Chevrolet’s Suburban is the original big truck-based SUV, dating all the way back to 1935. Evolving in lock-step with Chevy’s big pickups ever since, the all-new 2021 Suburban follows the Chevrolet Silverado’s 2019 redesign but departs from the historic formula in an important way under the skin. It’s more functional, refined, and spacious than ever as a result.

The 2021 Chevrolet Suburban is all new and rides on General Motors’ brand new T1XX full-size SUV and truck platform. Among the highlights are a space-saving new rear suspension and a fuel-sipping 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six engine.  Bill Howard

Folding all the seats down in a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban reveals a van-like 144.7 cubic-feet of cargo space. There’s 93.8 cubic-feet with the third row stowed, and 41.5 cubic-feet behind them when they’re in use. That third row has more leg room than any other SUV except its Cadillac Escalade ESV and GMC Yukon XL siblings. Ford’s Expedition Max offers almost as much passenger room, but considerably less cargo space, and the regular Expedition and Nissan Armada compete with Chevy’s smaller Tahoe.

The extra room comes from GM’s decision to modernize its big SUVs with an independent rear suspension (IRS). Without IRS, there’s a rigid tube, or live axle, connecting the two rear wheels. The space needed for the axle intrudes into the passenger compartment load floor and rear seat.  Live axles ride on tough but bouncy semi-elliptic leaf springs, just like they did in 1935.

The new design opens up space and also makes the Suburban a better handling vehicle. 2021 also brings a new fuel-sipping, torquey 3.0-liter turbodiesel six-cylinder engine and optional air suspension.

The redesigned 2021 Chevrolet Suburban has a whopping and van-like 144.7 cubic-feet of storage space with the seats folded.  Chevrolet

There are six trims, LS, LT, RST, Z71, Premier and High Country. The LS starts at $52,995 (including a $1,295 freight charge), while the least-expensive High Country stickers at $73,595. A flotilla of options can push the price north of $85,000. All trims come standard with rear-wheel drive, with four-wheel drive adding $3,000 to the price except on the four-wheel-drive-only Z71. 

The LS is fairly basic, with a cloth interior and 18-inch alloy wheels, but all Suburbans get auto start/stop, LED headlights, automatic wipers, a 10.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, power front seats, Bluetooth, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The $57,795 LT model adds an auto-dimming rearview mirror, wireless charging, a Bose nine-speaker audio system and a hands-free power liftgate. The $61,095 RST model gets a black interior with red stitching, black exterior accents, RST badges and 22-inch wheels. Stepping up to the $63,195 Z71 model brings red tow hooks, 20-inch wheels, and black tube side steps.

: The Suburban’s interior is comfy for passengers in any of its three rows, though the materials on the higher-end trims aren’t quite in keeping with $70,000 or higher price tags.  Chevrolet

The $66,595 Premier model adds magnetic ride control, blind spot monitors, lane change alerts, front and rear parking assists and a ten-speaker Bose audio system. The High Country model comes standard with the larger of the Suburban’s two V8s, an exclusive High Country grille, 22-inch wheels and the ability to upgrade with air ride adaptive suspension. 

All trims come standard with rear-wheel drive, with four-wheel drive adding $3,000 to the price except on the four-wheel-drive-only Z71. Both the Z71 and High Country can add the air suspension.

The 355-horsepower 5.3 and 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8s from the previous-generation Suburban continue in the new design, but are joined by the new 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel.

The 5.3 is standard on all trims except the High Country. It provides a great soundtrack but isn’t up to the job of moving the big SUV with any degree of gusto. At 355 horsepower, standing-start acceleration and reaching highway speeds don’t make for a big challenge, but with a vehicle full of people and gear, it can start to feel a bit underpowered. Still, the 5.3 gets the Suburban’s highest tow rating at 8,300 pounds. 

 The Suburban Z71’s interior is a little plainer than that of the High Country model, but just as spacious. The third row is roomy for adults while still preserving plenty of rear cargo space, but it does require clambering over the second-row seats for access.  Chevrolet

Despite its small size, the Duramax delivers 277 horsepower and an exceptional 460 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to pull 8,000 pounds of trailer in a rear-wheel drive Suburban. 

The EPA rates the four-wheel drive diesel Suburban at 20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, 22 mpg overall, and 1 mpg more in all measures for the rear-drive version. That may be underselling things. In a week’s driving, mostly on highways and some mountainous areas, our tester returned about 27 mpg overall. At a steady 60 mph on cruise-control, it was closer to 30 or 31 mpg. That’s appreciably better than any other full-size non-GM SUV.

The High Country’s 6.2-liter V8 offers better acceleration than the 5.3 or the diesel, but both V8s suffer on gas mileage, with 17 and 18 mpg combined ratings in rear-wheel drive form, and 1 mpg less each with four-wheel drive. The Suburban’s 10-speed automatic transmission is a good match for all three powertrains.

At 226 inches long, the Suburban is giant and it feels that way on the road. Steering and braking are both predictable and smooth, and the SUV rides comfortably on the optional adaptive dampers and air suspension, but it’s a beast to maneuver in town. The optional surround vision cameras are a must-have for getting in the garage or mall parking stalls and are part of a $4,605 premium package. This package also includes trailering assists such as a hitch guidance camera and blind-spot monitoring that takes the trailer into account.

 The Suburban is handsome from most angles, though its proportions are a little taller and boxier than in the previous generation. It has a more understated look than its GMC Yukon XL and Cadillac Escalade ESV relatives.  Chevrolet

The Suburban is roomy in every seating position, although six-footers are better off in rows one and two. The second-row bench seat has better cushioning and shape than competitors like the Expedition, and the way-back third-row is genuinely spacious.

Against all this goodness, the feel of the cockpit trim and leathers is nice, but there are more cheap plastics than there should be at this price point. The $50,000 Kia Telluride, among others, feels a little richer.

The Suburban earned four stars overall in crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and all models come standard with automatic emergency braking, forward pedestrian braking, and forward collision warnings, but almost everything else is part of packages ranging as high as $5,605 or standard only on the highest trims. Considering that adaptive cruise control comes standard on a $20,000 Subaru Impreza, more features should be standard.