Life on the road with a large family is simply an experience like none other. Busy parents everywhere understand that managing several children while they’re running loose in your home is difficult enough; containing their energy and tantrums while appeasing all of their requests becomes even harder when everyone is under one steel roof on wheels.
The Chevy Suburban was made for drives involving snacks, naps, “she pulled my hair,” fights, “are we there yet?” complaints, and a whole lot of lovable chaos. Since 1935, the Suburban was first called the Suburban Carryall, giving drivers a clear idea of what this vehicle was meant to do – transport your whole laughing/crying/kicking/screaming crew. It’s one of the few SUVs around that’s still on a truck chassis to give you some idea of how tough and capable this model is. You’re sure to find an array of models at your local Chevy dealer.
In all likelihood, every Chevy dealer across the country greets parents of young kids on a regular basis with that crazed “Somebody please help me” look in their eyes, and they know the only way to help them is to show them the Suburban. The 2023 model was named “Best Large SUV for Families” by U.S. News & World Report three years in a row. Maybe you drive one, and it’s obvious why the Suburban won its award. Maybe you’re looking for that perfect SUV to make carpool and playdates more manageable. Here are the reasons the Suburban won this prestigious award by a landslide.
The Rear Seat Infotainment System
If there is one thing that keeps young rear-seat passengers content on long drives, it’s a rear-seat entertainment system, and the Suburban has a great one. The 2023 model gets an available 12.6-inch rear-seat mounted diagonal touchscreens that have tons of features kids love.
First off, kids can make requests for where you go next. They can use their screens to look up points of interest along your route and send requests to the driver and front seat passenger for destinations. So you might just see a little request for a stop at the local ice cream spot show up on your screen up front. The front-seat passengers can then accept or reject the request, and if accepted, it gets added to the navigation route. (If rejected, prepare for a dispute).
Rear-seat passengers can choose to watch the same content – even swiping and sharing content with the other rear-seat rider – or choose to watch separately, so nobody has to argue over what they’re going to watch. Plus, there are several ways passengers can stream, including a USB connection and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Amazing Rear Seat Space
If you have kids, you know they’re big on their personal space. When one so much as inches over into their sibling’s seat, a full-on war breaks out. The Suburban aims to prevent those battles with incredible rear seat room. Second-row passengers get 42 inches of legroom, and third-row passengers get 36.7 inches. Second and third-row passengers get more than 62 inches of shoulder room. When everyone has plenty of space to spread out, parents can look forward to a peaceful drive, free of “You’re in my space!” arguments.
It’s also worth mentioning that with all rear rows down, the 2023 Suburban gets a maximum of 144.7 cu.ft. of cargo space. That should be more than enough to transport sports gear, wholesale snack packages, and an aquarium when your kid is in charge of the class Iguana for the weekend.
Outlets Galore
Today, passengers – especially young ones – expect to be able to plug in at all times. Literally. Taking a break from homework or hobbies just isn’t an option while you’re on the road, which is why the Suburban has outlets as far as the eye can see. There are two 120-volt outlets – one in the rear of the center console and one in the cargo area. That means passengers can plug in just about anything they’d plug into a regular home wall outlet – which is useful if they forgot to charge their laptop before hitting the road. Then, there are several USB ports, both type C and charge-only type A. You find two in the third row and two in the front row. These are great for powering up tablets and smartphones on the go.
Wi-Fi Capability Is Standard on All Trims
Kids and teens today want access to Wi-Fi at all times. And parents know that when teens can access Wi-Fi, parents can access peace and quiet. That’s why Wi-Fi capability is standard on all trims of the 2023 Suburban. With that, rear-seat passengers can catch up on shows, do homework online, chat with friends, and more from the Suburban’s spacious backseats.
Teen Driver Technology
When your kids turn into teens, they’re going to want to drive. It’s inevitable. And while you can’t rush the process of teens becoming good drivers, you can rely on features like Chevy’s Teen Driver technology to encourage good driving habits. Teen Driver technology comes standard on all trims of the Suburban. Through it, parents can customize settings and limit what teens can do. You can restrict the audio from turning on until drivers are buckled up and set speed restrictions.
You can also check a digital report card, see how they’ve been doing, and discuss better driving habits together. This report card will show things like how many collision alerts your teen received, how many times they exceeded your speed preferences, and distance driven. Having Teen Driver technology is almost like being there by your teen’s side while they’re driving, without actually being there. So you can give them the freedom they crave while still having the control you want as a parent.
Great features for Small Children
For young children, there is the LATCH system, featuring low anchors and tethers, which makes it easy to install car seats. When activated, rear child security door locks restrict rear seat passengers from opening doors from the inside. You can still open the doors from the outside when this system is activated. These specific features, including Teen Driver technology, demonstrate that the Suburban is designed with a growing family in mind, covering everyone from toddlers to teenagers.
Family Life Is Better With the Chevy Suburban
Loading everyone into the vehicle for a long drive can either be something you dread terribly or something you…dread a little less (hey, it’s never going to be a walk in the park when you have several children). If you’ve been a loyal Suburban driver for years, then you know that this SUV simply makes life behind the wheel, with a large family in tow, easier in all the ways that matter. You won’t always be able to keep everyone happy, but with features like a rear entertainment system and tons of rear seat space, you can reduce some of the backseat sibling battles that happen on road trips.
There are a lot of full-size SUVs to choose from, but having the right features will make all the difference for those busy years of raising children. If you’ve tested out other SUVs, you might have realized what many parents already knew: the Suburban is simply the best when it comes to tackling the everyday obstacles of driving children around town. It’s no wonder it was named the Best Large SUV for Families three years in a row.
