--- title: "2021 Chevy Tahoe: Controversial styling, gearshift bring on the comments" url: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2020/12/2021-chevy-tahoe-controversial-styling-gearshift-bring-on-the-comments/" publisher: "Pickup Truck + SUV Talk" content_signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=no" author: "Jill Ciminillo" published: "2020-12-07T00:30:53+00:00" modified: "2026-08-19T15:40:16+00:00" image: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-Chevrolet-Tahoe-6.jpg" --- # 2021 Chevy Tahoe: Controversial styling, gearshift bring on the comments By Jill Ciminillo Published: 2020-12-07T00:30:53+00:00 Updated: 2026-08-19T15:40:16+00:00 ![Featured image]() I’m going to start this review with the song lyrics: “Second verse, same as the first.” I mean, I literally just drove the [2021 GMC Yukon](), and well, frankly, I’m not sure how to differentiate that humongous SUV from the 2021 Chevy Tahoe, which is a carbon copy humongous SUV. I know them’s fighting worlds in the GMC vs. Chevy fan world. But it’s honestly true. Take off the badging, and I wouldn’t know which vehicle I was driving. They’re that similar. So, rather than regurgitate here what I said [there]() – ride, handling, and drive position are basically the same – I’m going to talk about styling, and then I’m going to address a couple of the more common comments and questions we’ve gotten about the Tahoe from our social media posts. You should also be sure to check us out on YouTube, because Tim Esterdahl and I are trying something a little different with the Tahoe. [We did a co-review]() – with Tim shooting from Nebraska and me shooting in Chicago. We had fun doing it, and if you like it, we’ll probably be doing more of them in the future. [Embedded video]() ### **What’s the difference between Tahoe and Yukon?** Well, the biggie is styling. While the profile and platform are identical, the design is unique on each vehicle. Let’s start with the interior. Both vehicles share the button-style gearing and a lot of the same amenities (think: rear-seat entertainment and power-sliding console), but the layout of the center stack is vastly different. The Tahoe has an infotainment screen that pops up out of the dash, whereas the Yukon’s is integrated into the dash. I actually like the Tahoe set up better as a petite driver because the dash overall is a bit lower and provides better visibility out the windshield. ![2021 Chevy Tahoe]() 2021 Chevy Tahoe (Photo by Jill Ciminillo) Exterior design falls along family lines, with the Tahoe looking like the Silverado from the front and the Yukon getting a bigger-than-live chromy grille. Another difference: The 4WD system. Yukon’s is slightly upgraded over the Tahoe’s, adding an electronic Limited Slip Differential. Though you might think pricing is the last huge difference, oddly, it isn’t. Base price for the Tahoe at the 2WD LS trim is $50,295. The Yukon at the base 2WD SLE trim only adds $1,700 to the bottom line. The difference between the Tahoe 4WD Premier trim with the 6.2-liter engine and Yukon Denali with the same setup is even slimer at just $175. Without options, both vehicles are just under $73k. So, really, badge loyalty and styling. That’s what sets these two vehicles apart. ![2021 Chevy Tahoe]() 2021 Chevy Tahoe (Photo by Jill Ciminillo) ### **The polarizing styling** We’ve been fielding a lot of comments about the styling on the new Tahoe, and in fact, we touched on it briefly during [a recent livestream](). But the grille and front lighting signature seem to be the love-it-or-hate-it type. Which is interesting since it exactly mimics the front end of the new Silverado. For me, I thought it looked nice on my test vehicle, which was Shadow Gray Metallic, but it looked a bit jarring on Tim’s, which was Summit White. One of the biggest comments/complaints I heard, however, was from TikTok. I posted a quick video of the front and rear lighting and people flipped out over the incandescent lights for the rear turn signal – especially in contrast to the LED light used for the front signal. > [@jillciminillo]()Reply to @user84885922889210874374 checking out the turn signals in the [##Chevy]() [##Tahoe](). [##cardujour]() [##carsoftiktok]() > [♬ Run free – Deep Chills feat. IVIE]() ### **The button-style gearshift** The new gearshift on the Tahoe is another huge point of contention. Of course, you’ll always have people who just want a column shifter, but this new button gearing has people not only pining for the console shifter but also worrying about how it will kill their kids. No joke. While we’ve seen button gearing on previous vehicles – such as the SUVs from Lincoln – this is the first time we’ve seen a push/pull system that requires you to push a button for Park or Neutral and then pull a lever for Drive or Reverse. So, in addition to people not liking the buttons, we’ve heard plenty of comments about the overall weirdness of the system. ![2021 Chevy Tahoe]() 2021 Chevy Tahoe (Photo by Jill Ciminillo) The more interesting comments about the gearshift, however, came from TikTok, where [numerous parents expressed concern]() over their kids climbing into the front and pushing or pulling the buttons and having the vehicle roll away with their kid inside. So, I did an experiment to allay some fears, sharing [in another TikTok video]() that pushing and pulling will not change the gears if you don’t have your foot on the brake, and nothing will happen if you try to change gears when the vehicle is off – regardless of whether you have your foot on the brake. While there are a lot of opinions about this floating around the interwebs, ironically, this isn’t something Tim and I have a strong opinion about. > [@jillciminillo]()A message to parents about the gearshift in the 2021 [##chevytahoe](). It’s safe!! [##carsoftiktok]() [##cardujour]() [##chevy]() > [♬ original sound – Jill Ciminillo]() ### **The bottom line on the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe** This is a large vehicle, which makes more sense in the suburbs or country – as we point out in our co-review – but the 2021 Tahoe is a tough vehicle for city living. Plus, seat comfort is iffy at best. We both liked the power of the 5.3-liter V-8 and appreciated some of the available amenities – like power-folding third-row seats and surround-view cameras – but for my money, I’d lean more toward the Ford Expedition. Sure, the styling is old school, but the seat and ride comfort is better. [gm recall]() [2021 Chevy Tahoe]() [2021 Chevy Tahoe]() [2021 Chevy Tahoe]() [GM Recall]() [2021 Chevy Tahoe]() **Related posts:** > [2021 GMC Yukon Denali: Next-gen Yukon gets tons of tech, holds line on price]() > [2020 Infiniti QX80: A plush and sophisticated full-size SUV]() > [VIDEO: 2020 Chevy Silverado LT Trail Boss, 6.2L V8 Owner Review]() ## Related vehicle coverage - [2021 Chevrolet Tahoe]() ## Structured page information ~~~json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2020/12/2021-chevy-tahoe-controversial-styling-gearshift-bring-on-the-comments/#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2020/12/2021-chevy-tahoe-controversial-styling-gearshift-bring-on-the-comments/" }, "author": { "name": "Jill Ciminillo", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#/schema/person/17a307b2bd8654a0efc57d38f2e79df8" }, "headline": "2021 Chevy Tahoe: Controversial styling, gearshift bring on the comments", 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