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2021 Tahoe Test Drive - vs Expedition


EchelonMike

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Test drove a 2021 Tahoe, as a possible replacement for my 2016 Suburban.  Overall I liked it.  They did a nice job on the interior and exterior.  It's significantly bigger than the old Tahoe, about 6" longer, so there is real space behind the 3rd row.  It will hold my boat cooler behind the seats...a good sign, LOL.  I'm more of a Ford guy but our Suburban has been bulletproof thru 70K miles.

I test drove a "high country" edition with 6.2L and 10 spd automatic, which ran really well, but I thought the High Country logos everywhere and the chrome wheels were not cool. If I buy, it will be an LT or Z71 with 5.3L and 10 spd automatic, with HD trailer tow package.  It rides much better now that they finally put IRS in it like the Expedition, and I am a fan of the panoramic roof.

I also drove a 2020 Expedition XLT with quite a few options on it, and the Ecoboost and 10 spd combo is pretty awesome.  I didn't like the interior as much as the redesigned Tahoe, but Ford has a $5K "GM Large SUV take out" rebate until 8/3, so combined with other incentives and discounts, the Expedition is $13K off sticker.  It would be about $52K brand new.  The Tahoe with GM supplier discount isn't getting much discount, about $3.5K off sticker so it's right at $60K.

Anyone towing with the new Tahoe?  Any feedback/thoughts?

       -- Mike

 

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Really hard to compare the top of the line GM interior to the lowest line on the Ford.  Did you look at the LT or Z71 interiors to compare?

I have an 2019 Expedition MAX.  I am very satisfied with the way that it tows my LSV.

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2 hours ago, EchelonMike said: The Tahoe with GM supplier discount isn't getting much discount, about $3.5K off sticker so it's right at $60K.

Anyone towing with the new Tahoe?  Any feedback/thoughts?

       -- Mike

 

It is just out and production has been impaired due to Covid.  Also, I'd check the production schedule for your preferred trim level.  I think there were going to focus on the high-end models first during the ramp back up.

If you can wait till maybe end of year I suspect you will get a much better deal.  

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1 hour ago, jjackkrash said:

It is just out and production has been impaired due to Covid.  Also, I'd check the production schedule for your preferred trim level.  I think there were going to focus on the high-end models first during the ramp back up.

If you can wait till maybe end of year I suspect you will get a much better deal.  

JJack - any idea if dealerships are ordering these with the duramax, or these going to be special order units?

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I don't recall the specifics for the Tahoes/Yukons, but IIRC there is a piece on the schedule or a discussion with links on either the Fast Lane Truck or on GM-Trucks.com.  I am certain I recall a discussion about a focused or targeted production schedule using trim levels.  

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22 hours ago, RyanB said:

Really hard to compare the top of the line GM interior to the lowest line on the Ford.  Did you look at the LT or Z71 interiors to compare?

I have an 2019 Expedition MAX.  I am very satisfied with the way that it tows my LSV.

I drove a Z71 yesterday with the 5.3L and it was very nice.  My wife gave the Z71 a thumbs down, so if I go Tahoe it will be for the LT trim level.  They have 1 package that's about $5500 on the LT and it gives you a lot, from HD trailer tow, to pano roof, to power fold mirrors, heated seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, etc.  And 2nd row captains is $370.  Sticker is $63K and change, so hoping in a few months they're $10K off again.  :-)  They only had one so far in stock and it was midnight blue metallic...cool color but won't match the boat.  Ha

The 5.3L is OK for towing my 247 in our 2016 Suburban, and with the 10 spd auto giving more lower ratio tug off the line, I think it will be fine.  We don't tow as far as we used to...otherwise the Ecoboost would be the way to go.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

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ahopkins22LSV
7 minutes ago, EchelonMike said:

I drove a Z71 yesterday with the 5.3L and it was very nice.  My wife gave the Z71 a thumbs down, so if I go Tahoe it will be for the LT trim level.  They have 1 package that's about $5500 on the LT and it gives you a lot, from HD trailer tow, to pano roof, to power fold mirrors, heated seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, etc.  And 2nd row captains is $370.  Sticker is $63K and change, so hoping in a few months they're $10K off again.  :-)  They only had one so far in stock and it was midnight blue metallic...cool color but won't match the boat.  Ha

The 5.3L is OK for towing my 247 in our 2016 Suburban, and with the 10 spd auto giving more lower ratio tug off the line, I think it will be fine.  We don't tow as far as we used to...otherwise the Ecoboost would be the way to go.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

There has been a lot of throttle programming work since 2016 to make it better as well. Even my 2017 truck with the 5.3 was leaps and bounds better than the 2014-2016. With the ten speed it should be great.

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The Ford Ecoboost is a much better puller and it performs from 2,000 rpm The GM will need to be 3,750 rpm to 4,000 rpm to get in the same HP and Toque.  All the options you are looking at come in a Ford or Lincoln. Go drive a better then  XLT. 

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I have been a GM person my entire life, but I nearly pulled a trigger on a new Expedition Max Platinum with the 3.5 Ecoboost and 400hp 480 lb-ft.  I know that I am going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I would never buy anything with the 5.3, especially if the 6.2 is available.  The difference in performance in those engines is night and day, from my experience.  I know that you are looking at the latest model, but have you considered purchasing a carry over 2020 Yukon XL or a Suburban with the same 6.2 and 10 speed as the 2021s?  You would get the room you are looking for behind the 3rd row seat and probably get a decent deal.

I leased a 2015 Yukon XL Denali and the thing was in the shop for warranty and recall items no less than 20 times during my 3 year lease.  It would be tough for me to buy/lease the first model year of something ever again.  

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3 minutes ago, Sixball said:

The Ford Ecoboost is a much better puller and it performs from 2,000 rpm The GM will need to be 3,750 rpm to 4,000 rpm to get in the same HP and Toque.  All the options you are looking at come in a Ford or Lincoln. Go drive a better then  XLT. 

I have all the options he mentions (except the 2nd row captains chairs)  in my XLT. But I agree. He should look at a Limited. 
 

If someone isn’t towing much, the GM 5.3 is probably fine. But it does not compare to a 6.2 or the 3.5 EB. They are simply in a different league. 

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6 minutes ago, Sixball said:

The Ford Ecoboost is a much better puller and it performs from 2,000 rpm The GM will need to be 3,750 rpm to 4,000 rpm to get in the same HP and Toque.  All the options you are looking at come in a Ford or Lincoln. Go drive a better then  XLT. 

I love the looks of the exterior of the Navigator, plus it packs an additional 50hp over the Expedition Max Platinum and 75hp more than the other three trim levels.  I also think Ford did an amazing job with the looks of the Expedition.  They really upped their game.

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4 minutes ago, Sixball said:

The Ford Ecoboost is a much better puller and it performs from 2,000 rpm The GM will need to be 3,750 rpm to 4,000 rpm to get in the same HP and Toque.  All the options you are looking at come in a Ford or Lincoln. Go drive a better then  XLT. 

I had an Explorer Sport with the 3.5 Ecoboost before the Suburban.  When we moved from a VLX to a 247 we needed a bigger platform...but I miss that twin turbo!  

We don't need fancy so XLT is fine with the upgrade package they have.

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GM 5.3L will get far better fuel economy than the EB will towing if that's important.  Doesn't sound like you tow a lot so maybe it's not, but it takes a lot of fuel to feed those hungry snails when there's a load back there.

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The big advantage of the Eco boost is the torque and HP at such low RPM. This is the area we want to drive our vehicles down the road at. As I have said if you have not driven one you just don't know. I sold my SUV I had before my current SUV just to get the Eco. After driving them and even more pulling trailers it was something I new I wanted. My ski boat isn't much but pulling large heavy trailers it's just night and day.  The one thing I found with the package offers, I can often go into the better package rather then add to a lower end package for the same price range. Then I compared Lincoln to Ford. The base Lincoln when I bought was very close in price but added other interior upgrades as well as some functional upgrades. Along with some nice Lincoln owner benefits. I don't replace my vehicles often now. I am not putting the miles on like I did in the past. So for me even a 2 to 4 thousand droller difference is very small over the time I own my vehicle.  I looked at Ford's  and Lincoln for both of my last two vehicles. I own Lincolns the price and added Lincoln interior was A no brainier for me.

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22 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

The biggest problem with the EB engine is it comes wrapped in a Ford.  

Yeper!!!  We ran Ford for years in NHRA Drag racing. We had to run 1lb per Cubic inch more then GM or Mopar. We always made to much HP.  We changed or car and engine for a new class a year before we sold out. Checked with NHRA  national director as well as the division director to be sure we would be legal. After all it was a Ford.  Ya your package will be excepted its fine. Two weeks before we were going to debut. NHRA made our package illegal. You are going to dominate the class. Was at the U.S. Nationals found one of the top GM guys cheating oh ya he was qualified #1. By rules he should have lost his qualifying run's  been fined and had the chance to qualify with what ever runs he had left. No he was to take the illegal parts out. he did not so we protested him.  I was told 80% of the cars were GM they need to win so its ok!  Yeper I love my Fords wrapper and all :biggrin: P.S we also got a full ride for Mopar before we got out.     

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On 8/1/2020 at 8:17 PM, Sixball said:

Yeper!!!  We ran Ford for years in NHRA Drag racing. We had to run 1lb per Cubic inch more then GM or Mopar. We always made to much HP.  We changed or car and engine for a new class a year before we sold out. Checked with NHRA  national director as well as the division director to be sure we would be legal. After all it was a Ford.  Ya your package will be excepted its fine. Two weeks before we were going to debut. NHRA made our package illegal. You are going to dominate the class. Was at the U.S. Nationals found one of the top GM guys cheating oh ya he was qualified #1. By rules he should have lost his qualifying run's  been fined and had the chance to qualify with what ever runs he had left. No he was to take the illegal parts out. he did not so we protested him.  I was told 80% of the cars were GM they need to win so its ok!  Yeper I love my Fords wrapper and all :biggrin: P.S we also got a full ride for Mopar before we got out.     

Funny how times change, now days when you go to the track you see more Mustangs with LS engines in them than Ford engines. And now Ford offers a "pushrod" motor in their SD trucks.

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