Chevy Tahoe Hybrid named "Green Car of the Year"

[Flybrian]

Chevy Tahoe Hybrid wins 2007 Green Car of the Year

Link to Original Post @ Autoblog

Surprise, Surprise! Founder of Green Car Journal Ron Cogan announced that the third annual Green Car of the Year Award would go to the big GM Hybrid SUV for its innovation in demonstrating that a vehicle with lots of people and cargo hauling capability could still offer fuel economy equivalent to that of a much smaller four-cylinder sedan. Of the five nominees that include the Saturn Aura Green Line, Chevy Malibu Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid and Mazda Tribute Hybrid, GM's Two-Mode Hybrid system is clearly the most innovative.

[smk4565]

20 mpg average shouldn't be the "green" car of the year. Any minivan can average near that and haul 7 people.

[Drew Dowdell]

20 mpg average shouldn't be the "green" car of the year. No minivan can average near that and haul 7 people and have 4wd and tow 6,500lbs.

fixed

also, keep in mind that what looks like a small improvement in MPG accumulates to a much larger savings in fuel used when compared to a Camry hybrid v Camry 4cylinder

[Camino LS6]

Not to mention that it is the first production 2-mode and the first full size SUV that is a true Hybrid (with the numbers to back it up).

It breaks new ground - the others do not.

[K.C.]

Two words: Game Changer

Great to see it starting to get awards.

[smk4565]

It is good that they made a Tahoe that gets 20 mpg, not 16, but it's a lot of money, and will people pay the extra for a vehicle that still sucks gas. Most minivans are 17/24 mpg, and can average 20 mpg. Not everyone tows frequently.

For those that do need towing, the Mercedes GL320 has 3 rows of seats, tows 7,500 pounds, (1000 more than the Tahoe Hybrid), and gets 18/24 mpg, for $54,000. So there is a more capable off road SUV that tows more, and gets better mileage for nearly the same price. Should the Mercedes be "green" car of the year as well?

[Flybrian]

It is good that they made a Tahoe that gets 20 mpg, not 16, but it's a lot of money, and will people pay the extra for a vehicle that still sucks gas. Most minivans are 17/24 mpg, and can average 20 mpg. Not everyone tows frequently.

For those that do need towing, the Mercedes GL320 has 3 rows of seats, tows 7,500 pounds, (1000 more than the Tahoe Hybrid), and gets 18/24 mpg, for $54,000. So there is a more capable off road SUV that tows more, and gets better mileage for nearly the same price. Should the Mercedes be "green" car of the year as well?

1) Mercedes reliability is garbage.

2) Plenty of people pay for Tahoe/Yukons in this price range already.

3) Mercedes doesn't get a tax credit.

4) Why don't you already own a Mercedes?

[Drew Dowdell]

It is good that they made a Tahoe that gets 20 mpg, not 16, but it's a lot of money, and will people pay the extra for a vehicle that still sucks gas. Most minivans are 17/24 mpg, and can average 20 mpg. Not everyone tows frequently.

For those that do need towing, the Mercedes GL320 has 3 rows of seats, tows 7,500 pounds, (1000 more than the Tahoe Hybrid), and gets 18/24 mpg, for $54,000. So there is a more capable off road SUV that tows more, and gets better mileage for nearly the same price. Should the Mercedes be "green" car of the year as well?

Here is your answer:

ML320

Horsepower 268 @ 6000

Torque (lb-ft) 258 @ 2400

City (mpg) 15

Highway (mpg) 20

Ground Clearance (in.) 8.30

The ML simply can't match the numbers of the non-hybrid Tahoe much less the Hybrid one.

Tahoe 5.3 4WD

320 @ 5200 RPM

340 @ 4200 RPM

City (mpg) 15

Highway (mpg) 21

Ground Clearance (in.) 9.10

Chevy traditionally underrates the towing capacity of their SUVs. The ML simply does not have the torque to be towing 7200lbs with any authority. I've towed 6,000lbs over the West Virginia mountains with the Avalanche and the truck acted like the trailer wasn't even there.

To put all this in perspective:

1996 Cadillac Fleetwood

Horsepower 260

Torque (lb-ft) 330

City (mpg) 17

Highway (mpg) 26

Max tow capacity 7,000lbs

Even a 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood is a better choice than the ML if you're regularly going to tow 7,000 lbs.

edit: Damn, I miss-read his post. However, the GL320 specs are:

Horsepower 215 @ 4000 RPM

Torque (lb-ft) 398 @ 1600 RPM

Ground Clearance (in.) 7.80

The torque sounds nice in this... but remember that electric motors have 100% of their max torque available at 0 rpm.

Edited November 16, 2007 by Oldsmoboi

[regfootball]

40% or more mpg increase in like vehicle does not merit an achievement?

[siegen]

offer fuel economy equivalent to that of a much smaller four-cylinder sedan.

How is 21/22 equivalent to 22/31 or 25/36? (both figures are from "much smaller four-cylinder sedans")

They should word it differently. It provides equivalent city mileage with mid-size and larger 4-cylinder sedans, and a 10% improvement in highway mileage compared to the 5.3L Tahoe.

That being said, if somebody drove one of these 100% in the city, it would likely get the same or slightly better city mileage than an equivalent minivan, while the minivan would get better highway mileage.

Unfortunately it will probably be purchased more for the image (green image and SUV image combined, oooh boi) than towing/hauling capability.

Two words: Game Changer

It might change the game for Toyota. A hybrid Sequoia is probably being hastily slapped together as we speak. And don't worry, there will be plenty of cost-cutting measures. :AH-HA_wink:

[scharmer05]

I could see where this vehicle could fit perfectly into my life, if I had the cash to go out and buy a loaded Tahoe. Also, the 2-mode is in almost the same price range as an LTZ and will be appointed in almost the same fashion. With the tax credit, it is basically a wash, so quit bitching about the price. I live and work in the city of Fargo, and do probably 30-60% of my driving in the city depending on the time of year. My family owns a farm, on which I work as well. I need a vehilce that has 4WD and can do some pulling. The 2-mode Tahoe would fit perfectly into my life. Great mileage in the city, where I currently get about 10mpg in my 03 Suburban, and the brawn to get some work done in the country.

I'm sure a statement similar to this could be said for many others. For example there are plenty of people who live and work in the the Minneapolis, MN area who spend a lot of time in traffic on the weekdays, then head a few hours north up to lakes country of Minnesota on the weekends. A lot of them probably pull their boat, or a camper with them. The hybrid Tahoe would work perfectly for someone in that situation. Your not going to be pulling a 30 foot camper trailer with a minivan, or a 20 foot ski boat.

The Hybrid Tahoe makes perfect sense in the world of 3 dollar a gallon gas. Hopefully once they start rolling out the technology, I will be able to pick up a reletively stripped down 2 mode Silverado that agrees a little more with my wallet.

[gm4life]

They deserve some greenie press already!

[Oracle of Delphi]

Green car of the year? Isn't it a truck?

[G. David Felt]

It is good that they made a Tahoe that gets 20 mpg, not 16, but it's a lot of money, and will people pay the extra for a vehicle that still sucks gas. Most minivans are 17/24 mpg, and can average 20 mpg. Not everyone tows frequently.

For those that do need towing, the Mercedes GL320 has 3 rows of seats, tows 7,500 pounds, (1000 more than the Tahoe Hybrid), and gets 18/24 mpg, for $54,000. So there is a more capable off road SUV that tows more, and gets better mileage for nearly the same price. Should the Mercedes be "green" car of the year as well?

Uhmmmmm 18 city and 24 Highway for mercedes. I do believe the Tahoe Hybrid gets 22 City and I do not remember what was stated for highway but no matter how you look at it, I looked at the GL320 at the Seattle auto show and for a 6'6" tall person, it is NOT comfortable. The Tahoe beats it in every way.

[Windy-57]

Good to see that they can think outside the box on this and give GM credit for 2 key things:

1. Breaking new ground with the dual stage - a hybrid that gives fuel savings on the road.

2. Addressing fuel economy in cars that need it the most.

Also, I too was a bit sticker shocked here, but keep in mind that these are top-notch SUVs with the latest hybrid technology available. Compare that to the Prius which, if you disregard its hybrid system, is a POS compact that should have a base MSRP of about $13K, but in reality starts at $20k.