What Is the Best Chevrolet SUV?
The Best Chevrolet SUV is the Equinox, but the Suburban, Tahoe, and Trailblazer all offer fantastic variety, sport capability, and value to Chevy’s SUV list.
Written by Cameron Thiessen
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
Table of Contents
- The best Chevrolet SUV overall: Equinox
- The best Cadillac SUV to buy used: 2019 Equinox
- The best Chevrolet SUV for families: Suburban
- The best Chevrolet SUV for off-roading: Tahoe Z71
- The best Cadillac SUV for fuel economy: Trailblazer
- The best way to shop for Chevrolet insurance
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The Chevrolet Equinox is the best all-around Chevrolet SUV, with 165,323 units sold in the U.S. in 2021 and top ratings among reviewers. But the Equinox is just the beginning of Chevy’s fantastic variety of SUVs, from the massive full-size Suburban to the off-road-ready Tahoe Z71.
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! The best Chevrolet SUV overall: Equinox
Starting price: $27,445
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 81
The
Chevrolet Equinox
is one of the most popular compact crossovers available, especially compared to other American auto manufacturers. It offers a ton of passenger room for its size, plenty of hot tech features, and fantastic fuel efficiency—it’s EPA-rated for 26/31 city/high mpg (-1 mpg with AWD).While Chevrolet was a bit late to the game on offering robust standard active safety features, they got it right with the 2022 Equinox, including forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, IntelliBeam automatic headlights, and lane-keeping assist.
Adaptive cruise control is available on the
LT
and higher trims, along with other driving aid features like blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and parking sensors.The Equinox’s engine is a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that gets a respectable 170 horsepower and features an idle start/stop system that saves fuel when idling or stopped at stoplights. Not sure about that? No big deal—on the 2022 models, this feature can be disabled with a quick touch of a button.
The cabin is comfortably roomy for your passengers, but folding the rear seats down only allows for 63.9 cubic feet of storage, about 10 cubic feet less than the
Honda CR-V
and the Volkswagen Tiguan
.But overall, the Equinox is the most up-to-date and exciting Chevy SUV, and it’s turning heads as a highly capable crossover in an industry dominated by vehicles just like it.
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The best Cadillac SUV to buy used: 2019 Equinox
Price range: $22,826 to $31,910
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 85
The Chevrolet Equinox got even better ratings in 2019 when it received a five-star crash test rating from the
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
. It was also the first Equinox model to add all those great driver-assistance features that we’ve come to expect on new vehicles.Unlike the current Equinox, the 2019 model was available with three different engine options. The most fuel-efficient was the FWD 1.6-liter diesel I-4 with a lower 137 horsepower rating that got 28/39 highway/city mpg, beating out even the current model!
The turbocharged I-4 gasoline engine is available as a 1.5 or a 2.0-liter, with the upgraded version offering a maximum 252 horsepower at 5,500 rpm. Even this model gets fair fuel economy, and it can deliver incredible sport and towing performance.
The best Chevrolet SUV for families: Suburban
Starting price: $56,395
Number of seats: 7-9
J.D. Power rating: 78
Families looking for something bigger than a two-row compact SUV should consider the
Chevy Suburban
. This roomy SUV offers 144.7 cubic feet of cargo space with both back rows folded down, 93.8 with the third row folded down, and 41.5 in just the trunk space behind the third row.The 2022 Suburban is essentially a 15-inch-longer Chevrolet Tahoe, but one thing is for certain—this is the biggest, comfiest Suburban ever made. That’s saying something when you consider the long legacy the Suburban has held as one of the defining historical models in the SUV category.
Not only can the Suburban definitely carry all of your family’s outdoor adventuring gear, it can also haul like nobody’s business, with a maximum towing capacity of up to 8300 pounds,. It’s a true-to-form full-size SUV that prioritizes power and performance while ensuring a comfortable and safe ride for your family.
Engine options for the Suburban don’t disappoint either, at least not when it comes to power. The standard engine is a 5.3-liter V8 that gets 355 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, but that number gets bumped up to 420 with the Suburban High Country’s 6.2-liter V8, also available on the RST, Z71, and Premier trims. A 3.0-liter turbo-diesel I-6 is offered as an alternative for every trim except the Z71, which allows a bit of reprieve from the other engines’ relatively poor fuel economies.
The best Chevrolet SUV for off-roading: Tahoe Z71
Starting price: $64,695
Number of seats: 7 to 8
J.D. Power rating: 83
Speaking of the off-road-ready Z71 trim offered on many Chevy trucks and SUVs, the
Tahoe Z71
offers the best off-road capability out of the box that you could ask for in a Chevrolet SUV.It earned an Editors’ Choice award from Car and Driver, and, like the new Suburban, is the most spacious version of the model so far. The Tahoe was also one of US News’ finalists for their Best Large SUV for Families award.
The Tahoe is an SUV still based on a
Chevrolet Silverado
frame, able to tackle truck-level challenges while keeping your kids and gear safe.The 5.3 and 6.2-liter V8 engine options as well as the 3.0-liter turbo-diesel I-6 from the Suburban are also featured on the Tahoe.
The thing we love most about the Z71 version of the Tahoe is its Off-Road Performance package, which adds all-terrain tires, standard four-wheel drive, and a durable front skid plate. The Off-Road Capability package also adds Magnetic Ride Control and adaptive air suspension, as well as Chevy’s common electronic limited-slip differential, making it a top-notch 4x4 off-road machine.
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The best Cadillac SUV for fuel economy: Trailblazer
Starting price: $22,995
Number of seats: 5
J.D. Power rating: 83
If it’s fuel economy and affordability that you’re looking for in your Chevy SUV, look no further than the
Trailblazer
subcompact SUV.Here’s how the most fuel-efficient Trailblazer engine (the FWD 1.3-liter) measures up against the other Chevy SUVs we’ve reviewed in terms of fuel efficiency:
- 2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer: 29 city/33 highway/31 combined mpg
- 2022 Chevrolet Equinox: 26 city/31 highway/28 combined mpg
- 2022 Chevrolet Suburban: 15 city/20 highway/17 combined mpg
- 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71: 16 city/20 highway/18 combined mpg
Unfortunately, the Trailblazer does not offer enough power to tow a trailer.
The best way to shop for Chevrolet insurance
No matter what you drive, you need
car insurance
to drive it legally, but if you’re shelling out for a new Chevrolet SUV, you’re probably going to be looking at additional, more expensive forms of coverage.Luckily,
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