. Make no mistake: This still is an old-school SUV, with boxed-out corners and tall, wide spans of sheet metal. All versions adopt their own distinct trim. The High Country wears some black exterior trim, while the Z71 has a front end with a better approach angle and skid plates for trail-driving. The concessions to modern design fit in well, with its slim LED headlights blending in just as deftly as its LED taillights. The Tahoe now beefs up to 24-inch wheels in its RST and High Country trims, and pulls off the look with muscular confidence.
The Tahoe makes a smarter impression inside this year, with a dash design that’s like the user-friendly setups in a brace of new Chevys from the Blazer EV to the Traverse. An 11.0-inch digital gauge cluster and information display twin with a 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen. They’re melded together in a banked pod around the driver, split from the front passenger on most versions by a wide center console. Top versions wear wood trim piped with thin metallic splines on the dash, and perforated leather on the seats. It’s a luxurious look that’s in line with the Tahoe’s rising price tag, and it looks fresh and inviting.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Performance
Stick with V-8 gas power and you’ll find the Tahoe to be a solid performer.
For its size and weight, the Tahoe smooths out wrinkled pavement with calm confidence. It rides well, particularly with the air suspension and magnetic damping on top trim levels. That’s a point in the plus column, along with a point for its gas engines and one for its towing and off-road ability. After we subtract a point for agility—it’s not—we arrive at a 7 out of 10 for performance.
Is the Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD?
Rear-wheel drive comes standard on almost every version, but four-wheel drive can be ordered for $3,000. Most of those four-wheel-drive models have a single-speed transfer case, but Chevy offers a 2-speed transfer case with a neutral mode for towing behind an RV. For adventure-seeking, the Z71 has modest upgrades that give it better off-road capability: rugged tires, a slightly higher stance, and a reshaped front end with a better approach angle and a skid plate. Other versions with massive 22- and 24-inch tires aren’t really suited for that work.
How fast is the Chevrolet Tahoe?
The gas engines generate strong power for cruising and towing. A 355-hp 5.3-liter V-8 comes in most models, and its rorty exhaust pairs with an 8,400-pound towing rating when fitted with a trailering package. For even better rippling V-8 exhaust sounds, the 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8 sends the Tahoe rearing back on its haunches while the gas gauge spins toward E. The higher-output V-8 tows less than its V-8 counterpart, though. It’s standard on the High Country, and available on the Tahoe RST, Z71, and Premier.
Pass the improved 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-6. It now puts out 305 hp, up from 277 hp last year, and boosts torque by 35 lb-ft to 495 lb-ft of torque. It’s now offered on the Z71 edition, and while it’s reasonably smooth, it lags in tow ratings and its fuel costs substantially more.
On any version, the 10-speed Tahoe automatic has cleaned up its low-speed shift quality and fires off two- or three-speed kickdowns. That talent comes in handy often, as the girthy Tahoe needs frequent doses of fuel to chug along.
Its heft helps iron the road beneath it—but when shod with air springs and the available magnetic adaptive dampers, they make even the newly available 24-inch wheels behave. The 18s on the LS and LT swallow bumps well enough without the trick suspension. The steering is heavily boosted at low speeds for easy cornering and parking. Tahoes settle in nicely for excellent highway stability.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Comfort & Quality
The Tahoe ponies up room for up to nine.
Call it the Tarrant County Tesla: the Tahoe’s almost the size of a studio sublet in a coastal state, and still it’s shorter than the related Chevy Suburban. For its ultra-capacious cabin and cargo hold, it’s a 9—and High Country and Premier versions would get the final point for interior quality.
What makes it a supreme long-distance tourer is a footprint like Bigfoot’s. At 211.3 inches long, with a 121.0-inch wheelbase, the Tahoe bathes up to nine passengers in plenty of all-around space. Front-seat passengers get royal treatment when the standard cloth bench gets upgraded to leather-covered buckets with heating, cooling, and power adjustment.
In row two, either a three-seat bench or dual captain’s chairs offer up firm comfort and a maximum of 42.0 inches of legroom. At their foremost they don’t leave much kneeroom, but can slide back on tracks to open up limo-style space. When moved forward, they open up access to an adult-sized third-row seat.
Row three serves up 34.9 inches of legroom, enough for larger passengers despite a lack of foot space, and a flat seat bottom.
The cargo area tops out at about 123 cubic feet. Behind the third row the Tahoe sports 25.5 cubic feet of cargo space; behind the second row, up to 72.5 cubic feet. With a cargo floor at hip height for 6-footers, it’s convenient enough to load up for a light-duty family trip.
The related GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade have more ritzy interiors, but the dressy Tahoe High Country and Premier have wood trim, fine leather, and a confidently luxurious vibe.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Safety
The Tahoe posts subpart crash-test scores.
How safe is the Chevrolet Tahoe?
It has advanced safety technology, but the NHTSA gives the latest Tahoe just four stars overall. It’s a low score, especially for a large vehicle.
The IIHS hasn’t crash-tested one.
The Tahoe offers a wide array of crash-prevention technology, from standard automatic emergency braking, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, parking sensors, and a surround-view camera system. A head-up display is available. This year, more models can be fitted with GM’s excellent Super Cruise driver assistance, which permits hands-free driving on hundreds of thousands of miles of pre-mapped highways.
Outward vision gets cut by stout roof pillars.
With points for safety standard gear and options—and minus one for the NHTSA score—the Tahoe checks in at a 6 for safety.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Features
The Tahoe duals as a super long-distance cruiser and tough tow rig.
Chevy offers six versions of the Tahoe: LS, LT, RST, Z71, Premier and High Country. All versions have excellent infotainment, a good list of standard equipment, and a myriad of options. The minimal 3-year/36,000-mile warranty comes with one free oil change, and value’s passed out of the Tahoe’s orbit—unless towing and people-hauling weigh mightily on your personal driving scale.
The 2025 Tahoe now starts at a hefty $60,495 in base LS trim, which buys power front seats, cloth upholstery, an 11.0-inch digital gauge display and a 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, remote start, and 18-inch alloy wheels. Four-wheel drive adds $3,000 across the lineup.
Which Chevrolet Tahoe should I buy?
We’d opt for the Tahoe LT, which runs $63,695 and adds a power tailgate, heated front seats, a wireless smartphone charger, and leather upholstery.
Other trims are mostly about style. The $68,495 Tahoe RST has special 22-inch wheels, black trim, perforated leather seats, and black and red interior trim.
The $70,495Tahoe Z71’s rugged looks grant it a better approach angle, and it gets a 2-speed transfer case with skid plates and side steps, as well as 20-inch all-terrain wheels and tires.
The higher-end Premier includes adaptive dampers and cooled front seats for around $75,095. It also has a power tilt/telescope steering wheel, heated second-row outboard seats, a power-folding third-row seat, front-seat lumbar adjustment, a heated steering wheel, 20-inch wheels, and 10-speaker Bose audio.
How much is a fully loaded Chevrolet Tahoe?
Finally, the $80,195 Tahoe High Country adds on 22-inch wheels, wood interior trim, the bigger V-8, a head-up display, a rear camera mirror, and High Country logos on the seats and sills.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Fuel Economy
Most Tahoes don’t earn good fuel economy ratings.
Is the Chevrolet Tahoe good on gas?
Even for its size, the gas-powered Tahoe’s not a paragon of gas-mileage virtue. EPA ratings for 2025 haven’t been published, but we expect the carryover powertrains to post the same ratings. For those with the 5.3-liter V-8, that’s 15 mpg city, 20 highway, 17 combined—and a 1 on our scale.
The more powerful 6.2-liter V-8 and the Z71 version slide to 16 mpg combined.
Chevy’s revamped the optional turbodiesel, so it may post better numbers than last year’s 24 mpg combined with rear-wheel drive and 22 mpg combined with four-wheel drive.
Chevy doesn’t sell a hybrid Tahoe.