The SUV that breaks the luxury mold.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent exterior, interior. Smooth ride. Lots of great features.

Cons: Weak warranty.

Handling And Control:

Author's Review
After owning our first SUV, a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo, my wife and I were very dismayed by these vehicles. It made all sorts of noises. It felt like every time we went around a corner it would tip over. Several times we would brake and the car would easily fishtail. The materials used were cheap, and the controls of the vehicle often time were in the wrong place and did not function as they should. Needless to say we were not pleased. Yet my wife still had her heart set on a nice big truck, that drives and feels like a car. Where to look? The Lexus? The Toyota Land Cruiser? The BMW or Mercedes? Like most people out there we are on a budget. We aren’t opposed to paying a decent amount for features. But having test driven most of these other SUV’s we weren’t impressed. Low gas mileage and overpriced nameplates. Plus we arrived upon one fact, we didn’t want a mid-sized SUV. We wanted the full-size KIA crunching power of a full-size SUV.

The GMC Yukon. What’s this? A full-size SUV with decent gas mileage (18hwy/15city). Plush leather interior. Electro-chromic mirrors. On-Star as a standard feature with one free year. Power doors, power locks, power seats, power steering, power moonroof. And a very powerful engine. 3 sizes available, too small 4.7, too big 6.+, and just right, the 5.3 285 v8. A smooth 4 speed automatic transmission. Enough cup holders to keep a thirsty family of 8 happy…thank goodness there is only two of us. Other amenities like, heated memory seats, compass and outside temperature gages. The list goes on, but the point is this. You get a lot of car, and a lot of class with out taking it in the check book. The one caveat, the warranty is kind of weak. At 36 thousand miles or 36 months, GMC is sorely behind companies offering 50/50 warranties all the way up to 100/100. Nevertheless, this is a solid deal. A very well equipped Yukon will cost you between $38-$42k. Not bad considering the Land Cruiser and it’s contemporaries cost $55k plus.

Bottom line. Good gas mileage, an amazing list of features, a smooth ride, and fair price tag, add up to a great value. If you want size and comfort, with gorgeous looks and an intimidating presence, the Yukon(also sold as the Chevy Tahoe) is the SUV to own.