Overview

What's New for 2025

The 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe is available in six trim levels: LS, LT, RST, Z71, Premier, and High Country. All-wheel drive is optional on all models except the Z71, where it's standard. The Duramax diesel engine is optional on most trims. The LT is the popular trim, which makes sense as it’s well-equipped, available with many of the features that come standard on upper trims, and has more of a traditional Tahoe look free from sporty, off-roady, or luxury pretenses. Its price also didn’t go up this year. It’s the one we recommend for most buyers.

LS

Pricing starts at $60,495 for the LS (including a $1,995 destination fee). The base Tahoe includes 18-inch wheels, cloth upholstery, power-adjustable front seats, an 11-inch digital instrument panel, a 17.7-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a six-speaker audio system. It is the only way to get a 40/20/40-split front bench and therefore a nine-passenger capacity. Active safety features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, forward and reverse cross-traffic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and front and rear parking sensors.

LT

The LT starts at $63,695 and adds upgrades that we think make it the best deal. They include a hands-free power liftgate, leather upholstery, heated front seats, and wireless device charging. Importantly, it opens the door to a variety of options not available on the LS.

RST

The RST ($68,495) is basically a sporty LT. It adds black 22-inch wheels, black exterior trim, and sport-shaped seats with special stitching. Options include a larger V8 engine, dual exhaust, and upgraded suspension.

Z71

The Z71 ($70,495) is the off-road specialist. It comes with standard four-wheel drive, two-speed transfer case, skid plates, and hill-descent control. It has more rugged front-end styling with a higher approach angle and 20-inch wheels with all-terrain tires. For a bit more refinement and capability, the optional Z71 Off-Road package includes an adaptive air suspension, magnetic dampers, a limited-slip differential, upgraded powertrain cooling and trailering features, and a power-sliding center console.

Premier

The Premier ($75,095) comes with 20-inch wheels, adaptive suspension, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row bucket seats (reduces capacity to seven passengers), a heated steering wheel, power-folding third-row seats, a 10-speaker Bose audio system, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts.

High Country

The range-topping High Country starts at $80,195 and adds 22-inch wheels, a larger V8 engine, magnetic ride control suspension, and richer interior trappings. Options include the adaptive air suspension, a panoramic sunroof, power-retractable side steps, a self-parking system, and the Super Cruise hands-free driving system (available on the LT, RST, and Premier within the Advanced Technology package).

While its competitors are powered by turbocharged six-cylinder engines, the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe comes standard with a V8. That may sound like an advantage, but in reality, the standard 5.3-liter V8 (355 horsepower, 383 pound-feet of torque) is far less powerful and efficient. The 6.2-liter V8 upgrade (420 hp, 460 lb-ft) that’s optional on most trims is more competitive in terms of output, but is even worse in terms of fuel economy.

The best choice could be the upgraded 3.0-liter six-cylinder turbodiesel (Duramax) that’s optional for all but the LS trim. The diesel makes just 305 hp, but bests the V8s with 495 lb-ft of torque and much better fuel economy (see below). It is also shockingly quiet, period, not just for a diesel.

All three engines pair with a 10-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case is standard on the Z71 and optional for other trims.

The Tahoe provides a smooth ride, especially when equipped with magnetic dampers, the adaptive air suspension or, better still, a combination of both. It's also surprisingly quiet given its large, boxy, and not particularly aerodynamic shape. We have not tested a 2025 Tahoe with its retuned suspension and steering tuning, which promises better refinement.

Most 2025 Chevy Tahoe configurations seat eight, or seven with the optional second-row captain's chairs. Only the base LS can be equipped with a 40/20/40-split front bench that yields a nine-person capacity. No matter which layout you choose, there's plenty of room for tall adults and sensitive siblings to spread out. That includes the third row. Even if the Jeep Wagoneer technically has more space back there, the practical difference in the rearmost rows of all the extended-length full-size SUVs is minimal. It’s also important to note that the Tahoe has the same third-row space as the larger Chevrolet Suburban. The Suburban only offers extra cargo space.

The Tahoe has a far larger cargo area with a lower floor than you might have experienced with the previous-generation model. Space with the third row up is in between what you’ll find in the Ford Expedition and Wagoneer, and indeed better than most large crossovers. Space with the third down benefits from the Tahoe’s wide dimensions and boxy shape. If you need to lug a big TV back from Best Buy, it’ll be a good bet.

Technology used to be acceptable in the Chevrolet Tahoe, now it’s an asset. Every 2025 Tahoe boasts an enormous 17.7-inch touchscreen and 11-inch digital instrument panel. Even the base LS trim gets the flashiest tech this year. Besides the eye-popping amount of screen real estate, the system runs GM’s user-friendly, Android Automotive-based interface that integrates Google Maps, Google Assistant, and other Google apps into the native tech interface. Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are still included.

All of those Google elements should make the Tahoe’s tech feel a little easier and more familiar to use than what you’ll find in its Jeep Wagoneer and Toyota Sequoia competitors. The Jeep is still impressive in its own right, especially when loaded to the gills with its passenger-side screen and 19-speaker McIntosh sound system. There’s also the Ford Expedition, which gets an even more radical interior overhaul for 2025, boasting two huge screens and Google Built-in. We haven’t had a chance to sample this system, but it does have the potential to take some of the wind out of the new Tahoe’s sails.

Crash ratings for the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe were not available at the time of this rating, but the 2024 Tahoe earned a four-star (out of five) overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Tahoe received four stars in front crash testing, five for side crashes, and three for rollovers. In testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), also for 2024, the Tahoe turned in lowering scores that you’ll typically see. It got an Acceptable rating in the small overlap front test, a Poor rating in the updated moderate overlap front, and a Good rating in the updated side test. Its frontal crash prevention system received a Marginal rating for pedestrian detection. It also got a Poor headlight rating, but there’s a chance the 2025 front-end redesign will yield different results.

Active safety features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, forward and reverse cross-traffic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and front and rear parking sensors. GM’s Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assist system is available on all but the LS and Z71 trims.

The new interior for the 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe makes it significantly more competitive, especially on the top end of its trim levels, that now have the design and look-at-me technology that better suits their lofty luxury-like prices. Should you be considering one of those top trims, also know that getting one or both of the Tahoe’s suspension upgrades (magnetic dampers and air suspension) result in one of the more sophisticated ride/handling balances you’ll find in a truck-based SUV.

If there is one area that should give you pause, it’s the engine choices. The Ford Expedition, Toyota Sequoia, Jeep Wagoneer and recently redesigned Nissan Armada all have more powerful and efficient turbocharged V6 engines. The Tahoe’s 5.3-liter V8 is looking awfully old these days. Stepping up to the 6.2 helps close the performance gap, but fuel economy takes a further dive. The best choice, then, could be the turbodiesel six-cylinder that’s shockingly quiet, very efficient, and improves the 6.2’s torque. Better still, nothing else in the segment (besides the Tahoe’s GMC Yukon twin) offers anything like it.

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