12 Month Review of My 2026 Chevrolet Suburban Z71 Diesel

I feel like I’ve been living out of my 2026 Chevrolet Suburban Z71 this year. The 19,000 or so miles I’ve put on it tell the story in part – I’ve made a lot of long road trips and pulled the boat locally, but I rarely use it as a daily driver.

And I’ve done so at a time when diesel fuel has reached painfully high prices.

So I get asked all the time: Is the pain at the pump worth the advantages over a gas burner? Would you do it again?

For the reasons I’ll explain below, the answer is absolutely “yes.”

Back in April, I provided a six-month review that was really more of a four-month review. I’d purchased the Suburban in October of 2025 but had driven it fairly little in the first two months of ownership. I was trying to wrap up my legal career and save my remaining vacation to cash out, so I wasn’t traveling or fishing much.

Read my six-month review of the 2026 Chevrolet Suburban Z71 Diesel

Was the Diesel the Right Choice?

I knew this vehicle would be a workhorse and an office on the road. As I pointed out then, I’d only put 80,000 or so miles on my 2011 Suburban in nearly 15 years, and as I noted above, I’ve already notched a quarter of that on this one.

Through 12 months and more than 19,000 miles, my lifetime average fuel efficiency is just a hair under 23 mpg, and the vehicle consistently gets around 17 mpg towing. I didn't monitor the mileage on my 2011 5.3L gas Suburban as carefully, but its advertised figures were 21 mpg highway, 15 city and 17 combined. I suspect my real-world numbers were lower, and I was probably lucky to get 10 mpg while towing. Even if we use the advertised combined figures, my new Suburban's 23 mpg represents a 35% improvement in fuel efficiency.

Of course, diesel has gotten painfully expensive. According to AAA, in mid-October the national average for regular 87-octane gasoline was $4.33 per gallon, compared with $6.33 for diesel – a 46% premium for diesel at the pump. But fuel economy changes the equation. At those prices, my current 23 mpg average works out to about $27.52 per 100 miles, compared with $25.47 for the old Suburban at its advertised 17 mpg. So on those particular numbers, the diesel actually costs about 8% more per mile to fuel, before factoring in the possibility that my old Suburban got worse mileage in practice. The results will vary with fuel prices and driving conditions, but the diesel's range and reduced need for fuel stops remain big advantages for me.

But as I’ve gotten more used to the diesel, and decided to use cruise control more and the accelerator less, the mileage has gotten better.

On a September trip from Virginia to Chattanooga to Springfield, MO, back to Chattanooga, then to Asheville, NC, and finally home to Virginia – a total of nearly 3,200 miles – I averaged a solid 24.5 mpg (not towing). That included a mix of highway, city, country roads and lots of hilly terrain.

On an October trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which was almost entirely flat highway, I did even better, averaging 27.9 mpg over the 630-plus-mile trek. That's the kind of mileage that makes the diesel's long-distance range particularly appealing, even with diesel costing substantially more per gallon.

A lot depends on how and where you drive, but even with the additional cost of DEF and potentially more expensive oil changes, I like the convenience of the diesel. On a recent trip to South Carolina and back in Hanna’s Ford Explorer, we had to refuel three times. With the Suburban, it likely would have been once. That’s a factor of both the fuel efficiency and the size of the tank, but to be totally honest I found myself annoyed at having to stop.

Also, it appears that we will be moving to a mountainous area, with a steep climb up a hill to a new home – I feel like the diesel will handle that much better with my Bass Cat behind it. So while it might not have been the right choice for everyone, and my timing was less than perfect, I would make the same choice over again.

Other Features and Factors That Stand Out

I’ve never cared much what other people think of my ride, but for better or for worse this one grabs attention all the time. Some of it is mocking, as in “How do you like those diesel prices?” But for the most part, especially among people who drive a lot or tow, they want to know how it performs and whether it makes a difference with a boat behind me. Furthermore, while I’ve heard anecdotally that the Z71 grille results in worse gas mileage than the other Suburban trim packages (not confirmed), it gets compliments all the time – at gas stations and boat ramps in particular.

The amount of storage is simply insane. Perhaps I’m just more organized than I was before, but the rear area swallows up ridiculous amounts of gear without putting the second row of seats down. We’ve traveled for weeks with multiple suitcases, hanging clothes, coolers, etc. and never felt like our vision was impaired or that we couldn’t add more.

Despite my old age, I’ve finally become comfortable with what was at first an unmanageable number of buttons and switches. I have more features than I could ever use, but find some things I previously did not possess to be quite valuable (heated seats and steering wheel).

I’m still agnostic on the tubular assist steps. I’ve had more standard running boards on my last four Chevrolets and don’t see much of a functional difference. I suppose a foot could get stuck between the tube and the door, but that hasn’t happened yet.

I also don’t really have an opinion on the massive sunroof. I never use it when driving alone. Hanna, on the other hand, thinks it is amazing, and even if it’s too cold to have it open she tends to let sun in by rolling back the internal shade.

Things I Don’t Like

I’m still having occasional problems with abrupt braking while backing up due to oversensitivity in the rear automatic braking system. It freaked Hanna out one day when she tried to back into a parking spot and a small curb 10 feet behind her activated the system. It was so jolting that she thought she’d hit someone or something. I hope that will somehow be improved by a subsequent software update.

The turning radius feels substantially worse than it did on my 2011. The new Suburban has a longer wheelbase and is a little longer overall, although the published turning-diameter figures are surprisingly close. Whatever the reason, I notice the difference when maneuvering the boat in tight spaces or navigating a crowded parking lot. My guess is that the longer wheelbase contributes to the excellent highway ride, which feels remarkably refined for a vehicle this size.

The air conditioning remains a bugaboo, but there’s nothing I can do to fix it. The position of the vents doesn’t blow air on my face, and in order to keep a flow going it ends up chilling my hands. Eventually the whole thing gets cooled down, but I wish they had some higher vents.

It would have been nice if they’d included camper/towing mirrors as an option on a vehicle that most owners use to tow. I suppose I could get aftermarket versions, but for now I’ll have to rely on the little convex stick-on blind spot mirrors.

A Note on Connectivity

Back in May I switched to an iPhone after about two decades as an Android user. I know that this is a subject that results in strong feelings and deep divisions, but my overall feel is that the performance is roughly the same – going from one to the other shouldn’t cause anyone any issues. I find the iPhone to have substantially better battery life, and love the AirDrop photo feature for our business. However, I find Apple CarPlay to be an inferior product to the Android Auto that I previously enjoyed. It takes longer to hook up, is more inconsistent in its mapping and a little more confusing to use. Not a dealbreaker, but something to note.

Conclusion

If you're thinking about making the jump from gas to diesel, or need a highway-ready beast of an SUV that can tow with ease, I wholeheartedly recommend the Suburban with the 3.0L Duramax diesel. It won't be the right choice for everyone, particularly those who don't drive many miles or tow regularly. But with our imminent move and plenty of highway miles on the agenda – I plan to cover at least nine Bassmaster tournaments on-site next year – it's the right tool for the job. The engine has delivered the fuel economy, power and towing performance I wanted so far. If it gives me another 10–15 years of service, I'll be a happy camper.