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TEST DRIVE
Tahoe blends truck ruggedness, car luxury
Revamped 2007 Chevy SUV has smooth ride, good power.
When General Motors decided to build a new version of its Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, it set out with the aim of making a popular vehicle even better.
With the 2007 Tahoe, Chevy can say mission accomplished.
This smooth SUV has elegant interior touches, a powerful-looking frame and a formidable engine.
Just sitting in this vehicle is a pleasure: The leather seats on the test model were worthy of comparison with your favorite living room easy chair.
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2006 Chevrolet Tahoe
(click on photo to enlarge)
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Headroom and legroom are very good, as you might expect in a full-size SUV, but Tahoe's comfort is enhanced by the neatness of the interior panels, the backlighting for the instruments and the chrome accents found throughout.
The luxury-car influence here is unmistakable. Tahoe is no softy, though, as its exterior clearly demonstrates. The body is athletic and powerful.
Chevrolet says Tahoe is the first truck to feature the new face of Chevy, with a large Chevy gold bow tie on the grille.
This is an unabashed truck-based vehicle that pays tribute to the brand's strong heritage in trucks.
The test vehicle had optional 20-inch aluminum wheels, but 17-inch wheels are standard.
Chevy says its off-road Z71 package, popular on its other truck models, will be available on the new Tahoe later this year.
The smoothness of the vehicle is apparent.Its fully boxed frame is rigid and provides a steady road presence, steering is responsive, and braking precise.
The standard engine is a 5.3-liter V-8 that has Chevy's active fuel management system, which shuts off some cylinders when less power is needed.
EPA figures for the two-wheel drive test model were 16 mpg/city, 21 highway. The four-wheel-drive models are said to get 15/21.
The Tahoe's engine kicks out 320 horsepower and 340 pounds-foot of torque --- pretty impressive. It has a maximum towing capacity of 7,500 pounds.
The Tahoe's three trim levels, LS, LT and LTZ, range in price from about $34,000 to $46,000.
The test model was an LT with 20-inch wheels, a Bose premium speaker system and head curtain side air bags as options, with a sticker price of $40,020.
GM has been offering a March Madness incentive special on many of its vehicles. But it has been reporting strong sales of the new Tahoe.
It's no wonder: Full-size SUV fans, and there are still some out there, will find this one to be a slam-dunk.
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