The Chevrolet Tahoe's undiminished appeal in the Middle East can largely be credited to the full-size SUV's capabilities both on and off the road. For 2018, Chevrolet has imparted the Tahoe a full suite of advanced safety and driver assistance equipment that complement the performance the SUV puts down through its 5.3-litre EcoTec3 V8 engine.
Safety was of paramount importance to the engineers of the Tahoe considering it can carry as many as nine passengers. The new Tahoe boasts of 11 available active safety features. These include a web of cameras, radars, and sensors, all scanning the surroundings and surface of the car to detect potentially hazardous situations. The web also actively prevents collisions by warning the driver ahead of time and even intervening if he/she fails to respond.
The 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe is comprehensively covered in the event of a forward collision. Adaptive Cruise Control enables the driver to make the car follow a vehicle in front of them at a distance which they can choose. The cruise control can also brake and accelerate automatically to maintain a preset distance at all times. The Forward Automatic Braking system goes a step beyond cruise control and applies the brakes if the Tahoe detects an imminent collision with a vehicle up ahead. Forward Collision Alert can help identify vehicles in front of them that are on a collision course or are driving too close to the vehicle in front of them.
So much for front-end safety. The 2018 Chevy Tahoe is equally safe at the rear too. Rear Cross Traffic Alert warns the driver of an approaching vehicle if the driver is reversing the big SUV, which is quite helpful in areas with dense traffic. You also benefit from Front and Rear Park Assist, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Safety Alert Driver Seat, Intellibeam headlamps, and Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert. Rear Vision Camera is standard across all models.
Being a family SUV, the 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe is packed with an array of comfort and convenience features. Prominent among them is the award-winning Chevrolet Infotainment System with Apple CarPlay as standard. This makes streaming music, making phone calls, and sending text messages easy, aided by voice command inputs. Rear-seat occupants are also in for a treat with Rear-Seat Blu-Ray with HDMI connectivity and Wi-Fi. No longer do you have to field "Are we there yet?" questions on long drives with kids.
The addition of so much technology hasn't been able to eclipse the Chevy Tahoe's forte: A healthy balance of performance and efficiency. A 5.3-litre EcoTec3 V8 under the full-size SUV's hood puts down 335hp and 520Nm, and still returns 10.3kpl on the highway. Despite its dimensions, the Tahoe is deceptively planted when thrown into high-speed corners. This stability is thanks to the Corvette-inspired Magnetic Ride Control suspension available on the Tahoe Premier. The magneto-suspension is standard on the top-end trim: Tahoe RST with a 400-hp 6.2-litre V8. The suspension scans the road ahead of the car up to 1,000 times a second and adjusts damping accordingly within 15 milliseconds.
Spec the 2018 Tahoe with the Z71 off-road package, and you see why the SUV has been a legendary name among off-road enthusiasts. With the Z71 package, the tallest of dunes and the most daunting of wadi passes are dispatched with equal panache by the Tahoe. That's not all, for the Tahoe can also tow loads up to 3,858kg, maintaining exemplary ride comfort and refinement all the time.
The 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe mixes the rough with the smooth and brains with brawn. A combination we are confident will again hit it right off with the Middle Eastern market.
