Not that long ago, Chevy’s rugged Suburban might have been considered the poor relation to General Motors’ other XXL-sized offerings, the Caddy Escalade and GMC Yukon Denali.
All that black plastic trim, wipe-down faux leather seats, and dull-looking wheels were fine for an undercover FBI agent or New York limo driver. But definitely not a symbol of luxury.
Not any more. I’ve just spent the week piloting a new, 2025 flagship Suburban High Country, base price $84,200 or, like our tester, $95,000 very nicely loaded.
Ninety-five grand for a Chevy? Want to run that by me again.
But with this latest High Country, the Suburban has truly gone luxe, with enough leather to fill a Coach handbag store, enough tech to satisfy a 14-year-old, and the kind of build quality that wouldn’t be out of place in a Lexus.
Who’s buying this $95-large Suburban? Most likely current Chevy owners who love the Bow-Tie brand and probably already have a Corvette or bling’d out Silverado pick-up in the garage.
Add to those, maybe someone who wants a high-luxury, full-size, leather-lined SUV that doesn’t scream “I’m loaded” as an Escalade, or even a chrome-mawed Yukon might do. Someone looking for a display of “stealth wealth”.
The Chevy is not alone in offering big-sticker, big-size domestic SUVs. Who, five years ago, would have imagined a Jeep with a $115,000 price tag. That’s what a new Grand Wagoneer L can cost these days. Or $121,000-and-up for a new Lincoln Navigator Black Label.
Yet a couple of hours behind the wheel of this newest Suburban, and it starts to make sense. If you can live without neighbors and golf club buddies being non-plussed that you’re driving a Chevy, it has a lot going for it.
For 2025, it helps that the big ‘Burb got a nip-and-tuck facelift. Nothing too radical; a refreshed front end with a new grille, new LED lights and some fancy nickel chrome called Galvano. Two new colors too, including this lovely shade called Lakeshore Blue Metallic.
Best of all are those new-for-’25, towering 24-inch rims, available for the first time on a Suburban as a must-have $2,225 option. Remember when 20-inchers were considered huge?
Inside, changes are more extensive and include an all-new 17.7-inch touchscreen that’s paired with the 11-inch screen instrument display and big head-up display on the windshield.
And in this latest High Country, for the first time on a Suburban, there’s genuine wood trim on the dash. Goes perfectly with the heated-and-cooled, perforated leather seats with fancy High Country logos embroidered in the seat backs.
As always with any Suburban, the cabin is cavernous, with three rows of La-Z-Boy-comfy seats and accommodation for up to eight. Lots of load space too, especially with the third row folded.
With the High Country package you also get a vast panoramic glass roof that runs almost front to back, along with must-have retractable power side steps. Without them you’d be buying a ladder from Ace to climb-up inside.
Powering this three-ton leviathan is GM’s mighty 6.2-liter V8 coupled to a 10-speed automatic. It packs a muscular 420 horseys and stump-pulling 460 pound-feet of torque. Hook a big Chris-Craft to the back and with an 8,200-pound towing capacity, you’d hardly notice it was there.
It’s a lovely engine/transmission combo that delivers whisper-quiet highway cruising yet can slingshot the Suburban away from stop lights, or merge effortlessly with interstate traffic.
With the High Country spec, you also get adaptive dampers and air suspension which, coupled with the Suburban’s multilink independent rear, gives the kind of magic carpet ride Alibaba would be proud of.
Subtle changes to the steering for ’25 gives the driver a little more confidence when trying to thread this whopper through narrow streets, or make quick lane changes on the freeway. But here there’s no disguising its bulk.
Not having driven a Suburban for a while, I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed with the new level of sophistication, refinement and agility that comes with the latest version, especially this flagship High Country.
No, it’s not an Escalade, but it’s now a real alternative to GMC’s Yukon. Maybe don’t call it a Chevy. It’s a Chevro-laay.
