Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

Phill Tromans
16 September 2008

Hybrids? I’ve heard of them. Some kind of flower, aren’t they?

No, that’s a hibiscus. Hybrid technology is a rare beast indeed in these parts of the world, but elsewhere it’s quite the flavour of the moment.

As the global economy slows and social pressures to be environmentally-friendly increase, hybrid cars are popping up across Europe and the US. And now they’re coming here, specifically to Dubai as the Roads & Transport Authority wants to hybridise the city’s taxi fleet.

So what are they then?

Put simply, they’re cars with a traditional internal combustion engine, a battery and an electric motor. In a bid to improve fuel economy and reduce polluting exhaust emissions, the battery powers the electric motor to move the car around at low speeds. Electric power produces no emissions and doesn’t consume fuel. At higher speeds, the engine kicks in. Energy from coasting and braking recharges the battery.

OK. So what kind of cars are hybrids?

All sorts. The most well known is the Toyota Prius, which is a small hatchback notable only for its power source and its dullness. But more and more are cropping up all the time. With the GCC not noted for its love of small hatches, several larger American hybrids are cropping up here, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. GM and the Dubai RTA has been testing 10 of them in Dubai since June as it tries to reduce fuel use and emissions from its vehicles.

That’s much more my cup of tea.

Thought so. GM claims the Tahoe Hybrid will give at least a 25 percent reduction in petrol consumption and CO2 emissions over the standard Tahoe. As well as a battery and electric motor, the Hybrid has more aerodynamic bodywork and a stop/start system that cuts out the engine when idling, for example at traffic lights.

Does it work?

Not really. We drove a Tahoe and a Tahoe Hybrid around Dubai for around 100km to see what the difference was. The Hybrid, with its deeper bumper and smoothed wheel arches, looks the part and save for an economy gauge in the dash remains the same as the standard vehicle inside.

But to drive it’s just awful. The model we tried had a brake pedal that juddered incessantly throughout the drive, in the same way as a manual gearbox would send judders through the clutch pedal. The stop/start function works, but not for long. Barely a minute or two at standstill would see the engine start up again as the battery ran out of juice to run the ancillary systems. And a glance at the hybrid graphic display showed that the moments when electric power only was used were few and far between.

Oh dear. Is there anything good about it?

Well, there is noticeably better torque at low speeds from the electric motor combining with its internally-combusting sibling. But that’s about it. According to our calculations, the hybrid actually used more fuel during our test than the normal Tahoe. Which, incidentally, is a better drive.

Having said that, it’s still pretty poor – wallowy suspension, steering utterly devoid of feel and an interior of low quality. It’s generally just a lumbering great behemoth.

So this hybrid idea is worthless then?

Not at all. The concept of improving efficiency by way of an auxiliary power source recharged using excess energy is a sound one. But the Tahoe, with its massive 6.0-litre V8, is completely the wrong type of vehicle to apply it to. It’s akin to strapping an AA battery to a cruise liner.

Much better, surely, to reduce the size of the vehicle as much as possible, remove weight and use an engine that is as efficient as it can be before you mate it to any kind of auxiliary system. If anyone is serious about going green, huge SUVs and massive V8s should be the first things to go.

The Dubai RTA is evaluating several other hybrids before it makes a choice on what to buy, and our advice would be to consider the Tahoe Hybrid a failure.

Do you think hybrids have a future in Dubai or the wider region? What's your opinion on the Tahoe Hybrid? Have your say below.