The 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban elevate GM's truck interior design

Interior design and quality has proven to be a sticking point on the latest generation of Chevrolet Silverado pickups. The powertrains are very good, but as the prices increase, there are more premium experiences available (cough, Ram). Heading into the reveal for the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, we were a bit worried that too much of the Silverado would rub off on the reworked full-size SUVs. After seeing the trucks in the flesh, some of those worries were assuaged.

Instead of just copying and pasting the Silverado interior into the Tahoe and Suburban, Chevy designed a new interior specifically for the SUVs. We wouldn’t call the result luxurious, but it is much improved and sufficiently different than the underwhelming Silverado.

Silverado interior (left); Suburban interior (right)

The center stack is a breath of fresh air. It’s no longer one giant slab of black plastic with a mess of buttons. Instead, GM has divided it up into two distinct areas. The top of the stack houses air vents, a push-button shifter and a large 10-inch infotainment system. This screen is integrated into the dash, but it does extend above dash level. Leather or leather-looking material surrounds this part of the center stack, and it looks great considering there will be a more premium GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade to follow. There was even some neat contrast stitching on the trucks we got to see last night. We like what’s below the big screen, too. Retaining physical buttons for the climate control settings is always favorable, and the gaggle of controls appear to be well laid-out and easy to use in the bottom of the center stack.