ROOM. Rear seat leg room. I love being able to pack up for a trip to the cabin and not have to sweat if everything we need to bring will fit in the truck. 4wd works well. Very comfortable on smooth roads. My 5' tall wife drives it most of the time and loves the way it drives and that it is high up and feels safe in it. I did take the whole family on a 3,500 mile trip from Phoenix up to Canada 2 years ago when the suburban had only 135,000 miles on it and did not have any trouble. After that trip, the suburban regained some respect from me!

Bad brakes. Need 4 wheel disks and brakes are too small for such a heavy vehicle around 5500 lb.
Constant high repair costs. Very expensive to maintain.

I bought the 1989 3/4 ton 4wd 350 engine suburban brand new and loaded with every option. I dickered with dealer off and on for over a year finally paid $24,600. It rides like a tank - my fault for buying a 3/4 ton. At least the suspension has held up. Cheverolet suburban is probably the worst vehicle I have ever owned from a maintenance stand point. My suburban now has 155,000 miles on it and is still running good. BUT, at what cost! The day it was delivered the dealer had to replace the entire A/C system. It rattles (overhead console),The brakes went out at 18,000 miles and required new rotors WITH hubs at about $350 each ( I could not believe the pads wore out at only 18,000 miles and ignored the squeaking sound for too long). The brakes are not good even when new and are a continuous maintenance and safety problem. I only buy GM pads now but tried pep boys (lasted 2,000 miles), NAPA BEST metalic pads (held up very well). Brakes squeak constantly -even when they don't need replacing. The heads warped and had to be replaced at 24,000 miles (under warrenty). Since than there has been constant repairs every 10,000 miles or so, many for the same thing,such as: alternators (3), p/s pump, 2 rebuilt transmissions, fuel pump, front wheel bearing, A/C compressor, rear A/C fan motor, water pump, starter (2), cracked exhaust manifolds, torque converter (2), tail gate window motor, switch, on tail gate window, metal frame needed to be reglued to glass (took 3 days in the shop and required a special epoxy that the dealer charged me $100 just for the epoxy. epoxy took 1 day just to dry before being re-assembled, I examined it at the dealer while it was apart). I have had to be towed 3 times to dealer for repairs. Paint is peeling off. Factory had a 5 year "secret" warrenty to re-paint, but I was 2 months past 5 years and they would not do anything. This is with a dealer that we kept in business with all our repair work. This is only a partial list. Hey, I still have the original U-Joints in rear propeller shaft! GM wants $75 per u-joint for just the part (takes 2). NAPA sells them (probably a better one) for $15. GM won't install customer parts (understandable). I hope they don't fail, before I have time to install them. I have owned 5 new GM vehicles in my life, but this is the worst. The Toyota (1 bought new), Nissan PU (2 used), and Hondas (2 both bought used, one has had quite a bit of trouble for a Honda) I have owned have been fantastic. GM will probably go bankrupt as soon as the Japanese start making full size trucks and SUV. Mgmt heads are in the clouds and they don't have a clue to how much trouble GM is in (in the future). A friend bought the new full size Toyota pick-up and he loves it. I bought my suburban before the new suburban re-design was suppose to be released (in '90 or 91)because I thought even Detroit could get the "bugs" out of a model after 10 or 15 years. Wrong. I feel bad that Detroit can't make quality cars. The US has lost leadership in the world for automobiles. My son and all the young kids I know only want to buy used Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas because they know they run and run and run. Just look at the prices that are asked for used foreign made cars with 100,000 miles on them, than compare that with similiar used American vehicles. Anyway, if you really need a suburban...
Buy the longest warranty you can and be ready to cough up $500-1,000 everytime you bring it into the dealer after warrenty is up! I hate to put money in a depreciating asset (so hate to buy new vehicles), and after every $1,000 repair, I rationalize that is only 2 months payments if I bought a new truck.and then it happens again, and again and again. Pretty soon you are "talking about some real dollars." MAYBE, the new suburbans are better, I would like to try another suburban, but think $40,000 is a little too high to risk with GM again. But for taking a trip to the mountains with the family and dog, a good running suburban is still very hard to beat.
PS. The rear main is still not leaking and neither are the rocker arm covers!!! ha ha. good luck, and I hope this out of date review helps someone.

Similar Products Used:

I looked at a Toyota 4runner before I bought the suburban, but it was too small for a family of 4 + golden retriver. No leg room in back seat.

You can basically do anything with it, and is very comfortable from pulling anything, or just as a daily driver. It can also tow anything that you would possibly need.

The mileage, but it's a big V8

My father bought this new in 92, then I started driving it when I got my license. I have put 50 thousand miles on it in three years and have very little problems. I have had the regular problems with the mileage it has on it 178,000. But nothing too major. The biggest thing was rebuilding the transmission at 135,000. The engine is still running strong, and has kept up with my very heavy foot. I recommend this to anyone with the means and large enough garage.

Similar Products Used:

explorer

Good for hauling the whole family around town and on long trips. You can also pack it with a lot of stuff and go.

At 40,000 miles the windows vibrate as they are going down, to stop you have to push the pedal to the floor and it doesn't feel like it is going to stop, the air conditioner controls in the front won't turn off( the lights stay on), and we purchased an extended warrenty and when I took it in for all these problems half of them aren't covered and the service was terrible. On the complaint of the windows the service man told us that they don't fix things that still work under warranty. Saying also that if they would like them to look at it they would charge us $39.00 to inspect it. THis is our second one and I will never buy one again.

I would not buy another one again due to the lack of service and respect the service department show its customers. Even after over $30,000.

Similar Products Used:

Ford Excursion, anything foreign that doesn't rattle.

Large,roomy,comfortable,relatively luxurious vehicle for the money, plenty powerful enough.

Purchased new for over $36,000 in 1997. Alternator, fuel pump, power steerng all went bad- long stories of tremendous inconvenience and expense to me and family while on trips away from home. Terrible treatment from Chevrolet when contacting them about repair/reimbursement for these maladies. This was third suburban owned. Chevrolet essentially ignored us for the most part and really did not seem to care if we ever purchased another vehicle or not.we were given numerous comments explaining why they could not help more, and that refers to the fact that we called AAA instead of chevrolet help line. if this was so important, we should have been told that, and had that impressed upon us when buying the vehicle. essentially, as we understand now, if you call outside their help line, which we did call during one emergency, to no avail, then you void their responsibility. be careful!

price is comparable, but very leary of any chevy vehicle simply because of the way we were treated.wrote several letters, called, chevrolet was not rude, but simply gave us pat answers which merely told us they had done all they could do in the situation and on to the next customer. very dissappointing experience with chevrolet.

Similar Products Used:

had two previous subs and loved them. no real problems with them while owned.

Huge truck, intimidates other drivers in any other vehicle. Power is good, pull any load, and holds 9 people!

Brakes are fairly poor, but no worries

Great cavernous truck, gets adequate fuel mileage, can drive for 1200 km without a refill! Pulls almost anything, and has a lot of space for everybody and all the luggage

Similar Products Used:

explorer

My family and i luv our suburban. It's length is perfect, holds everything we can put into it (never had to use roof rack or buy a roof luggage rack), and has room under the seats. the engine is a pleasure to listen to and use. mine has the 290hp 454, in a 2500 series (3/4 ton) unit. 4 wheel drive. sits nice and high, and like some other reviewers, when i'm in this vehicle, i know the other guy is going to watch out for me!!! i feel safe and extremely comfortable in this vehicle. a/c works pretty well, cruise is nice, nice stereo (has never failed us), not much warranty work had to be performed. i love just looking at the darn thing sitting in my garage. it's a vehicle i've always wanted to own. i guess so i can keep up with the Texans here in New Mexico. Rear air and heat are nice for the kids. they love it. I put new wheels and tires on mine, really looks nice. we go to the lake, and drive in the sand. it pulls a 25 ft. boat trailer thru the sand with no problem. i like the push button 4 wheel drive. got that for my wife when pulling the boat out of the lake. she doesn't have to shift a'thing. just push a button and away she goes. transmission shifts nicely. we cruise at 85 mph between the lake and our house with no problem, cool, and relaxed. yes, those front seats could be extended. but i use the powerseat adjustment to tilt me back so i don't feel like i'm falling out of the seat.

o.k. This is an american built piece of plastic. yes, it has rattles (consumer reports already told me that), i get 10 mpg without my trailer, 9 mpg with the trailer. typical. that's a 454 for ya. i'm used to the rattles. i'm just waiting for the main seal to start leaking. but my dad already told me that would happen. he says that happens on all gm products. and he should know, he's been buying them since 1939.

our dealer came off tremendously from the sticker price. i still don't know why that happened. that was one of the easiest deals i ever made.

i would recommend anyone buy a suburban. Just ask any Texan who owns one!!! They luv 'em. Ford still can't come close with the excursion. it's just too darn big. the suburban is just right.

I would not recommend a 4 wheel drive unless you were going to use it in the sand/snow. also, get the 1500 series with the 5.4 litre engine, unless you're going to pull a good size trailer.

Similar Products Used:

Toyota LandCruiser. ugh. too short a wheel base to pull our trailer. the suburban is just right. i wouldn't want a shorter wheel base than that to pull a 27 ft. trailer.

I like the speed sensitive volume control.

Cheap look and feel of components. Dangerous ABS braking system. Power window failed in the down position. Electronic compass quit working. Power seat quit working. Static in radio does not allow you to listen to AM. CD player has a mind of its own. Seats are fine for children or small women, but are very short and do not give much thigh support. My 4wd has never given me 15 miles per gallon. The best I usually get on trips going 65 on interstates is 14.8 mpg. Paint is peeling off of hood. Power steering pump pulley drive shaft broke. Driver side door handle broke off. Motor started burning oil at 55,000 miles. If I do not drive the vehicle for a week, the battery drains down.

At over $36,000, this is one of Chevrolet's most expensive vehicles.

This is such a lousy vehicle that I would not even recommend it for Bill Clinton. Well,. . . maybe!

Similar Products Used:

None

Pure Size & Room, Styling, Power & Awesome Offroad Capability.

Cheap Feel & Parts--plasticky dash & interior; Squeaks all around the vehicle from date of purchase & after countless times in the shop

I initially purchased the suburban because I needed the room to carry my restaurant inventory in & to assure me that I can get to work in any weather conditions. The Suburban met both criterias with flying color. When I folded down the middle seat & removed the last row, the suburban provides excellent amount of space where I can load & carry pretty much anything I want & can think of. I guess I could have bought a van to do the same job, but at my age, a Van is totally 'uncool'. Also the vehicle can go pretty much anywhere it's steered. Several winters back, it snowed so much here in the Pacific NW that smaller SUV's (Explorer, Pathfinders, etc) actually got stuck all over the highways & neighboring roads. But my suburban plowed through the snow easily whether it was fully loaded with people & supplies or when empty with just the driver. It was amazing & gratifying to see after shelling out my life's savings on this car.

However, the store is sold & I'm using the vehicle for pleasure now. And now, I can truly judge the car for its sole purpose, enjoyment. But the maker has truly done a poor job in equipping the car with quality products. The rattles & shaking started from the time I took the vehicle home & hasn't stopped even through today after countless times I've taken the darn thing to the shop for warranty repairs. To make matters worse, I believe I've become more critical of the vehicle now that I recently purchased a 4-runner. It's been proved to me that the little quality I find in the suburban does not meet nor compare to the Market Norm for a comparable vehicle & price. I feel like every time I step into the vehicle I'm stepping into a cheap plastic or a toy shop. GM's more profitable than that & if they'd spent a little more for quality parts, buyers would have easily shelled out more for the vehicle.

I love what the suburban's done for me in the past, but I don't think I'll be a repeat customer.

Similar Products Used:

1999 Toyota 4-Runner Ltd

Comfort/Convenience:
The 2000 Burb comes equipped with rear heat and air which is separately controllable from the back seat. This is a must if you have passengers who complain all the time about it being too hot or too cold. Lets them control their temperature. This is also a must if you live in areas with extreme climates. For example, in Texas, summers can hit 110 and winters can get into the single digits. For a vehicle this size, it helps maintain an even temp much quicker.

Also, the new Suburban comes with Temperature controlled HVAC like they have had in Cadillac’s for years. You set the temperature you want and the system maintains that temp automatically. It even automatically knows when to turn on the defroster for you. Pretty cool. It’s about time.

The ride is much tighter than previous years and the handling is very much improved. The turning radius is tighter as well.

Safety: The new burb sets higher than previous years. I feel very protected from all the stressed out drivers whose rate of blood flow matches the high rpm of their smaller cars. I feel I can take my family of four and/or other loved ones anywhere safely. As a matter of fact, that is the primary reason I buy Suburbans or Tahoes. To protect us from those who fail to understand that driving is a cooperative event and not a competition.

The built in garage door opener is very nice (Though the vehicle is too high to fit in my garage.)

More than enough storage and beverage holders.

Comfort/Convenience:
I, personally, am very dissatisfied with the comfort of the front bucket seats. So much so that I am considering trading either for another with the 40/20/40 front seat, having custom seats made or looking at another brand of vehicle.

The front bucket seats feel as though they were designed for persons of smaller frames. I am not large, (5’11”, @198 lb’s). I cannot, no matter how I adjust the seat, get comfortable. As a matter of fact, I get a pain in my right side because the seat is off-center of the steering wheel. The fold down armrest is a joke. It is too narrow, too close and a pain when buckling your seat belt(You have to lift the armrest to fasten your seatbelt.) Attempting to use the power controls on the lower seat side is extremely awkward. The space between the seat and the door is so narrow you have to squeeze your arm between them to make adjustments. I cannot express enough my total dissatisfaction with these seats. You feel like the engineers became tired of thinking about it and just said, “Aw, heck. See how many people complain. If they do, we’ll get it right next time.”
Unfortunately this shortcoming isn’t something you can ascertain from a short demo ride. You have to live with it for a week or two.

The ride is, though better than previous years, still boomy inside and you feel every major bump in the road. Hitting those bumps is like having someone in the rear hit a bass drum in concert with those bumps. I traded a 96 Tahoe for this that had the same problem. I don’t know why they can’t get this right. I rode in a Ford Expedition and the ride is much more luxurious and softer; but the steering is like driving a boat.

We have @ 700 miles on this vehicle and we are already developing squeaks and rattles. I am beginning to believe they rushed these new designs through without really testing the engineering, or, the labor has developed an “I don’t care” attitude.

So far, the fuel economy is totally unacceptable. The best we have gotten is a combined city and hwy of 272 miles on 23 gallons (11.82 mpg.) According to the EPA, it should get 14 city and 18 hwy. I know there is a break-in period after which the fuel economy is supposed to improve but I am afraid it will not improve by 2 to 6 gallons per mile. The vehicle came equipped with the rear axle ratio of 4.10. I expressed my concern over this to my salesman but he told me that the mileage would still be good because of the new larger tire size and the re-geared overdrive in the transmission. And I fell for it! We’ll see. This gear ratio is for towing or hauling, of which I will do neither. The salesman told me they order all new burbs with this gear ratio. I could get the 3.73 ratio if I wanted to order one but the order times are 3 months out and it was impossible for me to wait that long. I have a feeling, if I keep the vehicle, I will be going back and making them replace the 4.10 ratio with 3.73 solely for fuel economy.

So far we have a list of ten items to be fixed under warranty. Hey, you know, it’s my fault. Never, ever, buy the first year of design change in a vehicle unless you don’t mind paying to be a guinea pig for their bugs and testing department.

Paid 2000 over invoice.

I love the handling, new design and all the new gadgets and gizmo's but because of the problems noted in the weaknesses section, I cannot recommend this vehicle. I am very dissatisfied with the driver comfort and squeaks and rattles. I fear this vehicle will be trouble as the miles roll on. My wife loves it, but, shoot, she'll love anything. She married me didn't she.:>

I rate the value at five because, for what you get for the money, the competition is way overpriced.

The overall rating is 2 because of it's weaknesses.

Similar Products Used:

Previous vehicle was a '96 Tahoe. I was extremely pleased with every aspect of this vehicle. Particularly the 60/40 front seats with the fold down armrest. Very comfortable. After initial warranty repairs, I never had any problems with it in 4 years of ownership.

Great body design, lot's of room for a middle size suv, great ride and handling. Nice features onboard computer, window controls, folding seats. Pretty good power out of the inline 6 cyl. especially for the size of suv. I added a Grizzley push bumper and some KC lights to mine and I get tons of compliments.

Steering not smooth even in 2 wheel drive, bad gas mileage out of a 6 cyl. I don't know if anyone elese is having idle problems, bad shocks, trmission hesitations every once an while. Brake rotors have already had to be turned because they were warped.

I would research other similar suv's before paying $25,000.00 and make sure you get a factory warrenty with this one

Similar Products Used:

no jeep products