POWERRRR: 2019 Chevy Suburban Available With 6.2-liter Goodness

It’s no secret that the hand-of-god 6.2-liter V8 is popular at TTAC. Those of us who command one with our right foot are outnumbered only by those who wish they had the 420-horsepower engine in their driveway.

General Motors sensibly started offering the larger V8 in trims other than ones named Denali a little while ago, finally debuting it in the Tahoe RST late last year. For 2019, buyers of the big kahuna Suburban can spec the hairy-chested 6.2L, as well.

The new RST Performance Package, which also appears on the Tahoe, will be an option on the Suburban’s top-tier Premier trim. It is rated at 420 horses and 460 units of twist, just like the engine’s other truck-based applications. Paired with the direct-injection 6.2L is the company’s 10-speed automatic.

Fans of towing gear with their RST Suburban will be gratified to find 3.23 ratio gears in the rear axle housing, plus an available trailer brake controller. GVWR will be either 7,300 lbs or 7,500 lbs, depending on options. The burly Maximum Trailer Package will bring that kit with a different axle ratio on emasculated machines, with the now admittedly workaday 5.3-liter engine. Expect the big-engined RST to haul 8,100 lbs — about the same as a 5.3L with the Max Trailer Package but with extra gusto.

An uprated alternator is fitted to the RST, as well. Gotta provide juice for all that extra testosterone somehow, I guess. Magnetic Ride Control is also on tap, an active suspension that GM claims reads the road every millisecond, triggering damping changes in the electronically controlled shock absorbers

Outside, GM is playing the same bit of visual chicanery as they are with their RST Tahoe. Two RST packages are available: RST Edition provides the exterior bling, while RST Performance Edition plunks the 6.2L between the fenders. The former is available on both the LT and Premier models, bringing 22-inch wheels wrapped in Bridgestone P285/45/22 tires, a gloss black grille and mirror caps, color-keyed door handles, and blacked-out badging. The latter is only available on the Premier.

GM will also be happy to sell you a raft of performance accessories to accompany your 6.2L Suburban, including a Borla-branded exhaust and Brembo-branded brakes. Colors for the high-po RST Performance Edition and low-po RST Edition are limited to the greyscale – silver, white, black, and grey. The 2019 grey is slightly different from the 2018 grey, with Shadow Grey Metallic replacing Tungsten Metallic. Remember that when you’re placing a bid at Barrett-Jackson in 30 years.

The body-on-frame family at Chevy absolutely dominates the full-size SUV market, counting for nearly half of the market’s sales. Right now, GM and Ford are going in opposite directions with engine choices for their large SUVs, as the Blue Oval plugs an EcoBoosted V6 in its Expedition while Chevy continues to offer only V8s. And, as we see here, increasingly bigger ones.

Pricing and performance metrics are expected closer to launch.

[Images: General Motors]