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The Drive reports that GM’s most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered full-size SUVs—Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon—are rated at 17 mpg combined for 2025, the same figure reported for the 2010 model year. Ratings were higher in some intervening years, reaching 19 mpg from 2016 to 2018, before returning to 17 mpg after 2021.
GM’s most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered full-size SUVs are rated at 17 mpg combined for the 2025 model year, matching the figure reported for 2010, according to a comparison published by The Drive. The rating applies to the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon when equipped with the 5.3-liter V8, showing no net improvement across the comparison’s 15-year span.
The comparison concerns the best fuel-economy rating among the gas-engine versions of GM’s full-size SUV line, not every engine option or configuration. The 17 mpg figure is a combined rating, combining city and highway driving estimates. The Drive’s report draws on data from Modelyears.com and compares model-year figures rather than reporting a real-world test of vehicles driven under identical conditions.
The ratings were not flat throughout the period. The SUVs reached 19 mpg combined from 2016 through 2018, and were rated at 18 mpg in 2015 and again from 2019 through 2021, according to the report. After 2021, the rating fell to 17 mpg and remained there through the 2025 model year cited in the article.
The report also contrasts the SUVs with GM’s full-size pickups. It says their most efficient versions improved from 18 mpg to 20 mpg over the same general period, in part because the comparison includes base models with smaller engines. The Drive describes that change as an 11% gain. The pickup comparison is not the same as comparing identical engine and vehicle configurations, so it does not establish that the SUVs and pickups followed equivalent technical paths.
What Flat SUV Ratings Mean
The figures put a limit on what buyers can infer from the passage of time alone: the latest model year does not have a higher cited combined rating than the 2010 starting point for these gas V8 SUVs. Fuel economy affects ongoing ownership costs, particularly for people who drive frequently, tow, or use a large SUV as a daily vehicle. The rating comparison does not calculate an individual owner’s fuel bill, which depends on mileage, driving conditions, vehicle configuration, and fuel prices.
Buyers weighing the V8 models against alternatives should treat the 17 mpg figure as a rating, not a promise of real-world consumption. The report points to GM’s available Duramax inline-six diesel as another option, but says the cost-per-mile calculation depends on current diesel and gasoline prices. That means the diesel’s fuel-economy advantage, if relevant to a particular buyer, cannot by itself establish which engine costs less to run.
fuel efficient GM full-size SUV 2025
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How Ratings Changed Since 2010
The Drive frames its findings as a comparison between the 2010 and 2025 model years, using Modelyears.com records. Its account says GM’s full-size SUVs briefly posted higher combined ratings in the middle of the period: 19 mpg from 2016 to 2018, followed by 18 mpg in 2019 through 2021, before the reported decline to 17 mpg after 2021.
The report notes that the Duramax I6 arrived in 2021, around the time the gas SUVs’ cited rating moved down from 18 mpg. It does not establish that the diesel’s introduction caused the gas-engine rating change. It also says GM has a new family of V8 engines that is expected to reach SUVs, but provides no specific launch date, model-year timing, or fuel-economy figures for those engines.
The comparison has limits. The source says Modelyears.com’s data omits some vehicles introduced or discontinued during the period, models affected by name changes, and vehicles that changed powertrains. The published comparison is therefore a selected set of available records, not a complete accounting of every vehicle or a controlled test of engineering progress across the entire market.
““Modelyears.com’s data covers a large swath of the current market, but there are some conspicuous holes.””
— The Drive, discussing Modelyears.com data
Chevrolet Tahoe Suburban GMC Yukon V8
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Limits of the SUV Comparison
The report does not provide vehicle-by-vehicle test results, detailed trim and drivetrain specifications for every rating, or the underlying calculation method beyond citing Modelyears.com data. It is not clear from the supplied material whether all compared figures reflect exactly matching configurations or testing procedures, so the ratings should be read as a model-year comparison rather than a like-for-like laboratory result.
The report also does not identify a specific cause for the post-2021 decline from 18 to 17 mpg, nor does it link that change to the Duramax’s introduction. It gives no confirmed release schedule or efficiency estimates for GM’s next V8 family. Actual fuel use and the relative running cost of gasoline and diesel models remain dependent on individual use and local fuel prices.
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New V8 Timing and Ratings
The next useful update will be GM’s announcements about when its new V8 engine family will appear in the Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon, along with official fuel-economy ratings for those configurations. No launch timing or ratings are provided in the report.
Until those details are available, buyers can compare the current EPA-style combined figures for the specific trims and powertrains they are considering, then factor in their own annual mileage and local fuel prices. The available information does not establish whether the upcoming V8s will improve the SUVs’ ratings or change their operating costs.
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Key Questions
Which GM SUVs are covered by the 17 mpg figure?
The report applies it to the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, and GMC Yukon when equipped with GM’s 5.3-liter gasoline V8, described as the most efficient gas engine available for these models.
Does 17 mpg describe real-world fuel use?
No. It is a combined fuel-economy rating cited in the report. Actual consumption varies with driving, vehicle configuration, load, and other conditions.
Were the SUVs rated at 17 mpg every year since 2010?
No. The report says they reached 19 mpg from 2016 to 2018 and 18 mpg in 2015 and from 2019 through 2021, before returning to 17 mpg after 2021.
Did the Duramax diesel cause the rating to fall?
The report notes that the Duramax inline-six arrived in 2021, near the period when the gas SUV rating fell. It does not establish a causal link between the diesel’s introduction and that change.
Will GM’s next V8 improve fuel economy?
The report says a new V8 family is expected to reach GM SUVs, but gives no confirmed timing or fuel-economy figures. Its effect on the ratings remains unknown.
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