The Chevrolet Suburban High Country Diesel

The Chevrolet Suburban High Country is, at almost 19 feet long, as large as a small suburb. We kid, of course, but it is truly one of the largest vehicles on the road today. Like a fire department Hook and Ladder truck, you might want a tillerman to help guide you around tight turns. Napleton News had a chance to spend a week inside the Suburban. Here’s what we thought!

Bigger than big!

It’s huuuuge! That’s what the youngsters will say, but as they advance to middle-age, their tastes will likely say it is just right. The Chevrolet Suburban is at once the perfect road-tripper, the grocery getter and mom or dad’s taxi. Anything larger would likely be a school bus.

Power for the Suburban comes in three flavors. Start with a 335 horsepower 5.3-liter V8. Next up is a 6.2-liter V8 making 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. But our tester went even further. It features a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline 6-cylinder diesel engine that pumps out 277 hp and a similar 460 lb-ft of torque.

All engines are matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard on the Suburban, but 4WD with an auto-shifting transfer case was included on our Diesel tester. The High Country includes such topline GM tech like Magnetic Ride Control which is also found in everything from the new C8 Corvette to various Ferrari sports cars. Its towing capacity is 7,900 pounds.

How does the Chevrolet Suburban High Country look?

Start with a big glob of chrome over the grille. High Country trim logos flank either side of the vehicle, along with dressy chrome wheels that measure 22 inches. The overall shape is a two box design not unlike the SUVs that haul around the President of the United States. It’s big and bold and imposing. But more than anything else, it is impressive.

The Suburban underwent a styling change a little over two years ago, so mostly, the exterior looks pretty much as it did in 2021. Which is actually pretty damn good.

 

Trim levels range from low to high and include LS, LT, RST, Z71 and Premier trims. At the pinnacle is the High Country Suburban. When you do the numbers according to rear or AWD, engine sizes and trim levels, you are looking at 30 models…or more. The possibilities are endlessly mind-boggling.

A look inside the High Country

The electronic suite inside the Suburban High Country includes a 10.2 inch infotainment screen controlling everything from the Bose Audio System, to the smartphone connectivity with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There’s also wi-fi, Bluetooth and five USB-A ports, along with a single USB-C port. That’s unfortunate because the world is going to USB-C now.

The Chevy Suburban can swallow up to nine passengers if configured with three bench seats. Thankfully, few will option it that way, instead going for a 2-2-3 configuration or even a 2-3-3 seating arrangement. The Suburban is loaded with legroom thanks to the extra 12 inches of wheelbase it enjoys over the shorter Chevy Tahoe.

There’s enough room to store over 40 cubic feet of cargo or suitcases in the Suburban’s way back area. Fold all the seats forward to find 144.7 cubic feet of cargo space. See? Huuuuge!

Driving the Chevrolet Suburban High Country

We’ll say it, right at the start, that we were surprised that the High Country was actually a diesel. That’s because it really is that quiet. Acoustic glass helps minimize outside noise while a new and quietly refined Duramax Diesel engine barely purrs when we push the starter button.  Despite being in the middle of a Florida winter, we still found a need to use the driver and front passenger ventilated seats. We didn’t find a way to adjust the foot pedals, but did manage to find a comfortable seating position. Still, we wish the telescoping steering column just telescoped a little bit more.

The tell-tale gurgle that is usually found with Diesel engines wasn’t here this time, either while backing out or slowly getting underway. Acceleration is as spritely as we have become used to with a traditional gasoline-fueled vehicle. Best of all, the 3.0-liter diesel is faster than most others off the line.

Magnetic ride control helped minimize body roll when rounding sweeping turns. We still realize the Suburban is a rather top-heavy vehicle but it does manage to hunker down better than we would expect.

The one thing we were expecting but missed out on with the High Country Suburban were seat massagers in the first row. We went deep into the menus but came up empty-handed. But that’s ok.

Our main takeaway following a week behind the wheel of this behemoth, is that it is comparably equipped GMC Denali, Cadillac Escalade or Ford Expedition. Instead, take a look at the Chevrolet Suburban High Country Diesel as an alternative to those competitors.

High Country Specifications

 

	2023 Chevrolet Suburban High Country Diesel
Engine Type	3.0-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder turbodiesel engine
Horsepower	277 hp @ 3,750 rpm
Torque	460 lb-ft @ 1,500 rpm
Transmission	10-speed automatic with AWD
Fuel Economy	23 mpg (20 city/26 hwy)
Suspension F/R	Magna Ride Suspension F/R
Turning Circle	43.3 ft.
Also Available	Non Turbo 5.3 liter and 6.2-liter V8, RWD
Specs
Warranty	3 years/36,000 miles
Powertrain Warranty	5 years/60,000 miles
NHTSA Safety Rating	Not Tested
Max Seating Capacity	7, 8 or 9 passengers depending on configuration
Wheelbase	134.1 inches
Overall Length	225.7 inches
Width	81.1 inches
Height	75.7 inches
Cargo Room (Behind 1st, 2nd and 3rd row)	144.7/93.8/41.5 Cubic Feet
Headroom, Front	42.3 inches
Headroom, 2nd	38.9 inches
Headroom, 3rd	38.2 inches
Legroom, 1st	44.5 inches
Legroom, 2nd	42.0 inches
Legroom, 3rd	36.7 inches
Shoulder, 1st	66.0 inches
Shoulder, 2nd	64.8 inches
Shoulder, 3rd	62.8 inches