Any regrets not getting a Suburban/XL instead of Tahoe/Yukon?

[Protect1989]

I have been shopping for a Tahoe/Yukon for months and were getting ready to pull the trigger.

However we have a friend who just got a suburban and absolutely loves the space. We have a kid on the way and now I am second guessing which option I should go with.

Anyone who purchased Tahoe/Yukon, do you have regrets about not getting the longer wheelbase versions? Question could also be asked the other way too.


Note: I currently have a GMC sierra which is the exact same length as a Suburban/XL, so the size wouldnt be new to me

 

[swathdiver]

Never had the short ones, always loved the extra space in the 2nd row and behind the 3rd row. Different generation than what you're looking for.

 

[JayceeP]

Historically I always preferred the short body but then I became a dad and something changed. I don’t have a big family, I don’t “need” the space but it’s so nice never having to worry about it. The Yukon XL is basically a land yacht and with the 3.0 diesel, having 1,000km highway range is an awesome feeling. You don’t want to get a short body and then end up with a Thule or hitch carrier because you ran out of space.

I also think the long bodies look better.

So if you’re comfortable with a big vehicle, and the extra few bucks doesn’t matter to you, I’d always recommend the long body. I’d suggest renting each for a weekend so you can get a full feel for it all.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Stbentoak]

As a red blooded American, bigger is always better. But in the real world, it just won't fit in my garage. And it may not fit other places you take it. If having the space is more important than any other issue.... go buy it. If you're around a big city and need to park at places like downtown et cetera, you may not like that choice.

 

[GMCChevy]

As a red blooded American, bigger is always better. But in the real world, it just won't fit in my garage. And it may not fit other places you take it. If having the space is more important than any other issue.... go buy it. If you're around a big city and need to park at places like downtown et cetera, you may not like that choice.

That's why I've always gone with the shorties. Even with them you have to be picky at times where you park. The space inside has never been a problem.

A kid on the way makes you re-think it? How many do you already have? Suburban is over kill if that's your reason and it's the first but if you're a large family that regularly goes out together and need a lot of cargo space it might be beneficial.

 

[jerry455]

I love my 2021 Suburban. I like the bigger size so I can put my bike inside instead of always having to have a bike rack on the back. It is big but it doesn't feel that big driving it.

 

[Stbentoak]

That's why I've always gone with the shorties. Even with them you have to be picky at times where you park. The space inside has never been a problem.

A kid on the way makes you re-think it? How many do you already have? Suburban is over kill if that's your reason and it's the first but if you're a large family that regularly goes out together and need a lot of cargo space it might be beneficial.

I just gave my daughter my 21. She had twins about six months ago. They had a VW atlas that they were trying to work with. The Denali was a miracle for them. Two kids ride comfortably in the back seats and still have room for all the kid junk behind them. They just couldn't do it with the Atlas. Could they use a Suburban? Well possibly, but I doubt if it would fit in their garage either. It's all a matter of perspective. I came from a Jeep Grand Cherokee and all the space in 21 I first bought was intoxicating. Never had so much room in my life.... now we find it pretty indispensable as we can take two couples with us and drive one car and never could before. All in all, these vehicles fill a pretty nice niche in our life that we need right now. I was happy with the old one and I am happy with the new one.

 

[JKeller]

My dad had Tahoes when I was a kid. We took lots of trip with both parents, both kids, a dog or two, and all our gear. When we had something bulky like coolers, we put on a hitch carrier and strapped them to it. There were times when the Tahoe was stuffed full, but never times we didn't have enough room. Now I'm 37 and on my 4th Tahoe. We've never felt the need for the Suburban/XL and I like how much easier it is to park the Tahoe in the City and in parking garages. It also fits nicely in my home garage. That said, if I lived out in the country, I'd probably lean towards a Suburban/XL for the extra room and extended wheel base for towing.

 

[SpareParts]

I have had more suburbans than i can remember. Never had a problem parking that i can remember. It's all about knowing where all 4 corners are.
I would always go with the XL/Suburban just for the convenience of hauling sheets of plywood, sleep in it camping, hauling everything to the lake for a day, towing. VERY Versatile vehicle.

 

[tooleyondeck]

This is an unsolicited opinion, but if you only have ONE kid, you have no need for a 3-row SUV, so I assume the SUV hunt is for preference. In that case, I always prefer the longer body just to maximize practicality, especially if this will be replacing the Sierra. 144 cu ft can fit a lot of stuff.

In my case of actually needing the third row to transport humans, it made more sense to get the XL for the storage behind the third row, which is almost non-existent on previous gens (and even the new ones only have 25.5 cu ft with the third row up vs 41.5 in the Burban/XL/ESV).

There is also the safety aspect, I'm just uneasy about having my kid's skulls a foot away from the back windshield. Hopefully this input helps. Post up your new rig when your get it!

 

[Protect1989]

Really appreciate all of the feedback and the conversation on this topic.

My wife is leaning towards the XL, primarily because she isnt the one having to daily drive it! We do have 2 dogs (70 pounds, 25 pounds) + the upcoming addition to the family.

We do long road trips a couple times a year but that will probably increase since its easier to drive than fly with a young one (in certain scenarios). Plus if we want to bring the dogs, we will need to fit them and all their luggage.

The Sierra has spoiled us for space, you can throw anything in the bed and not really worry about it. Its really going to come down to day to day of driving this thing and if i want something shorter than the truck (wild that a tahoe/yukon is 15 inches shorter) or if I am fine with the size and get something overly practical.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Really appreciate all of the feedback and the conversation on this topic.

My wife is leaning towards the XL, primarily because she isnt the one having to daily drive it! We do have 2 dogs (70 pounds, 25 pounds) + the upcoming addition to the family.

We do long road trips a couple times a year but that will probably increase since its easier to drive than fly with a young one (in certain scenarios). Plus if we want to bring the dogs, we will need to fit them and all their luggage.

The Sierra has spoiled us for space, you can throw anything in the bed and not really worry about it. Its really going to come down to day to day of driving this thing and if i want something shorter than the truck (wild that a tahoe/yukon is 15 inches shorter) or if I am fine with the size and get something overly practical.

I've had both, and I very much prefer the XL for lots of reasons.

The only drawback that I've experienced with the XL is that it can be challenging to park at times, particularly if the existing parked cars next to you have invaded your sparking space with their poor parking habits.

For me, my XL is my cargo vehicle for my home projects, as I do not have a pickup truck. If you do any hammering around your house with projects, IMO, it is essential that you have a vehicle that can fit a sheet of plywood or wallboard or 8 ft. studs. The XL can handle this, but the short body cannot (with product hanging out the back with a red flag).

I have 2 large dogs, and they love the extra space to move around in with the XL. If you go on overnight vacations with the dogs, such as camping, etc., the additional space provided by the XL will definitely be invaluable to you.

I don't tow anything significant with my truck, but folks on this Forum who do, say that the XL provides much more towing stability.

 

[swathdiver]

When my wife and I started our family we bought a full length Pontiac Montana minivan. It's a little narrower but has a larger interior than the Suburban. Went through 3 of them over the years. Now down to two kids, and wanting a 4x4, only the Suburban was close enough in seating capacity and storage to what we were used to. Bought the Yukon XL. Now the kids are grown and half the time I'm by myself or just my wife with me.

But the other half of the time, my folks hop in for dinner or weekend getaways and that little door of the Tahoe would be a hardship for them. Same for my mother-in-law who has Parkinson's. We keep a wheelchair in the truck now for her just in case she can't walk. Had to use it this morning. If we had a Tahoe, that wheelchair wouldn't have fit without moving stuff around.

Both lengths of these new trucks are quite large. They are very safe to drive and that kind of safety is worth the price. Before the IIHS redid their website, my 2009 Yukon XL 4x4 had ZERO fatalities in all the years they have been on the road. The 2015-2020 Yukon XL 4x4 also had ZERO fatalities. Let me check these new ones... Just showing up to 2020 and the death rates are no longer zero. The 2017-2020 Yukon XL 4WD driver death rate is now 11 **.

** Rates are given as the number of driver deaths per million registered vehicle years. A registered vehicle year is one vehicle registered for one year.

Driver death rates by make and model

One way to compare the relative safety of vehicles is to look at driver death rates.

www.iihs.org

 

[JayceeP]

Get whatever ever you want. I don’t care how many kids you have does anyone really need a $100k Tahoe or Suburban. You could do just fine, and probably better, with a minivan.

In many ways, a part of these purchases are vanity purchases, let’s not kid ourselves.

On the flip side, I have a wife, 8 year old, and a dog. A 22 y/o step son who doesn’t really travel with us. Anyway, go on the road to a hockey camp for the week and throw in: hockey gear, sticks, Sparx skate sharpener, clothes for the 3 of us, dog crate, dog food, treats, bowls, laptop monitors and laptops etc and the space actually does go quickly. You don’t need 5 kids to justify owning one. It all depends on needs, wants, and preferences. And, in some cases, people just want to drive a big ass vehicle. I’m one of those people lol.

90% of us would do fine owning a Toyota Camry and renting a truck or big suv for the 5-10% of the time we actually need it .

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I started with a '96 Tahoe -- Just me and the wife
Got a '98 Tahoe and we had our first kid
In 2000, had our 2nd kid, and traded the '98 Tahoe for a '99 Suburban, mainly to take a 400 mile road trip with the 4 of us plus 2 in-laws.

Been in the longs since then, here are my observations:
The $$ difference is only $3k
The fuel economy is the same
Parking is basically the same, although the turning radius is a bit larger.
You can go 6 people for a weekend in the Longs, you can't in the shorts.
The Shorts Ride Great, the Longs ride even better.
The rear door setup is way better/bigger on the long than the short.
If you tow (or ever think you will), the experience is better in the longs.
If you are used to a Truck, you won't like the Short.
You can get a 4x8 in the longs with the liftgate closed; it is the design objective.

 

[Trilla_one]

Suburbans just seem huge to me. Only reason i'd get one over the Tahoe is if I needed to tow longer/heavier stuff and didn't want to get a huge pickup

 

[martinajm]

I started with Yukon and have had 3 x Xl's. The older generation Tahoe / Yukon had very little room behind the 3rd seat - like barely enough for any groceries and certainly no luggage. In addition, the 3rd row seats didn't fold flat so the cargo space wasn't really usable. the current generation added more room and the seats fold flat, so they are pretty functional.

If you don't need the extra cargo space, the real difference is the improved towing with the longer wheelbase and the larger fuel tank. Both are drivers for me, so I will likely stay in the longer versions.

 

[rlhmarines]

I grew up driving pickup trucks as a youngster and my first personal truck was a regular cab long bed ‘78 Chevy C10 Bonanza so I’m pretty use to the length of the Suburbans and Yukon XL.

The Suburban in those days had the same wheelbase of the regular cab long bed trucks at I believe 131”. If you’re coming from a crew cab full-size pickup truck this will be a much shorter and much better maneuverable experience with the capability to carry that 4x8 piece of plywood if needed like only the long bed trucks can. It may or may not fit in some of these newer 2 car garages but you can measure for that to make sure of your garage length.

These current models sit much taller than my ‘01 does but it’s also longer for the increased interior room benefiting this ‘20-‘26 generation over the previous generations. The 360 degree camera system is a must have for the newbie’s to this size of vehicle and it comes in handy for me as a long time user in this class especially parallel parking and whatnot.

I’ve owned now 2 Tahoes but I thought hard when trying to decide if the ‘01 Tahoe or the ‘01 Suburban was better at the time but I eventually decided against it because my kids were practically gone at that point in time. There’s no bad choice here.

Choose wisely!! Good luck!!

 

[West 1]

I have owned a few of each body style. I tow trailers and have a garage under the rear of my home. I need to make a tight 90* turn with trailers to get into my yard. With the Tahoe/Yukon this turn is much easier for me and I have had Suburban bodies for nearly 20 years of use so I like them. Overall, I think the Suburban body has a better highway ride, the longer wheelbase is a little smoother. The Tahoe body feels a little faster since it is a little lighter but it is close to the same, not a big issue.

The extra space in the Suburban comes in handy many many times. Hard to beat and you miss it when you don't have it anymore. Parking is harder but not a lot harder. My wife drove a Suburban for nearly 20 years and liked it till the kids moved out and she insisted on a BMW X5. Dang.

Gas mileage was so close I would not say the Tahoe body is better, I am sure it is but very close to the same. Tire wear, brakes etc all seem identical.

With young kids you have space for everything needed when you take trips, car seats, strollers, cribs, luggage etc. If you need it you take it. No issues.

In my Yukon or Tahoe body I always pull the rear 2 seats out and store them in the garage so I have more space but now only seat 4 or 5. Suburbans do this and still seat 7.

We visited friends for a week each year, 780 miles one way to go see them. The Suburban was the perfect hauler for that trip. In the Yukon it is packed till I can't see out the rear view mirror.

Your personal choice, only you know what features are most important in your life.

Edit: another advantage I miss with the Suburbans size, when we take the boat out and want to stop for food on the way home we could throw all the expensive toys and ice chest into the Burb and lock it as we went into the Restaurant. The Yukon does not offer enough room for this option and I miss that ability.

 

[Marky Dissod]

The extra space in the Suburban comes in handy many many times. Hard to beat and you miss it when you don't have it anymore. Parking is harder but not a lot harder.

In NYC - especially in Manhattan - FINDING a street parking spot large enough to fit a 223" long '12 XL was THE major difficulty.
Trying to find a garage that'll accept a bubba / XL / ESV for under $100 for the 1st hour? Fuhgeddaboudit, ain't happenin.
Backup cam makes parking spots a lil bigger. Once you find the spot, you get good at parallel parking, or waste a lot more gas searching.

Actually think that if more people were forced to learn to drive in a bubba / XL / ESV, they'd all be better drivers for it.

Outside of NYC, I ALMOST don't see the point of the short-wheelbase-suvs.