Livin’ Large: 2025 Chevrolet Suburban High Country

Behold the $95,000 Chevy

The 2025 flagship Suburban High Country. Photo courtesy of Chevrolet
The 2025 flagship Suburban High Country. Photo courtesy of Chevrolet

Not that long ago, Chevy’s rugged Suburban might have been considered the poor relation to General Motors’ other XXL-sized offerings, the Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon Denali.

All that black plastic trim, wipe-down faux leather seats, and plain-Jane wheels were fine for an undercover FBI agent or New York limo driver. But not a symbol of luxury.

Not anymore. I’ve just spent the week piloting a new 2025 flagship Suburban High Country, base price $84,200 or, like our tester, $95,000 nicely loaded.

The Chevy Suburban debuts a new look for 2025. Photo by Howard Walker
The Chevy Suburban debuts a new look for 2025. Photo by Howard Walker

Ninety-five grand for a Chevy? Want to run that by me again?

But with this latest High Country, the Suburban has truly gone luxe, with enough leather to fill a Coach handbag store, enough tech to satisfy a 14-year-old, and the kind of build quality that wouldn’t be out of place in a Lexus.

Who’s buying this $95-large Suburban? I’m thinking current Chevy owners who love the Bow-Tie brand and probably already have a Corvette or blinged out Silverado pick-up in the garage.

A refreshed front end with a new grille and new LED lights. Photo by Howard Walker
A refreshed front end with a new grille and new LED lights. Photo by Howard Walker

Add to those, maybe someone who wants a high-luxury, full-size, leather-lined SUV that doesn’t scream “I’m loaded” as an Escalade, or even a chrome-laden Yukon might do. Someone looking for a display of “stealth wealth.”

The Chevy is not alone in offering big-sticker, big-size domestic SUVs. Five years ago, who would have imagined a Jeep with a $115,000 price tag. That’s what a new Grand Wagoneer L can cost these days. Or $121,000-and-up for a new Lincoln Navigator Black Label.

Yet a couple of hours behind the wheel of this newest Suburban, and it starts to make sense. If you can live without neighbors and golf club buddies being nonplussed that you’re driving a Chevy, it has a lot going for it.

Towering 24-inch rims. Photo by Howard Walker
Towering 24-inch rims. Photo by Howard Walker

For 2025, it helps that the big ‘Burb got a makeover. Nothing too radical; a refreshed front end with a new grille, new LED lights, and some fancy nickel chrome called Galvano. Two new colors, too, including this lovely shade called Lakeshore Blue Metallic.

Best of all are those new-for-’25, towering 24-inch rims, available for the first time on a Suburban as a must-have $2,225 option. Remember when 20-inchers were considered huge?

Inside, changes are more extensive and include an all-new 17.7-inch touchscreen that’s paired with the 11-inch screen instrument display and big heads-up display on the windshield.

An all-new 17.7-inch touchscreen pairs with a 11-inch screen instrument display and heads-up display on the windshield.. Photo by Howard Walker
An all-new 17.7-inch touchscreen pairs with a 11-inch screen instrument display and heads-up display on the windshield.. Photo by Howard Walker

And in this latest High Country, for the first time on a Suburban, there’s genuine wood trim on the dash. It goes perfectly with the heated-and-cooled mocha brown perforated leather seats with fancy High Country logos embroidered in the seat backs.

As with any Suburban, the cabin is cavernous, with three rows of La-Z-Boy-comfy seats and accommodation for up to eight. Lots of load space too, especially with the third row folded.

With the High Country package, you also get a vast panoramic glass roof that runs almost front to back, along with must-have retractable power side steps. Without them you’d be buying a ladder from Ace to climb-up inside.

Three rows of luxurious seats can accommodate up to eight passengers comfortably. Photo by Howard Walker
Three rows of luxurious seats can accommodate up to eight passengers comfortably. Photo by Howard Walker

Powering this three-ton leviathan is GM’s mighty 6.2-liter V8 coupled to a 10-speed automatic. It packs a muscular 420 horseys and stump-pulling 460 pound-feet of torque. Hook a big Chris-Craft to the back and with an 8,200-pound towing capacity, you’d hardly notice it was there.

It’s a lovely engine/transmission combo that delivers whisper-quiet highway cruising, yet can slingshot the Suburban away from stop lights, or merge effortlessly with interstate traffic.

With the High Country spec, you also get adaptive dampers and air suspension which, coupled with the Suburban’s multilink independent rear, gives the kind of magic carpet ride Alibaba would be proud of.

The Suburban High Country is sophisticated, refined, and agile. Photo by Howard Walker
The Suburban High Country is sophisticated, refined, and agile. Photo by Howard Walker

Subtle changes to the steering give the driver a little more confidence when trying to thread this whopper through narrow streets, or make quick lane changes on the freeway. But here there’s no disguising its bulk.

Not having driven a Suburban for a while, I must admit I was thoroughly impressed with the new levels of sophistication, refinement, and agility that comes with the latest version, especially this flagship High Country.

No, it’s not an Escalade, but it’s now a real alternative to GMC’s Yukon. Maybe don’t call it a Chevy. It’s a Chevro-laay.

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