Hi,


I'm a newbie here, but I've bought a lot of vehicles in my time, and I'm on my 3rd Burb in 18 years, so I've got to put in my two cents.


I quit buying new vehicles years ago, and instead now opt for used ones that are in excellent shape. I also buy all my company fleet vehicles, Chevy Express Vans, the same way and have them run to 400k or more miles.


The first Burb, an '89 3/4 ton, bought at 90k miles, was sold to an employee at 440k miles, and replaced with the second Burb, a '96, 2500 LT, 7.4L, bought at 3 yrs old and with nearly 100k miles has been a great vehicle, now with nearly 300k. I just purchased a 2007, did a lot of shopping and research, considered an Escalade ESV 2wd and the Suburban LTZ 2wd (Don't like the exterior design of the GMC brand). At 8 years old either can be had for not a huge difference in price. I'm guessing the same holds true between the Tahoe and the Escalade.


The LTZ I just bought is seriously underpowered with the 5.3L FlexFuel engine, and the gas mileage is disappointing, even though it has the Active Fuel Management feature (15 mpg, Houston to Denver, just above posted hwy speeds, running 65-80 mph). I kind of knew this might be the case, (but try to find a 6L LTZ). My '96 2500 with the big engine gets 14mpg with comparable driving. The 5.3 may, however, be more suited to the Tahoe, although the EPA MPG estimates are the same for both vehicles (???). Four wheel drive or all wheel drive is going to reduce the economy.

As to Burb v. Tahoe for space - I didn't realize until after I bought it, and made this current trip just how much difference there is in interior room. I almost feel cramped in the '07. The '96 has roaming room! I have far more room in my '96 Burb than my '07, forget the fact the seats don't stow. for the Tahoe, I can only assume the seating is about the same though as the seating configurations closely resemble each other, the loss is in the storage compartment. My sister has the last body style [the one between the two I have, and now actually two body styles back (I've seen the 2015 and it looks like a Jeep)], and her interior room seems much more like my '96, and I'm pretty sure the seats stow for full use of the rear area for cargo.


Now for buying costs, I did a lot of shopping and finally landed on the Suburban. It was high mileage at 150k, but I bought it significantly lower than a lower mileage vehicle, which USUALLY works. Now, in hind sight, saving about $4k for a vehicle with 40k more miles, I'm going to rapidly consume this with issues that have come about, or come to light, in my first 1500 miles of ownership, and I'm going to still have a vehicle with 150k miles, with the same cash outlay. And you may actually end up paying more for a Tahoe than a Suburban, simply because of demand. People have the misconception that the operating costs for the Tahoe are significantly less. Beats me as to where this comes from.


There are probably others on here with varied opinions, but for my money, I'll take the Burb.


Whether Burb or Tahoe, if style isn't so much an issue, I'd consider a slightly older, maybe '03 - '06. There are lots of low mileage (and I mean lower than the typical '07 and '08's), for HALF the money.


Don't get me wrong, I love my Burbs, but if I didn't have the older one for towing and for trips, I'd probably get rid of the '07 and go back to an older model with the bigger engine and more room! And if I had this purchase to do over, aside from buying one below 100k, 110k miles, I'd be buying the Escalade ESV with the bigger engine.


Good luck and happy hunting!

 

Even though I have a GMT900 I still think the 800's look good also

 

Mileage difference between the Tahoe/Yukon and Suburban/Yukon XL is roughly a loss of 2 MPG in both city highway. 2008 Tahoe rating is 14/19, 2008 Burb is 12/17.

Rear axle ratio will impact that. A 4.10 axle will be good for towing, but get worse mileage, and a 3.42 might feel underpowered, but will get better mileage.

Personally, I prefer my 2008 Burb vs the 2001, and the pre-2000 platform is just too old to be considered for daily family transportation. Comparing my 2008 and 2001, I'll take the Stability Control, Traction Control, 4 heated seats, remote start, navigation, 6-speed transmission, rear sensors and rear backup camera that my 2001 doesn't have.

 

id absolutely recommend the sub. no real difference in mileage although the sticker says a I mpg difference . my daughter had the Tahoe for less than a year before trading for the sub