MPGomatic.com puts the 2013 Chevy Suburban to the "take your kid to college" test, packing the cargo area full, and taking to the open road for a 700+ mile roundtrip. The half-ton Chevy Suburban 1500 is equipped with a FlexFuel 5.3-liter V8 engine producing 320 horsepower and 335 foot pounds of torque. The Vortec V8 is mated to a six-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission.