The new ?green? version of a popular SUV is moving ahead in Baltimore despite a weak economy.
The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, available since the spring, has a fuel economy rating of 20 mpg city and highway for four-wheel-drive models and 21/22 for the two-wheel drive version.
The signature feature is the Tahoe?s two-mode system, which allows driving under battery power up to about 30 mph, depending on terrain. A computer display shows when the system is operating in battery mode, hybrid or gasoline engine. It includes an efficiency meter in the upper left of the gauge cluster that indicates when the driver has reached the peak level of fuel-efficient driving.
This computer display feature may encourage owners to drive more conservatively and use less gas, which has topped $4 a gallon in Baltimore.
“The technology is what attracts customers to it and that?s why they come in and look at it,” said Chris Silk, general sales manager at Jerry?s Chevrolet, Towson. “But at this point everyone is still at the information-gathering stage.”
The big V-8 has an electrically variable transmission and a 300-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack. Electronics allow the engine to run on four cylinders or in hybrid mode with the battery and all cylinders firing. The engine shuts off at stops, and regenerative braking also returns some power to the battery pack.
Attention to aerodynamic details also makes the Tahoe Hybrid more fuel efficient. Its .34 drag coefficient is the same as the Corvette Z06.
Ron Carfine, sales manager, Fox Chevrolet, Baltimore, said the ability to drive under battery power up to 30 mph is a potentially big advantage to his customers, who tend to live inside the Baltimore beltway. But the new hybrid version has not attracted as much attention as he thought it would in a time of record gas prices and an emphasis on conservation.
“Because the hybrid feature is new it?s going to take a while for people to get used to the idea,” Carfine said.
The slight jump in the price from standard Tahoes to $50,490 for two-wheel drive hybrid and $53,295 for 4WD version has not been cited as much of a deterrent by Silk?s customers. Options such as a navigation system with touch screen and power flow display, rearview camera system, leather-trimmed seats, Bose audio system and 18-inch wheels, can bring the price to $55,585. A nonhybrid, 4WD Tahoe LTZ ? equipped similarly to the Hybrid ? starts at $49,390.
The Tahoe Hybrid 4WD doesn?t scrimp on the power, providing a 332-hp, 6.0-liter V-8 that can tow 6,000 pounds.
The total package is described as highly desirable but the 5,800-pound SUV that can be driven silently in the city under battery power has yet to make much noise with customers.
2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 4WD
Engine: 332-horsepower, 6.0-liter, OHV V-8 with variable valve timing; 367-foot-pounds of torque at 4,100 rpm
Transmission: Continuous electric-ratio hybrid with four fixed gears, Autotrac transfer case and locking rear differential
Fuel economy: 20 mpg city, 20 highway (21/22 2WD)
Price: $53,295 for 4WD and $50,490 for 2WD; price as tested, $55,585
The Creators Syndicate contributed to this article.
