It’s hard to believe that the Tahoe isn’t the biggest truck in the world. Hell, it’s not even the biggest truck that Chevy makes. When you’re used to driving small cars and sedans, the Tahoe is at first frightening to you, and then frightening to the people around you who think you’re a cop.
That’s especially true for the new RST trim, which stands for Rally Sport Truck. The Tahoe is only one of those three words. On the surface, the RST is ostensibly an appearance package, with new wheels, blacked out badges, and some other bits and bobs. But it’s more than that. It unlocks all sorts of options that make the Tahoe quicker than it has any right to be.
You can get a Borla exhaust, big brakes, and magnetic ride, but the box you really want to tick is for the Performance Edition Package. That gives the Tahoe the 6.2 liter Ecotec 3 V8 engine with 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, an engine that used to only be available in the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. It also gives you GM’s new 10-speed automatic, the gearbox the company co-developed with Ford.
Part of that has to do with visibility. Something else that it took from the Camaro was the high beltline and low roofline, along with edges that aren’t well defined if you’re not used to the car. That means you aren’t exactly sure where every part of the car is, so it takes time to figure it out.
While this RST with all the doo dads and goomzy gots costs $78,450, it’s easily worth that amount. No, it doesn’t have the prestige of a car with a Mercedes or BMW badge on it, but it easily has all the same features, is just as nice–if not nicer–inside, drives as well or better, and it’s a beast of a thundertruck that makes you feel like you’re driving a tall Camaro.