Yukon Denali offers big room, comfort
General Motors rushed its model-year 2007 full-size sport-utes into early production, promising dealers and customers big things.
Big is what they got.
Big room, big power and a big step up in quality and comfort, ride and handling.
Despite all the factors working against them, there will always be room for big SUVs. GM’s new rigs show the company is paying attention to what consumers want.
The family comprises Chevy’s Tahoe, Cadillac’s Escalade and GM’s Yukon and up-level Yukon Denali. Each is more sophisticated throughout, as evidenced by their strong lines and flat planes. This year, the look is cleaner, and more powerful.
Yukon Denali (from $48,570, including destination) has our attention today.
How Big?
Two feet shorter than before, but still plenty big. Denali is big enough to haul the kids and their friends to the slopes — or to the lake, boat in tow — which is how most families use rigs like this. It is more than large enough for the well-heeled, road-bound couple that just feels better in a big truck.
Moreover, everything about the Denali – from the size of the seats to the generous door openings – spells comfort for big folks. That’s one reason its same-size Cadillac cousin, Escalade, caught on with the NBA.
A new, thinner design for the front seats yields 39 inches of rear-seat legroom, so even the long-legged 18-year-old will fit. Don’t count on the folding third-row seats for much more than occasional use, though. The younger sibs may think it’s cool to be riding in the way-back, but they’re the only ones.
When they’re not in use, the third-row seats tumble forward out of the way, or can be removed completely. Floor-mounted tracks make it easy, although smaller folks may struggle with the seats’ 40-pound heft.
A Power Train to Match
Big size means big weight and the body-on-frame Denali comes in at just under 3 tons. That’s a lot, though the 380-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 is up to the task (lesser Yukons get a 320-hp, 5.3-liter eight, while the Escalade’s 6.2-liter makes 403 hp). Variable valve timing provides a broad, flat power band and the standard, six-speed automatic transmission is calibrated for maximum fuel efficiency.
The Denali doesn’t get GM’s Active Fuel Management system, though lesser Yukons do. Under light loads — at freeway speeds, for example — it allows the engine to run on fewer cylinders.
Full-time all-wheel-drive exacts a toll on fuel, too. Still, the Denali is rated at 13 city/19 highway — not so bad for a rig of its size.
Credit smart design: GM designers lowered the rig, sloped the windshield and massaged the front-end so the bits and pieces fit together more tightly to produce less drag. Yukons earn a class-leading 3.6 coefficient of drag, which is darn close to passenger-car territory.
Denali is tow-rated at 7,900 pounds.
Smart Interior
In the past, GM’s big-truck interiors all came out of the same box. From the lowly to the luxurious, they had the same gray, “soft-touch” buttons and knobs, and shared gauges and instrument panels.
No longer. Climb into the Yukon Denali and you’ll see and feel where your money went. The steering wheel is trimmed in leather and wood and the dash gets convincing wood-grain trim. Soft, low-gloss materials cover the instrument panel. Brushed-metal-look trim rims the gauges and vents.
The colors are warm and inviting and LED backlighting gives the gauges an upscale glow.
Power-adjustable pedals, standard on Denali, allow smaller drivers to position themselves at a sufficient distance from the airbag; the instrument control panel has a more logical layout; gap tolerances are tighter and more uniform than before.
On the downside, the tilt-steering indents are too widely spaced and power windows lack the one-touch-up feature found in some less expensive vehicles.
Denali’s standard-equipment list includes power folding second-row seats, remote start, power tailgate, heated windshield-washer fluid, rain-sensing wipers and XM Satellite radio.
Standard safety gear includes anti-lock brakes, anti-skid control and a full set of airbags, including curtain-style bags.
Best Ride Yet
GM’s big sport-utes were prone to body-roll. A leisurely drive on a winding, two-lane road — up Schweitzer Mountain Road, say — had to be just that. Leisurely.
But this year GM engineers stiffened the frame, widened the track and lowered the body to pull down the center of gravity. Factor in a new, coil-spring suspension and the result is a firmer, more controlled ride. Electronically adjusting shocks — optional on Yukon, standard on Denali — respond in real-time to vehicle load and driving conditions, almost totally eliminating body roll.
A new and precise rack-and-pinion steering system offers excellent on-center feel and, for a big, body-on-frame rig, unusually good feedback.
Despite its size, the Denali is nimble around town and comfortable in traffic. Its 39-foot turning radius means you won’t do the back-and-forth docking tango in the supermarket parking lot.
Need a big rig and want it loaded to the gills, damn the cost and the price of fuel? The new Yukon Denali nails it. It’s as fine a piece as GM builds.