I liked the experience, but its not "fun". Unlike say my S Class, which you can put into a corner and it surprises you with its capability, a Suburban delivers no driving enjoyment at all, aside from the novelty of "I'm driving a ridiculous huge truck and its cool". Even on the highway, at 80 its all over the road, but for a vehicle to point down a long straight highway at 70-75 on cruise and the whole family has tons of space, its great.

Just no way I could DD such a vehicle. Its just too huge, climbing in and out of it is a pain, parking it is a pain, maneuvering it in tight places is a pain. Great vehicle for a long family trip, but for day to day use a crossover or minivan is way easier to live with.

Honestly, getting back into the Pacifica at the airport, it really felt great. As much as I dislike the style of it, its hard to beat. My wife and I both commented, behind the third row the Pacifica has MORE Cargo room, which is ridiculous when you figure a Suburban is 20 inches longer. The issue is the cargo floor height.

I had kind of been thinking about exploring an Escalade for myself, but I don't think I could drive one as a daily. The SWB model would still be really tall with a "climb in" step in experience...

Unless you tow, or you need the ability to carry 3 rows of people AND stuff and a roof top carrier is out of the question, a Suburban makes zero sense at all. Not even a little bit of sense.

 

Forgot for a second you drive the best luxury car you can get with the V8.

But the "I love driving a big powerful truck" thing is a thing.

Vehicles don't have to "make sense" though. Theoretically I'd drive a Suburban over any crossover or van if I had a bunch of kids, etc. LX is way too small for any more than 2. LX makes zero sense for most people now that I think about it.

BTW you'd get used to stepping up to get into an Escalade.

 

I'll echo Steve's experience. Pretty much every year (except 2020) for probably the past 10 years we've gone on a long vacation (2-3 weeks) and rented a Tahoe/Yukon or Suburban, largely because we needed the space for luggage, and my wife refused to consider a minivan. This year, rental prices were insane, but I found a good deal on a Voyager (low-end version of the Pacifica) through Budget. It was SO much better. Easier to get in/out of, more room for passengers, probably 3x as much space for luggage behind the 2nd row, easier to load, easier to maneuver, and of course dramatically better fuel economy. The third row is also usable for adult humans, unlike the one in the Tahoe--the Suburban's 3rd row is marginally acceptable.

We booked next year's trip literally yesterday afternoon, and my wife and I both agreed that we're going with a minivan (which will likely be a Pacifica).

 

No question minivans are the absolute best for space. Or just vans in general. People live in vans.

 

I get that, but its not a thing enough for me to outweigh the many many negatives that come with driving a vehicle like that every day.

My partner has a crew cab Ram truck he drives every day. It makes no sense and it would wear me out but he loves it.

They don't. If anybody truly made a practical decision about what vehicle was the most sensical family vehicle, they would never choose a Suburban over a minivan.

With that said, if I HAD to drive a family vehicle every day, I would not buy a minivan. I just care too much about what I drive to drive something I hate even if its the best vehicle for my needs. I wouldn't buy a Suburban though, I would get a GLS or an X7 or a Range Rover or something like that with 3 rows. If my only option for that situation was a Suburban OR a minivan, I would choose the Suburban. But, as a family vehicle I rarely have to drive, I wouldn't make that change...

But, do I want to?!

Yup...

 

I don't really enjoy driving the full-size SUVs unless they're high trim. I need the upgraded suspension system (magnetorheological dampers, adaptive suspension, etc.) as otherwise they just feel so clumsy especially on mountain routes.

 

I only drove the Suburban on flat FL roads, but it was definitely ponderous on offramps and onramps, you don't make steering changes quickly, you do so judiciously lol. Driving that to say, WV like I do a lot would be a huge chore once you got to the curvy parts.

 

Did you ever get a chance to drive a big Ford Excursion before it went out of production? It is even worse than a Suburban. Its bouncing, bounding and instability on the road were downright scary. Part of the problem was that it was simply too large and heavy (7000 lbs.) for the suspension, and behaved like a kid's rocking-horse.

 

The 2WD models were better with the twin I beam and lower ride height than the 4WD models with the solid front axle but I agree they were annoyingly trucky to drive. I actually spent a lot of time learning to drive on a 4x2 model back when I had my learner's permit.

Side note: Very interesting that the Grand Wagoneer/Wagoneer L is the exact same length as the Excursion and even wider.

 

SW believe it or not you possibly, possibly would get used to and prefer getting into and out of an Escalade and stepping up versus getting down into a car.

I always did but especially with the back surgeries, truck is way easier to enter and exit than LS430. I don’t even use the lowering while off feature. Getting out of my LS is annoying and I have to use the seat to push myself out, whereas you basically slide right out of an SUV like you would a Suburban, Escalade, LX etc. Granted I’m still in recovery but just FWIW. I preferred ingress and egress of SUVs before all of this though.

 

No, never drove an Excursion.

This latest Suburban is WORLDS better than older Suburbans. It really drove very well, its just huge...and something that huge can only cut through the wind at 80 MPH with so little disturbance. You get some little quivers and jiggles that you get with anything BOF but it is very composed.

You have to realize that your trucks are not nearly as tall or as large as these new GM trucks lol. Literally, the hood comes up to my nipples. The mirrors are even with my head. To climb in requires TWO steps and for me to pull myself up with my arms using the steering wheel. This is not easier on the back. I definitely agree that many trucks and SUVs are easier to get into and out of than a sedan, but not a current gen Suburban

To get out requires stepping down, it cant even comfortably be done without use of the running board unless you hop down. My leg doesn't touch the ground when I am in the seat in any way.

 

I see plenty, more moms than dad, DD these full size SUVs around me. I wonder if it's the space, the presence or the joy of having a big engine. I liked the GX but once I left it, I don't even miss the engine. On the other hand, I still think it looks nice for its class and what it does.
Exactly how I felt when I drove the previous gen GLS and Escalade. They were cool to be in, great for long distance and at destination. But getting around in town wasn't fun. If I got one of these full size SUV, it would be an extra vehicle for trips.

 

Exactly. In Disney, everything is designed for huge vehicles, so parking really isn't a big deal, the spaces are slotted and they are double long and wide. But here, my S Class won't fit length wise in most parking spaces, and a Suburban is 20 inches longer! Just a huge PITA to try and drive something like that.

 

Haven't noticed but I will look next time I’m next to one.

I just think stepping down is better than climbing out of a vehicle, personal preference I guess.

 

Just for illustrative purposes. I'm at work, just ran out to snap this pic. My S560 is parked backed in all the way to the line. Look how it sticks out, and remember a Suburban is almost 2 feet longer...and this is a long space. To deal with that to drive a vehicle that has LESS SPACE than my Pacifica which is 3 inches shorter than the S Class...