Chevy Tacks Higher Horsepower Performance Package To Tahoe RST

Chevrolet’s top-selling full-size SUV is kicking it up a notch. 

The 2023 Chevy Tahoe will offer a new performance package on its RST (Rally Street Truck) trim, the company revealed Wednesday at the Detroit auto show. The current 6.2-liter V8 engine version was first offered last year on the RST with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, but the four-wheel drive Performance Edition bumps those figures to 433 hp and 467 lb-ft through changes to the induction and exhaust systems.

Slightly less of a power bump (11 hp and 6 lb-ft) was previously available with the optional ($2,645) cat-back exhaust setup, but the Performance Edition offers even more, without the charge. The new package will still use the Tahoe’s standard 10-speed automatic transmission. 

Still very much an SUV for everyday driving with enough cargo space of 25.5 cubic-feet even with the third row up, it will bump up to a higher performance level, becoming the Tahoe with the most horsepower and even more of a street machine image, as Chevrolet has tried to cultivate on the related Silverado 1500 RST. The hotter RST Tahoe will still tow 7,600 pounds—the same as the standard Tahoe RST.

Cop Motor, Cop Tires, Cop Suspension

The Performance Edition borrows heavily from police-spec Tahoes, including its lower ride height (.4 inches lower in front, .8 in the back), Brembo brakes that are 25% bigger in diameter than the stock units and re-tuned (read: firmer) springs and dampers. Sport pedals provide some visual accents to reiterate that this is a performance version. 

More power, of course, means more speed. The Tahoe RST Performance Edition’s zero-to-60 mph time drops to 5.78 seconds from 5.95 in the standard RST; its quarter-mile time of 14.2 seconds at 97 mph drops from 14.4; and braking distance for 60-to-zero mph slices off 6.4 feet to 133 feet, impressive for such a big SUV. The top speed is a faster 124 mph compared to 112 mph. 

On the tailgate a black “RST” badge will indicate this is a “Performance Edition,” but apart from that it stealthily hides its added capabilities.

The package, only available with the 6.2-liter V8, adds $8,525 to the four-wheel drive Tahoe RST’s $70,415 starting price. As part of the performance pack all the features from the Tahoe’s luxury option (a $3,025 value) are included: heated seats, adaptive cruise control, smart trailering settings, rear traffic alerts and other active-safety features. It also eschews any need for the pricey cat-back setup. The base Tahoe two-wheel drive starts at $54,595.

The Performance Edition will start production at the General Motors’ Arlington plant in Texas by the end of this year.