Ace of Base: Chevrolet Suburban LS

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Sometimes a manufacturer churns out a base trim that is — all things considered — the primo choice for that particular model. Here’s an example.

A couple of weeks ago, Tim spelled it out for us: Americans finally bought more SUVs than cars.

Now, a good many of these weren’t real SUVs: Rouges, RAVs, and RDXs are pathetic shadows of the segment’s forebears. The Suburban, however, has been unabashedly truck based since 1935. The current model is powered by a 355-horsepower V8 engine fuelled by ground up Priuses and oiled with the tears of David Attenborough. Cargo space is measured in acres instead of square feet.

The LS trim, with durable cloth seats and an available front bench seat like Alfred Sloan intended, won’t make drivers feel bad if they gouge the rear door with the hitch from a boat trailer or knock a mirror off at a McDonald’s drive-thru en route to an early morning trip to the lake. It’s not like this ‘Burban is a leather-lined LTZ or (god forbid!) a Yukon SLT Premium.

Name another vehicle into which you can stuff nine people and a weekend’s luggage while hauling an 8000-pound trailer. I can think of several — two, right now, in my driveway — that can achieve these feats, but not at the same time. In the base model LS, tri-zone climate control assures comfort of your ankle-biters and built-in 4G LTE wi-fi allows them to play Pokémon Go on the go. It is only on the LS that GM allows one to choose that La-Z-Boy front bench — a cloth-covered, overstuffed, outstretched middle finger to the timid crossover — making this, the base model, the greatest of all Suburbans.

GM will actually give $250 to Suburban LS buyers who opt for a front bench seat, making this one of the few occasions when a manufacturer will pay buyers to make their vehicles more useful. This is the polar opposite of the Porsche approach.

Looking like a tank in its $0 Black finish, other drivers will think you’re with the Secret Service, scattering like rice at a wedding as you fill their rearview mirrors with nine yards of chrome grille. Painted red, the Suburban suggests one is with the fire department, but Siren Red Tintcoat is, sadly, a $495 option.

To top it off, the Suburban has a bladder busting thirty-one gallon capacity fuel tank and gets mid-20s on the highway, meaning you can drive out of the assembly plant in Arlington, TX and make it to the outskirts of Atlanta before you run out fuel. Good news: you and your eight friends will have plenty of room for snacks.

Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown in American dollars with American options and trim — apple pie and bald eagles not included. As always, your dealer may sell for less.

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 110 comments
  • AJ AJ on Aug 17, 2016

    I think it's great that people still buy these. I wish I had the reason...

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Aug 17, 2016

    I don't really want one of these but I can understand why Suburbans sell. For what they are they are comfortable and the ride is limo quality. Also these are almost bullet proof and they will last a long long time. These are like an old Volvo wagon on steroids which is why they are popular. I will give GM credit for making a really bullet proof vehicle that can tow and haul.

    • 200Series 200Series on Aug 18, 2016

      Rented LS for 10 days... Good: - Gas mileage/range - Comfortable seats - Decent power - Very good handling, particularly given the size Bad: - headlights are horrible - Bouncy ride in 3rd row and off road....really bad hop on washboard - Navigation/audio interface - Throttle tip-in makes it feel slow/sluggish.....3/4 pedal to go anywhere - Front air dam really low

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
Next