Certified 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71

Duncan Brady with Motortrend wroteA generously sized flat-top for making smash burgers, a light and grippy pair of trailrunners for a challenging hike, an upright beach cruiser for pedaling along a shore side bike pathit makes a difference to have the right tool for the job. In a lot of driving situations, the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 would not be that tool. But for a 1,400-mile road trip from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe that included traversing three national parks, tackling gnarly off-road terrain, and shuttling around an entire bachelor party, we can't think of a single vehicle that would have performed better than the Chevy Tahoe Z71. How do you improve an iconic SUV like Tahoe? You make it the most versatile and advanced Tahoe ever with a bigger, more spacious cabin, better ride and handling, and a commanding presence that is impossible to ignore. It is shocking how well this behemoth drives. There is little to no play in the accurate, well-weighted steering, and the Tahoe largely irons out minor road imperfections. The Z71 off-road package adds magnetic ride control dampers and air springs that effectively eliminate body roll, too. The reason for driving up north was to meet a bunch of old friends and throw a bachelor party for my college roommate. A few of those fellas had rented a last-gen Nissan Pathfinder for the weekend and, although that SUV has the same seven-passenger seating capacity of our Tahoe, the Chevy was far better at accommodating a crowd. We filled all the seats including three in the third row. A note on that third row: Even with three six-foot adults in the rearmost seat, no one's knees were crammed against the seatbacks. And the way-back bench is wide enough that their hips weren't even touching. One of my favorite things about cars is being able to share them with friends, and you can share the Tahoe with a whole lot of them.