The 2011 Chevy Tahoe 4 Wheel Drive Hybrid, the most fuel efficient vehicle in its class, is the upscale way for your family to travel while saving gas and our environment. The 2011 Tahoe Hybrid is a must for anyone with a larger family who wants to travel in comfort wherever they go. It comes packed with leather seats, an infotainment system, rear seat entertainment, and tri zone climate control. Starting at $51,145 the 2011 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid may just be the next SUV you are looking for
EXTERIOR
The 2011 Tahoe takes exterior cue’s from is stable mates. The front split Chevy grill takes styling cues for the Chevy Camaro and the rear hatch has Cadillac lines. The all black look of our model brings back thoughts of being a driver in the next Men In Black movies. The windows come tinted from the factory adding to that effect.
The exterior badging on the Tahoe Hybrid includes special green and silver Hybrid badges above front wheels, on the C pillar and on the rear hatch. There are also the standard Tahoe badges on the front doors and rear hatch.
18” wheels are standard with a full size spare costing an additional $995. The unit tested had an air compressor and fix a flat standard.
The side mirrors are heated power folding mirrors with integrated turn signal arrows.
For ease of getting into the Tahoe there full length running boards on both sides.
Since this is a larger vehicle our model came with Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist. This provides an audible tone to advise you as you are getting closer to an object that may be behind you.
The rear lift gate includes a fixed glass and an integrated window defroster with rear wiper/washer.
There is also a integrated trailer hitch that allows the test vehicle to tow a max of 5900 LBS
INTERIOR
The interior of the 2011 Tahoe Hybrid is spacious and leather lined. Our model came with 3 rows of comfortable leather seats. The front seats are leather bucket seats with heated seats and back. The driver’s seat is 6 way power adjust with manuel passanger sear adjustments. The second row is a 60/40 split leather seat with integrated cup holders. Third row also holds 3 passengers in the same comfortable leather that everyone else gets to enjoy.
There is a tri-zone heating/ac system that gives individual controls to the driver, passenger, and a separate set for the rear also. The controls are independent for each person. Never again do you have to worry about turning up the heat in the front to try and warm the rear of the SUV up. Everyone can ride in comfort no matter what temperature they prefer.
The 2011 Tahoe has power adjustable brake and gas pedal to make your driving experience as comfortable as possible no matter what height you are.
The Tahoe tested came with the integrated Bose Premium Sound System with navigation and touch screen. There is also an included CD/DVD player with Sirius/Xm radio integrated. For the people with all of their music on a MP3 player or Smart Phone, GM has integrated a 3.5mm jack onto the front of the stereo, and an USB plug in the center console. There is Bluetooth connectivity to connect your phone for complete hands free calling while driving. The radio has a built in rear camera function for when in reverse. Your screen shows a decent view of everything behind you once the vehicle has been placed in reverse. The camera also functions well at night with clear pictures even on the darkest of nights. The camera also has a function that allows you to invert the picture you see on the screen.
The navigation system comes with turn by turn directions and an on screen map. There is also 33 moths of XM Navtraffic included. This gives you traffic conditions for any are that reports their traffic info.
There is also a screen in the Nav system that shows you the status of your hybrid system. It shows charging status, and whether you are running under battery, engine, or hybrid power.
For your rear seat passengers our Tahoe Hybrid came with the rear seat entertainment package. This not only gave our passengers a flip down TV for DVD viewing, but also includes RCA inputs for adding a Gaming system or other device to the rear TV. The package included a full function remote control and a pair of independent IF headphones. These headphones can work together listening to the same thing or can listen to two different sources at the same time.
The rear view mirror is auto dimming and includes all of your On-Star buttons. The Tahoe comes with 6 months of Onstar Directions and Connections Package.
The display on the instrument cluster has all the information you could need at your finger tips. The DIC gives you mileage, instant and average MPG, temp, tire pressure, 4 cyl or 8cyl MPG, battery state (Volts) direction, and gives you the ability to change options such as auto lock feature, anti-lockout features, and several other options.
In the 3rd row seat there is a 115 volt power outlet to plug in gaming systems or chargers that you may bring with you on your travels.
To help keep the nice black carpets clean the Tahoe tested included all weather floor mats for all 3 rows of seats.
SAFETY
One of the biggest factors in the purchase of a car next to price is how safe is the vehicle. In testing by the NHTSA the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid scored 5 Star safety rating in frontal crash for the driver and 4 Star for the passenger. Side pole impact rating was a 5 Star for both sides, and rollover rating was 3 Stars.
The Tahoe Hybrid includes Dual frontal air bags, and head curtain side air bags for all 3 rows of occupants. The passenger airbag has a sensing system to adjust the timing and speed of air bag deployment.
Onstar automatic crash response is included for 6 months. This system automatically alerts an Onstar operator of the accident and sends them a GPS location to be able to notify local Police, Fire, Or Ems, depending on the situation. They are contacted through your Onstar and you can talk to them without ever having to pick up a phone. This is especially handy if you happen to lose your phone in a severe accident.
For stopping the Tahoe we tested had 4 wheel anti-lock disc brakes. There is also Stabilitrak stability control system with traction control, keeping you in control of your vehicle in most situations.
For your Childs safety the back doors have child locks to prevent them from opening the doors while the car is moving or until you are ready to let them out.
Other features include remote start, driver lockout prevention, power programmable door locks, remote keyless entry, and a tire monitoring system.
Powertrain
The Tahoe as tested came with a 6.0L Vortec V8 with active fuel management. This lets you drive on either 4 or 8 cylinders depending on the situation to save fuel. This is mated to a 2 mode Hybrid transmission. The Hybrid system is a Hybrid Propulsion Electric with a 300 Volt energy storage system.
This system gives you the option to either drive under full electric power, hybrid power (engine with battery assist), or full engine power.
Thanks to regenerative breaking there is no need to have plug’s or worry about plugging the Hybrid in to get better fuel efficiency.
During testing I averaged 23.02 MPG city and 23.3 MPG highway. Sticker for the Tahoe Hybrid says 20 MPG city and 23 MPG highway. During one local trip that used mostly electric power I averaged 44.3 MPG (this was in a flat town in warm weather with no HVAC or Stereo running). For a vehicle of that size those are excellent numbers.
My Thoughts
Overall this is a very comfortable SUV that gets great gas mileage for its size. The leather seats are supportive and afford someone as tall as me (6’4”) a comfortable ride, even in the 3rd row. All the controls are easy to use and all within reach. The stereo has tabs for all functions that are easy to read and large enough to make it easy to choose the right tab. The screen is also large enough to easily see all the functions and to be able to read the road names when using navigation. The only downside to the stereo I found was that it was placed slightly lower than I would have liked. It forces you to take your eyes off the road to look at it.
On the downside there is very little luggage room when using the 3rd row of seats. Also on the Hybrid model tested there is no roof rack. The other thing I noticed was that during slow driving, you could hear a whine from the electric/hybrid motor.
Aside from those 2 things this is a great family SUV. If you happen to have $51,000 lying around and you are in the market for a SUV that is not only comfortable but the most fuel efficient in its class then head over to your local Chevy dealer or check Chevy.com and take one for a test drive today.