2024 GMC Yukon Review

Go big or go home, as they say – but should you want to do both, a potential choice is in the 2024 GMC Yukon.

This body-on-frame family hauler is the largest of the brand’s SUVs and, in its highest trims, also the most luxurious. The Yukon lineup will get a refresh for 2025, and so the 2024 models are basically unchanged from last year’s offerings. It starts with the SLE at $79,899, including a non-negotiable delivery fee of $2,200. My tester was the opposite end, done up in Denali Ultimate trim, which starts at $129,899. This one was further loaded with $2,590 in options, bringing it to $131,589 before taxes.

Styling: 7/10

The Yukon is a big box, accessorized with a massive dark-chrome grille – you can option an illuminated GMC logo on it – and standard 22-inch wheels on the Denali Ultimate, in place of the 20-inch rims on the one-step-down Denali. Also standard here, but optional on some other trims, are a panoramic sunroof, and power-retractable running boards with LED lighting (which looks a bit gaudy).

Inside, all trims get a 10.2-inch centre touchscreen and 12-inch digital instrument display, both tucked into a handsome dash design. Full-grain “Alpine Umber” leather upholstery is specific to the Denali Ultimate trim.

Safety: 7/10

Standard driver-assist features on all Yukon trims include emergency front braking with pedestrian detection, automatic high-beam headlights, and teen driver controls. Standard features on the Denali Ultimate – and available on some other trims – are blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, emergency rear braking, self-parking, and Super Cruise hands-free highway driving assist.

That last one works on pre-mapped highways, of which there are about 640,000 kilometres’ worth in Canada, although you have to maintain a subscription for it. It can also change lanes by itself, either on-demand when you tap the turn signal, or automatically when it comes up on slower traffic; but you can turn these off if you’d rather do it yourself.

Features: 9/10

The Denali Ultimate isn’t cheap, but it comes with pretty much every Yukon feature as standard equipment. Its options are pretty much limited to gloss-black wheels, extra cameras for towing, and accessories such as floor liners or roof rack crossbars.

Its stock items, some standard or optional on other trims, include tri-zone automatic climate control, a multi-colour head-up display, 16-way adjustable front massaging seats, heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, power-folding third-row seats, power-release second-row captain’s chairs, Bose audio with front head restraint speakers, second-row entertainment screens, and camera mirror.

User-Friendliness: 8/10

GMC hasn’t stuffed most of the Yukon’s functions into the centre screen – yet – and most are very easy to use. There are buttons and dials for the temperature, seat heating, stereo volume, and drive modes, and even the head-up display functions are handled with simple toggle switches. I’m not keen on the button-style gear selector, but it frees up space on the centre console, which has a generous amount of storage room. The power-sliding console box can be moved ahead to use as an armrest, or slid back to reveal a hidden drawer.

Practicality: 8/10

The Yukon has 722 L of cargo space behind the third row. That and the second-row chairs fold flat, providing up to 3,480 L when they’re down. But if you fill all seven seats with people, then as big as the Yukon is, there might not be enough space in behind for all their gear; and if that’s your usual full-house haul, you’ll want to move up to the longer Yukon XL.

Everything’s the same from the second row forward, but there’s more third-row legroom plus 1,175 L of cargo space with that row up. The XL is available in the same trims as the regular Yukon, adding $3,500 to each. The Denali Ultimate comes with a standard maximum towing package and can pull up to 3,629 kg (8,000 lb).

Comfort: 9/10

The massaging seats are as comfortable as they look; and I like that the front chairs can be fully heated or just the backrest, which is nice if it’s not really cold but you want some warmth on a sore spine, without overheating from the cushion. The second-row seats are also comfortable, while the third row has more legroom than most SUVs and the floor is low, so adult passengers can ride there in relative comfort. Getting back there can be a bit tight even with the second-row seats slid into their entry position, but you can also get into the second row and then step back between those chairs.

Power: 8/10

There are three engines available across the Yukon lineup, but the base engine, a 5.3L V8 making 355 hp, isn’t used in the Denali trims. Instead, they start with a 6.2L V8, making 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. A 3.0L inline six-cylinder turbodiesel is also available as an extra-charge option on lower trims and no-charge on the Denali. It also makes 460 lb-ft of torque but at lower engine speeds and with better fuel economy.

All engines use a 10-speed automatic transmission. The entry SLE and SLT trims are rear- or four-wheel drive, while the AT4 and Denali trims are four-wheel drive-only. The system includes an automatic setting that switches between two- or four-wheel drive as needed for traction.

The Yukon’s acceleration with the 6.2L V8 isn’t really what you’d call quick, because there’s a lot of mass it has to move around, but it’s strong and has good highway passing power. However, under light throttle, it can tend to lurch a bit when moving moderately from a stop.

Driving Feel: 8/10

The Denali Ultimate comes standard with an adaptive air suspension and magnetorheological dampers. The latter use tiny magnetic particles in the shock absorber fluid that react to electric current, instantly tightening or softening the dampers depending on road conditions.

The turning circle is surprisingly tight, and the steering is responsive. But the ride can be wallowy, with an annoying side-to-side rocking motion on uneven pavement. It tightens up a bit in the sport drive mode but never entirely goes away.

Fuel Economy: 7/10

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) rates the GMC Yukon with the 6.2L V8 at 16.6 L/100 km in the city, 13.0 on the highway, and 15.0 in combined driving; and premium gasoline is recommended although not required. In my week with it, I came in at 15.2 L/100 km.

Opting for a Yukon with the 5.3L V8 brings the combined rating down to 14.0 L/100 km, and the diesel drops that number to 10.5. The Yukon is at the upper end of the scale among full-size competitors, many of which have smaller turbocharged engines. The Ford Expedition uses a turbocharged 3.5L V6 and is rated at 12.9 L/100 combined; the Jeep Wagoneer has a turbocharged inline six-cylinder that’s as low as 12.5 L/100 km; and the Toyota Sequoia, now hybrid-only, rates at 11.7 L/100 km.

Value: 7/10

At $129,899, the Yukon Denali Ultimate isn’t for the casual sport-utility buyer, but it has some high-end features that aren’t available on the regular Denali, and it isn’t as pricey as the Cadillac Escalade, its mechanical sibling, which tops out at $149,199. Its other sibling, the Chevrolet Tahoe, goes as high as $96,199 (the Suburban is equivalent to the longer Yukon XL).

The Yukon lineup overall runs from $79,899 – that’s for a rear-wheel-drive model – to that Ultimate tag at $129,899. By comparison, the Ford Expedition runs from $77,815 to $106,040; the Jeep Wagoneer is from $92,215 to $95,715; and its more-luxurious Grand Wagoneer sibling goes from $118,415 to $135,895. The Toyota Sequoia tops out at $98,380; the Nissan Armada goes to $83,443; and its Infiniti QX80 sibling’s top trim is $93,595.

The Verdict

GMC offers a Denali trim on every truck and SUV it makes, and that top-end trim is among its bestsellers. The 2024 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate takes that a step beyond with its additional features and creature comforts. Those looking who want more than a top-trim Chevrolet Tahoe but without moving up to a Cadillac Escalade might well find what they’re looking for here.