Ace of Base: 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe LS Custom

After consuming far too much turkey over the last couple of days, your humble author is suddenly a proponent of removing a few things from one’s plate. Sure, that third hot roast turkey smothered in hot gravy sounded like a good idea while ladling it onto my plate, but proved to be a fatal error just a couple of hours later as I slipped into yet another tryptophan-induced Christmas coma.

Such is the case with the 2019 Chevy Tahoe. By selecting a certain series of options, one can spec a body-on-frame SUV that actually bears a Monroney less than its base starting price. Does this make it a super Ace of Base? Do we still have turkey in the fridge?

The answer to both of these questions is a resounding “yes” … especially for the turkey.

One’s path to Tahoe enlightenment starts with a two-wheel drive LS spec, with a 5.3-liter V8 under the hood and three rows of seats. From here, one can select the Custom Edition package, a choice for which GM will put $4,200 back into your pocket. For that negative sum, GM fits a unique set of 18-inch wheels, ladles some chrome on the grille, and bins the third-row seat.

Bending the Ace of Base rules just ever so slightly, one can spec the Custom Midnight Edition instead. This choice credits $3,200 into your proverbial account, a cool grand less than the non-murdered out Custom, but bestows the Tahoe with 18-inch black painted aluminium wheels wrapped in knobby bro-level Duratracs while also fitting a set of black tubular running boards. The gold Chevy bowties turn dark, as do a pair of front recovery hooks. The third-row seat vanishes as well.

GM will pay me $3,200 for a better-looking Tahoe? A Christmas miracle, indeed! Or at least a contender for Super Ace of Base status.

For savvy Tahoe shoppers, the financial credits don’t end there. While deleting the marginally-habitable third row gives up a couple of family chairs, a seat can be re-added by way of choosing to spec one’s Tahoe with a front bench seat. Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus and there really is a full-size V8-powered SUV with a bench seat and column shifter available for 2019. The General will even take $250 off the sticker price. A flip-down centre console remains for those occasions you don’t want to sit three abreast.

Even base LS Tahoe trucks are equipped with tri-zone climate control, meaning rear-seat kidlets are free to swelter or freeze to their hearts content while on-board wifi allows them to Snapchat pictures of their rise from Default Guy on Fortnite. GM includes the good infotainment system at this price, plus remote start and backup camera/beepers so avoid flattening Junior’s bicycle while reversing out of the garage.

Let’s calculate the final tally, then. From its base price of $48,000 for a rear-drive Tahoe LS, reductions of $3,200 and $250 bring the sticker down to $44,550. Remove another $1,000 if you’re not a knob like me who wants their Tahoe in blacked-out trim with beefy tires. Bargain hard and you’ll likely shave a few more dollars off that figure.

Tossing out some wild speculation, options such as these may not be in the cards for the Tahoe much longer. Spy shots show the next Cadillac Escalade running around with an independent rear suspension, a development that would surely add to the livability of its (and its Chevy/GMC cousins) third row. Get yer cut-price Tahoe while you can!

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 selection.

The model above is shown in American dollars with American options and trim, absent of destination charges and available rebates. As always, your dealer may sell for less.

[Images: GM]