The First Chevy Tahoe Hybrid Arrives at Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque

Runde’s first Chevy Tahoe Hybrid is currently on the lot and available for test-drives. Several of the staff members at Runde Chevrolet have driven the vehicle and were impressed with the fit and finish of the vehicle. This is something that GM certainly didn’t rush to get out to the market. They really did their homework and took their time in the development stages and the result is an extremely quiet, fuel-efficient, full-size 4-wheel-drive SUV that looks like it should cost about $10,000 more than the list price.

The next thing that I noticed is how quietly it starts up when you turn the ignition key — and this becomes an important feature because the vehicle will shut off to save gas when you come to a stop at a red light or a stop sign. The vehicle then starts back up when the driver takes his/her foot off the brake. So you can imagine how many times the vehicle will be starting and shutting off during the course of a day of in-town driving. Overall, it drives really nice — but if you’re skeptical about hybrids, come to Runde’s to try it out for yourself (while it’s still here).This fuel-sipper is powered primarily by a 6.0L aluminum alloy V-8 rated 332 horsepower engine that’s mated to a hybrid drive system housed in

the transmission case that consists of two electric motors and a planetary gear transmission, with a manual-shift mode. It sounds like a pretty complex description, but one motor basically assists with acceleration while the other helps to synchronize the transmission with the power flow from the gasoline engine and electric drive motor.

There’s a 300-volt battery pack under the second-row of the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that powers the electric drive motor and this is recharged by regenerative braking. In other words, when the electric motor is not assisting the vehicle, the engine acts as a generator and it recharges the battery pack.