It’s no secret that the hand-of-god 6.2-liter V8 is popular at TTAC. Those of us who command one with our right foot are outnumbered only by those who wish they had the 420-horsepower engine in their driveway.
General Motors sensibly started offering the larger V8 in trims other than ones named Denali a little while ago, finally debuting it in the Tahoe RST late last year. For 2019, buyers of the big kahuna Suburban can spec the hairy-chested 6.2L, as well.
The new RST Performance Package, which also appears on the Tahoe, will be an option on the Suburban’s top-tier Premier trim. It is rated at 420 horses and 460 units of twist, just like the engine’s other truck-based applications. Paired with the direct-injection 6.2L is the company’s 10-speed automatic.
Fans of towing gear with their RST Suburban will be gratified to find 3.23 ratio gears in the rear axle housing, plus an available trailer brake controller. GVWR will be either 7,300 lbs or 7,500 lbs, depending on options. The burly Maximum Trailer Package will bring that kit with a different axle ratio on emasculated machines, with the now admittedly workaday 5.3-liter engine. Expect the big-engined RST to haul 8,100 lbs — about the same as a 5.3L with the Max Trailer Package but with extra gusto.
An uprated alternator is fitted to the RST, as well. Gotta provide juice for all that extra testosterone somehow, I guess. Magnetic Ride Control is also on tap, an active suspension that GM claims reads the road every millisecond, triggering damping changes in the electronically controlled shock absorbers
Outside, GM is playing the same bit of visual chicanery as they are with their RST Tahoe. Two RST packages are available: RST Edition provides the exterior bling, while RST Performance Edition plunks the 6.2L between the fenders. The former is available on both the LT and Premier models, bringing 22-inch wheels wrapped in Bridgestone P285/45/22 tires, a gloss black grille and mirror caps, color-keyed door handles, and blacked-out badging. The latter is only available on the Premier.
GM will also be happy to sell you a raft of performance accessories to accompany your 6.2L Suburban, including a Borla-branded exhaust and Brembo-branded brakes. Colors for the high-po RST Performance Edition and low-po RST Edition are limited to the greyscale – silver, white, black, and grey. The 2019 grey is slightly different from the 2018 grey, with Shadow Grey Metallic replacing Tungsten Metallic. Remember that when you’re placing a bid at Barrett-Jackson in 30 years.
The body-on-frame family at Chevy absolutely dominates the full-size SUV market, counting for nearly half of the market’s sales. Right now, GM and Ford are going in opposite directions with engine choices for their large SUVs, as the Blue Oval plugs an EcoBoosted V6 in its Expedition while Chevy continues to offer only V8s. And, as we see here, increasingly bigger ones.
Pricing and performance metrics are expected closer to launch.
[Images: General Motors]
Good for the General.
Best Body on Frame Large SUV -PERIOD.
I’m glad to see that GM realizes that a lot of people buy these because they’re work horses and not just because they’re trendy
Those are nice little power numbers. We’ll see real ones when the Grand Wagoneer Hellcat gets here.
If we live that long… grumble, grumble
Sergio Marichionne just passed away. :(
I managed to outlive 3800 production, but I expect the LS factory will be cranking out engines long after I’m gone.
Oh how I want one of these….I just did 200 mile round trip today in my 08′ Suburban. I love the thing. I would really love it with 400 hp and a 10 speed auto.
Now if it was just a standalone option on the cheap trims…
This. I want an ls with 4×4 and 6.2 and the 10 speed
Amen to that!
Agreed with PrincipalDan. Those big wheels in particular are for the birds, and defeats half the purpose of buying a sturdy BOF in the first place for me (gobble up bad roads unscathed). This spring a guy at work that parks his nice new Silverado High Country (in a fantastic shade of green) on some kind of huge factory chrome wheels caught a flat, presumably from a pothole, and was rolling on the black fullsize donut for a few weeks. Sad! My old purple ranger with its tiny but sturdy 225/70R14s parked a few spots away offers up a funny contrast. The days I take the 4Runner rolling on 265/70R16 all-terrain tires, the Silverado with its low air dam and huge rims with lo-pro tires looks especially absurd. Give me that lovely green paint in an LT Z71 with a leveling kit and that stupid air dam ripped off!
They all look absurd to me. I have driven through some seriously rough terrain in Alaska and Yukon in my overloaded Volvo 240 and the only limitation was my skill with the clutch pedal.
I’ve driven far into Siberia (into the steppe and Altai mountain range within 50km of the Mongolian border) in a 1994 Corolla wagon, a Lada 2107, several old Moskvitches on different trips. My cousin’s beat up old Toyota Corona sees more offroading in his daily commute across some dirt field roads than most trucks or SUVs will ever see in the States.
They’ll sell every singe one right up to the day the epa says nope.
Awesome truck. The LT engines are worthy of being the LS’ successors…they are fine engines. Combine that with all the awesomeness that is Tahoe/Burb…
I was hesitant at first if the LT could be an appropriate successor to the LS, but I have to say I’ve been impressed. My ’17 Z71 work truck with the 5.3L has been fantastic. Great pickup, buttery smooth, and highway gas mileage averages 23, I’ve done as good as 25MPG on a 200 mile stretch. I have plenty of complaints about the horrible transmission programming and highway gears (3:42 the best available unfortunately) but the engine has been fantastic.
Wanted to get my hands on the new 6.2L for a while but haven’t had a good opportunity to try it.
The LT is largely a DI derivative of the LS, outside of direct injection and some combustion chamber optimization I dont think it was a huge departure from the previous LS.
Yeah, if you want to spend $70k+ on an SUV. Insane.
And that’s the low end of the price scale. GMC and Cadillac go upward and peak out somewhere in the low six figures. But to be fair, they were always expensive. Our first new one was more expensive than a Corvette… in 1992.
Don’t look up the price of a Land Cruiser then.
Don’t look up the price of an Armada either… it’s a much better deal.
we own a 2017 armada (Patrol). fantastic SUV. no complaints. Japanese built Nissans really are in a different class from their dogsh*t american made models. The Titan (USA built) is complete crap in comparison. They probably should make a separate brand for Jap-only made stuff (what infiniti USED to be)
It would appear that a Viagra prescription would be considerably cheaper.
This seems to be a regular thing with GM full sizers. I think you could get the 6.0L V8 in the Tahoe Z71 during the final years of the GMT900.
We love the 6.2L in our Yukon XL Denali. Full throttle from a dead stop is a lot faster than it should be for something its size.
I hope GM never goes down the turbo rabbit hole like Ford did. I prefer the LT motors to the EcoBoost V6’s after owning both. No lag, linear power and a phenomenal exhaust note.
AFAICT, the 6.0 was in the hybrids only, and was unrelated to the 6.0 used in the HD trucks.
Drzhivago138 I stand corrected. You could get the LS (L92) 6.2L in the GMT900s. Briefly, the 6.2L was available in the Tahoe, Yukon Denali and Escalade.
Looks like the Suburban didn’t get the top tier motor last generation. It does this time around.
You mean in trucks specifically? The smaller displacement turbo 8s are already on the way from the General, I don’t imagine the trucks will be spared for too long.
johnny_5.0 yep, trucks specifically. I can appreciate the EcoBoost V6. We have a 2010 Taurus SHO we’ve owned since new, after all. The EcoBoost 3.5L is phenomenal in the Taurus. But after owning an F-150 EB a few years ago and now a Yukon XL Denali, I much prefer the V8 over the TTV6 for truck duty.
Lately I’ve also been hearing less grumbling about LT reliability. I hope they’ve got it sorted out, because this is a great light truck engine in every other way.
It’s funny, the photo with the rear 3/4 view has a very Cadillac look to it that I haven’t noticed before and definitely don’t see in person.