First 100+ mile drive on the Tahoe

Stbentoak · May 12, 2026

Just going to throw this out but having a vehicle that can run on regular unleaded is pretty meaningful anymore. This plus a dollar a gallon for premium pushes premium right up near diesel range at least at the moment. And if you're getting 15 +/- miles a gallon running around locally, That chews up a lot of fuel pretty quick....

sohanrd · May 12, 2026

I hit consistently every month 20-21+ mpg on daily city driving to schools/work/stores with all idle and everything. Same 5.3 I can drive 14-15+ if needed. All depends on how you drive. You just have to be bit mindful.

BacDoc · May 13, 2026

These trucks can get exceptional gas mileage if driven conservatively and they will suck fuel if you have fun with the horsepower more than any other vehicle I have owned.

Shopping for a new vehicle for my wife and we were looking at mid size SUV as she doesn’t tow but needs payload for horse gear, hay bales as well as grocery shopping. She wants the comfort and ride of an SUV and isn’t interested in a truck.

I was amazed by the poor fuel economy numbers are for the mid size class especially from Toyota, Honda and the domestic sector for smaller vehicles with smaller engines.

Hybrid 4 cylinder from Toyota is actually worse than my V8 in the Tahoe and Toyota recommends premium fuel for the 4 cylinder.

The Honda 6 cylinder is a very good power plant for the Passport and Pilot and has a good track record for reliability but not much better fuel economy numbers than the Tahoe.

vcode · May 13, 2026

BacDoc said:
These trucks can get exceptional gas mileage if driven conservatively and they will suck fuel if you have fun with the horsepower more than any other vehicle I have owned.

Shopping for a new vehicle for my wife and we were looking at mid size SUV as she doesn’t tow but needs payload for horse gear, hay bales as well as grocery shopping. She wants the comfort and ride of an SUV and isn’t interested in a truck.

I was amazed by the poor fuel economy numbers are for the mid size class especially from Toyota, Honda and the domestic sector for smaller vehicles with smaller engines.

Hybrid 4 cylinder from Toyota is actually worse than my V8 in the Tahoe and Toyota recommends premium fuel for the 4 cylinder.

The Honda 6 cylinder is a very good power plant for the Passport and Pilot and has a good track record for reliability but not much better fuel economy numbers than the Tahoe.

Tahoe is rated 15/20. Pilot is 18/25.

ReaperHWK · May 13, 2026

vcode said:
Tahoe is rated 15/20. Pilot is 18/25.

Pilot is also half the size and is more a minivan than a truck.

vcode · May 13, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
Pilot is also half the size and is more a minivan than a truck.

Max cargo space.... 114 cu ft Pilot, 123 cu ft Tahoe. Not that big a difference. It's only a foot shorter as well. Different appeal though.

BacDoc · May 15, 2026

vcode said:
Max cargo space.... 114 cu ft Pilot, 123 cu ft Tahoe. Not that big a difference. It's only a foot shorter as well. Different appeal though.

I drove the 2026 Pilot and Passport
They are very nice but the size difference perceived or not is very different.
This is not to throw shade on the Honda as it’s solid mid size SUV with a very reliable power plant.

We are coming from the Honda Element and the Element has a lot more room than the Pilot both driver space and cargo space.
That Element was a great alternative to a mid sized SUV or mini van and if Honda brought back the Element with the 6 cylinder Pilot engine we would have bought that.
The only downside to the Element is it is strictly a 4 seat and the suicide doors are not for everyone but if you want a mid size that is spacious cockpit and loads of cargo space it absolutely works.

ReaperHWK · May 15, 2026

vcode said:
Max cargo space.... 114 cu ft Pilot, 123 cu ft Tahoe. Not that big a difference. It's only a foot shorter as well. Different appeal though.

Well really the biggest difference is the minivan Vs truck. One is a body on frame truck that can tow 9000lb and the other is a minivan that can’t tow anything or really do any “truck” things.

They are totally different vehicles.

vcode · May 15, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
Well really the biggest difference is the minivan Vs truck. One is a body on frame truck that can tow 9000lb and the other is a minivan that can’t tow anything or really do any “truck” things.

They are totally different vehicles.

The Pilot can tow 5000 lbs. A Unibody Dodge Durango can tow 8700 lbs so the whole body on fame thing is a moot point. Either way, the vast majority will never even leave the pavement. BTW, my Yukon XL can only tow 6000 lbs.

Stbentoak · May 16, 2026

My daughter recently bought a new Nissan Armada. Nobody talks about them and they are not that desirable, but they will deal on them for sure right now and they are a pretty reasonable and substantial vehicle. Tahoe like... for much less money....

vcode · May 16, 2026

Stbentoak said:
My daughter recently bought a new Nissan Armada. Nobody talks about them and they are not that desirable, but they will deal on them for sure right now and they are a pretty reasonable and substantial vehicle. Tahoe like... for much less money....

My nephew used to sell them. Said they were OK but slow movers at maybe 1-2 a month. Jury still out on the new ones with
the twin turbo V-6. Nissan sells less than 20K a year.

ReaperHWK · May 16, 2026

vcode said:
The Pilot can tow 5000 lbs. A Unibody Dodge Durango can tow 8700 lbs so the whole body on fame thing is a moot point. Either way, the vast majority will never even leave the pavement. BTW, my Yukon XL can only tow 6000 lbs.

A pilot and a Durango aren’t trucks, still a glorified minivan with a unibody. That is the point. And I tow with my Tahoe, and it stays on the pavement while doing it? What’s not leaving the pavement have to do with towing, which is a core requirement of a truck. .

Body on frame is one of the core definitions of a truck.

A pilot has more in common with a Toyota sienna than a Silverado 1500. Facts are facts.

Pilot=minivan.

And a Durango towing 8700 is a marketing joke; they are too small to comfortably tow that. It will be a struggle the whole way and the “truck” would have to be stripped out with nothing inside. Probably a 120lb driver as well lol. You’d really need a diesel 2500 to tow that weight comfortably.

Johnny Fr · May 17, 2026

vcode said:
Max cargo space.... 114 cu ft Pilot, 123 cu ft Tahoe. Not that big a difference. It's only a foot shorter as well. Different appeal though.

A Pilot is not 114 cu ft. It's 87 cu ft. The Honda website says this, and then it somehow does another calculation but does not say how (has a footnote with no footnote). Rather than guess what max is, just use the standard with all seats behind driver folded. That's 87. Tahoe is 123. Apples to apples.

The former Enclave/Traverse/Acadia were about 115, making them huge for crossovers.

edit: The Acura website does have the footnote, it's unfortunate that Honda would resort to doing that and trying to say a Pilot is greater than 87, since other mfgs are comparing to their 87:

[6] Based on SAE J1100 cargo volume measurement standard plus, where applicable, floor space between seating rows and seats in their forward-most and upright position.

ReaperHWK · May 18, 2026

vcode said:
The Pilot can tow 5000 lbs. A Unibody Dodge Durango can tow 8700 lbs so the whole body on fame thing is a moot point. Either way, the vast majority will never even leave the pavement. BTW, my Yukon XL can only tow 6000 lbs.

My 2026 Yahoe RST is rated to tow 8100 lbs. and it can tow it easily with the 6.2L.

I wouldn’t buy a big ass TRUCK if I wasn’t going to tow…… that and I have 5 kids at the house plus the wife and myself so it fills the Tahoe up!

I was briefly looking at Lightning’s but their tow range was pathetic, a big reason that truck was killed off.

vcode · May 18, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
My 2026 Yahoe RST is rated to tow 8100 lbs. and it can tow it easily with the 6.2L.

I wouldn’t buy a big ass TRUCK if I wasn’t going to tow…… that and I have 5 kids at the house plus the wife and myself so it fills the Tahoe up!

I was briefly looking at Lightning’s but their tow range was pathetic, a big reason that truck was killed off.

So a Durango SRT Hellcat is a glorified minivan?

ReaperHWK · May 18, 2026

vcode said:
So a Durango SRT Hellcat is a glorified minivan?

To me, yes it is. And I’m a member on hellcat.org and I’d be crucified for saying that! The Durango and TRX are the only hellcats left

To me this is the only real hellcat!

But to each their own a Durango isn’t a truck it’s a performance SUV. A body on frame Durango would be a bad choice for performance.

West 1 · May 18, 2026

My Daughter in law boought a new Toyota 4 runner with all the bells and whistles to make it look like a serious 4x4. She gets 14-14.5 and drives 150 miles per day for work. Straight highway drive not many starts and stops. She is going 70-75 when possible but still. 14-14.5 with a low power V6 in a smaller, not nearly as nice riding platform. I don't get the Toyota loyalty other than they think they never need repairs?

ReaperHWK · May 18, 2026

West 1 said:
My Daughter in law boought a new Toyota 4 runner with all the bells and whistles to make it look like a serious 4x4. She gets 14-14.5 and drives 150 miles per day for work. Straight highway drive not many starts and stops. She is going 70-75 when possible but still. 14-14.5 with a low power V6 in a smaller, not nearly as nice riding platform. I don't get the Toyota loyalty other than they think they never need repairs?

well it’s because they have a reputation for reliability.

That being said I think they have really bland styling. Not exciting vehicles to me.

Getting from point A to point B for a long time without problems they are hard to beat. Even though lately they have had some quality issues.

I was looking for a used car for my daughter and chatGPT is a total Toyota lover.

vcode · May 18, 2026

West 1 said:
My Daughter in law boought a new Toyota 4 runner with all the bells and whistles to make it look like a serious 4x4. She gets 14-14.5 and drives 150 miles per day for work. Straight highway drive not many starts and stops. She is going 70-75 when possible but still. 14-14.5 with a low power V6 in a smaller, not nearly as nice riding platform. I don't get the Toyota loyalty other than they think they never need repairs?

They went to a turbo 4 a few years ago, Must be an older model. The previous gen was from the ice age, as it hadn't been changed in a decade and still used a 5 speed transmission. Bulletproof though....

vcode · May 18, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
To me, yes it is. And I’m a member on hellcat.org and I’d be crucified for saying that! The Durango and TRX are the only hellcats left

To me this is the only real hellcat!

But to each their own a Durango isn’t a truck it’s a performance SUV. A body on frame Durango would be a bad choice for performance.

Yeah, you better be careful. Your Challenger isn't that far removed from a Durango (Unibody, blown Hemi, 8 speed, RWD based). Don't want to call it a chopped and channelled minivan! LOL! BTW, I worked with the SRT boys to develop a freon cooled intercooler for the Hellcat that would use A/C freon to cool the intake charge. It made more power but was too complicated for production use. The intercooler housing looked good sitting on my desk though.

First 100+ mile drive on the Tahoe

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