Optional cloth bucket seats ($1035) in our LS were okay, but didn't offer as much support as we would have liked. LT's leather seats seem more supportive, but there's still room for improvement.

The second row is quite comfortable. Headphone jacks (standard on LT, optional on LS) allow rear-seat passengers to listen to CDs while those up front turn on the radio. Sitting in the third row is surprisingly comfortable for an adult; slide your feet under the seat in front of you, and you can ride back there for fairly long distances. Getting back there requires folding and flipping the second-row seat out of the way.

Climbing into a Suburban is a challenge for some and running boards make getting in easier. Younger, taller people find it easy. Step-in height is actually lower than before because of the fully boxed frame introduced with the 2000 models.

The optional power-adjustable pedals can taxi in 3 inches closer, allowing shorter drivers to sit farther back from the steering wheel and farther away from the airbag, a good thing should it ever deploy. Also new for 2003 are dual-level airbags, which inflate with less force in less forceful collisions. Sensors in the front passenger seat and seat belts also measure the weight and size of the front-seat passenger and, if that passenger is child-size, shut the airbag down completely.