CAR GAZING
A huge achievement
Big, luxurious Yukon Denali now available in hybrid version
By Derek Price
Until now, you had two choices if you wanted a top-of-the-line GMC sport-utility vehicle.
If you wanted to get better gas mileage and feel like you're saving the planet, you'd buy the Yukon Hybrid. It comes with electric motors that help it get better fuel economy, plus great big "Hybrid" logos that make Democrats happy.
But if you wanted your Yukon just sopping with sweet luxury, you'd pick the Denali version, which had all the bells and whistles for pampering its lucky driver – except for one thing. It lacked those nifty electric motors.
But not any more.
Now GMC has introduced the world's most flamboyant Earth-friendly vehicle, the Yukon Denali Hybrid. It bridges two seemingly opposite extremes – efficiency and luxury – in one vehicle that turns heads for its snazzy style as much as its ability to drive around a parking lot with the engine off.
Let's start with the efficient side.
The Denali Hybrid comes with a special transmission and 300-volt batteries that provide a nice boost of acceleration when needed. There's also a big 6.0-liter V8 engine under the hood, but it doesn't have to work nearly as hard thanks to those powerful motors, which can push the big SUV on their own at low speeds, usually when you're in a parking lot.
The result is a whopping 50-percent improvement in fuel economy. The hybrid Yukon is rated for 21 mpg in the city, compared with just 15 for the normal Yukon. Now, 21 mpg might not sound too impressive if you're used to seeing numbers from compact hybrid cars, but when you consider the sheer size, weight and capability of this vehicle, that kind of economy is a huge achievement.
It's a miracle, really, that it can tow 5,900 pounds, carry eight people in comfort and still get 21 mpg driving around the city.
Now, for the luxury side.
For years, the Denali name has graced GMC's most luxurious vehicles, separating them from their work-oriented cousins. This year's Denali comes with 22-inch chrome wheels – we're talking "Pimp My Ride" size wheels – and a cabin packed with gadgets.
The front seats, for example, are adjustable in 12 ways and can be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. There are heated seats for passengers in the middle row, and everything is covered in soft leather.
It's so well-equipped, in fact, that only three options are available: a sunroof, a rear-seat entertainment system, and sensors that monitor your blind zones. Everything else, from its magnetic suspension to the navigation system, comes standard.
Better yet, the construction quality is remarkable. When the Denali models first came out, they had a lot of standard luxury items, but they had the same cheap plastic bits as a bottom-rung Chevy. But GM's standards have risen so much recently that you'd be hard pressed to find a Japanese or European luxury SUV with a better cabin. It's really that good.
In fact, the only downside I can see to this vehicle is the price, which really isn't a surprise at all. It's a big, fully loaded SUV on the cutting edge of technology, so it's just not going to be cheap.
Think about it. GMC could charge whatever they wanted for this vehicle. There's nothing else to compare it to, so it's not like buyers can say, "I think I'll have the Ford Expedition Hybrid or the Toyota Sequoia Hybrid." Those simply don't exist.
In any case, GMC settled on the price of $58,235, which seems perfectly in line with the previous Denali and Hybrid models. It's like getting two trucks – with two very different personalities – for the price of one.
It's Jekyll and Hyde in one vehicle, and it feels great.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
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