This week I bring you the most powerful Chevy Tahoe ever made, the 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe RST.
The real story of this beast lies under the hood, where you’ll find a 6.2-liter V8 that is putting out 420-horses and 460 pound-feet of torque. It is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission that GM developed with Ford Motor Company. In fact, this tranny is the same one that comes in the popular Ford Raptor truck. The 6.2 comes with the GM cylinder deactivation system that uses only 4- cylinders out on the highway and the transition is seamless.
In the past, if you needed to tow over 8000 pounds, you could only get the 6.2-liter V8 in the Yukon Denali or Cadillac Escalade, but now you Tahoe lovers can tow 8400-pounds with the Tahoe RST. My review vehicle is the 4-wheel drive version but it does come in a 2-wheel version also.
The exterior of the RST features some fantastic 22” wheels and you’ll notice there is no chrome anywhere. Everything including the bowtie on the grill is blacked out. You’ll also notice that there is no badging anywhere that identifies it as an RST.
This is the Premier trim level, the top of the line, and the interior is nice but somewhat understated. The seats are comfortable and they are heated and cooled. The dash layout is well done with easy to read gauges and a driver information center that you can configure.
There is a large center console and armrest that has a built-in cell phone charger. High on the dash is Chevy’s MyLink screen that operates the Bose sound system, navigation, Bluetooth, real-time traffic and weather, the rear seat entertainment system, and the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections.
This is a large SUV, so as you can imagine it is quite roomy for all occupants, even in the third-row seat. One word of caution, if you plan to fill this Tahoe with 7- or 8-people and then add any cargo, you had better move up to a Suburban. There is just not much room in the cargo area with the third-row seat up. The 2nd and 3rd-row seats fold down very flat for a huge amount of cargo area.
This SUV has a ton of standard features, including remote start & keyless entry, power seats, power adjustable pedals, power tilt wheel, heated 2nd-row seat, power liftgate, 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot and a power-fold third-row seat.
On the safety front, you get forward collision alert, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, low speed forward braking, and a rear camera. It also has the rear seat reminder. If you open either of the back doors, when you get where you are going, it will remind you there may be something in the back seat, like a child.
My review vehicle has $13,000 in options including the power moonroof and rear seat entertainment package for $2885.
The RST Performance package is $2820 which gets you the big engine, the 10-speed transmission, and trailer towing package. Check out the front Brembo brakes, they are huge to better stop this 5600-pound SUV, but they’ll run you a steep $2795.
The wheels and RST suspension are $2630 and finally, the head-up display comes at a cost of $850.
The 2018 Tahoe RST rides and drives great and it sounds terrific. It features the GM Magnetic Ride system that monitors each wheel independently adjusting vertical suspension every millisecond to maintain a smooth ride.
Chevy made a good first effort in a performance SUV to try to take on the likes of the Grand Cherokee SRT with this Tahoe RST. My only complaint is the gearshift should be on the center console, it just doesn’t feel right on the steering column. On the plus side, HALLELUJAH, it does not have the start/stop system at all!
Gas mileage in town is a killer at 14, but the 10-speed and cylinder deactivation will get you 22 on the highway and that’s not bad at all.
Total MSRP is just over $78,000 and in today’s SUV crazy world, that’s not too bad for what you get.
