Anyone who knows me will know I'm a huge fan of full-size American anything, and while I'm lucky to have one of the last full-size American sedans, I've always had a thing for Suburbans going way back to childhood. The boxy Seventh Generation was in and it was a beast; sheet metal thick enough to break your knuckles, an exhaust note (especially the 454) that silenced everything around it and an interior that rivaled a football field to five year old me. It stood tall, wide and long; it was – and still does belong in a class of its own.
Fast forward to today, and being posted overseas, unfortunately at 19 feet long, they are not the best of choices due to space constraints more so than anything else. As popular as they once were in the Middle East, going back to the 2000s and earlier, the regular Tahoe/Yukon has pretty much replaced them since the GMT800 made its debut in late 1999. With the demise of proper full-size American sedans, once large parking spots and garages have also gotten smaller and maneuvering something like a Suburban/Yukon XL or a Silverado/Sierra Crew Cab in an underground parking lot engineered around a Fiat 500 by those clever engineers is nothing short of a nightmare.
With that being said, whenever I head home, the natural choice of rental vehicle is always a Suburban or a Yukon XL. In 2021, I reviewed a 2021 Suburban Z71 and this time on Thanksgiving Day 2022, I was handed the keys to a Frosted Pine Metallic 2023 Yukon XL Denali with a mere 6 miles on the odometer.
This was an extended rental and new car smell aside, it was an L87 6.2L equipped Denali. While that may not mean much to many, the Yukon Denali has long been my favorite of the full-size GM SUV family. Having driven them as close protection vehicles, even with all that weight and equipment, they accelerated, handled and maneuvered without the slightest care in the world, and I couldn’t help but fall in love.
Without further ado, I will start with the only two disappointments and get those out the way first. For an $83,000 vehicle, the finishing on the big 22" wheels was a bit disappointing. Even on the $67,000 Suburban Z71, the 20" wheels had a nice, smooth finish to them, while the Denali wheels had some random rough spots that were not as smoothly machined before they were painted. To clarify, this is not something you'd notice by sight alone; I only noticed it after a wash, as I thoroughly wiped down the wheels individually. While this is extremely minor, considering the 22" wheels are a bold feature of this vehicle, I feel this is not something that should have been overlooked, especially when earlier models had perfectly polished wheels. The GMT900s, for instance, came with a gorgeous set of 20" 8-spoke wheels that were flawless.
The second and final disappointment, also quite minor, is that the center of the dashboard feels slightly hollow. The rest of the interior has a nice, soft touch, quality feel to it, but when wiping down the dashboard, I noticed the center portion, above the two air vents, felt a bit flimsy and plasticy in comparison to everything else. Then again, cost cutting is not something unique to the General and with the two disappointments out the way, I can now get onto everything else.
I've always been fascinated with how our cars were perceived and marketed in export markets, and in the Middle East, the Yukon has always been portrayed as a hairy-chested, extremely masculine vehicle. Unlike the meaningless gibberish used by GMC in North America, such as We are Professional Grade and Like a Pro, in the Middle East, the Yukon's slogan was Commands Respect, and this had every bit of it. It definitely has road presence, even around the countless semis I encountered on the road. Not only is it quite the handsome looking vehicle, but the fit and finish on the exterior - be it the paintwork, body panel gaps, how the doors shut, etc.- is excellent. With that said, while it has all the recent GMC styling cues, I do wish the rear end didn't resemble GMCs lower down the hierarchy, such as the Acadia and to a lesser extent, the Terrain. The Yukon is, after all, The Yukon and the range topper.
With that said, the L87 (420 hp/460 ft-lbs) is a beast and in Clark Griswold terms, I may have needed plastic surgery to remove my smile because it was so much fun. The manual recommends Premium, and this particular beast had a steady diet of nothing but Shell Nitro V-Power (93) the entire time I had it. The best fuel economy I got was 26.7 MPG and the worst was 18.1 MPG, with a respectable 23 MPG combined rolling on 275/50R22 Bridgestone Alenza A/S 02 tires. Ultimately, this is a 6.2L V8 equipped Yukon XL that almost weighs 6,000 lbs and not a Mitsubishi Mirage. But it's no slouch either; nail the throttle, the front end rises and you will get moving quickly! There is a reason these vehicles are highly sought after for armoring and that's because, even with the 5.3L option, they have a lot of torque. My favorite part, however, was the exhaust note. Having grown up around full-size GM sedans, the rather throaty exhaust note following a cold start reminded me of my family's beloved 403 equipped '78 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency back in the day.
Being super familiar with regular Yukon Denalis, Suburbans and armored Suburbans at work, primarily of the GMT900 and GMT K2XX variety, this XL was a different beast. Although I am not a big fan of independent rear suspension on this type of vehicle in the long term, due to all the extra moving parts involved, like the Suburban Z71, it rode very much car-like. The suspension was soft enough to give you that floaty, comfortable American ride, yet firm enough in corners with minimal body roll. The brakes were fantastic to say the very least, and certainly gives you that feeling of confidence, piloting a 6,000 lb vehicle. Where drivability is concerned - powertrain, suspension, steering and braking - I think GM has done a splendid job.
Moving onto technology, I was initially a bit reluctant to try out Adaptive Cruise Control (this particular vehicle was not equipped with Super Cruise). But once I tried it, and as much as I hate to say this, I started using it more frequently. It maintained your chosen distance very well, reduced speed and braked accordingly. It’s something I’d gotten used to very quickly, especially driving in Los Angeles and Orlando. Some of the other features, which were available on the K2XX such IntelliBeam Auto High Beam Assist and RainSense, were also available along with the usual suspects, such as heated/cooled seats and a panoramic sunroof. What was surprising, however, was the lack of wireless charging and this was a feature of the '21 Suburban Z71.
As far as other tech is concerned, this is purely personal preference, but I still very much prefer a column shifter and a foot operated parking brake over a push/pull button gear selector and an electronic parking brake. I realize everything is now electronic and even newer column shifters are no longer cable operated, but some things are just timeless.
Granted the push button selector is a space saver, it does take some getting used to and in the long run, I personally favor a mechanical parking brake setup. Unlike the vast majority of Americans, I use the parking brake all the time and it’s second nature to shift into neutral, apply the parking brake and then shift into park on an automatic. In the past, I have dealt with internal transmission damage that wasn’t just the parking pawl when my parked vehicle was hit by an idiot, and my theory is parking brakes are a lot cheaper to fix or replace than entire transmissions.
The Heads-Up Display (HUD) was also much improved and very convenient when it came to navigating my way around. My Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was connected via Bluetooth and USB, and I was able to see my Waze directions on the windshield. From a safety perspective, that is a fantastic feature as you can keep your eyes on the road. Of course, you have the option to choose what you’d like to be displayed.
As was the case with the outgoing model, the Infotainment System was great and improved. It did not lag or freeze and worked perfectly with Android Auto in my case. Of course, Google Assistant’s Speech-to-Text does leave a lot to be desired at times, but that’s no fault of the vehicle. Apps like Waze, Google Maps, YT Music, YouTube and Pocket Casts worked flawlessly, as did messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Messages.
All in all, I do hope GM addresses some of the minor details mentioned earlier; it’s one thing to cut cost with an entry level offering, but not with a vehicle that is a well-established brand’s range topper with a nearly six figure price tag. This is ultimately an outstanding vehicle that will be my go-to once I’m in the market for a brand-new vehicle in the not too distant future.
During an era where your average car was a General Motors C-Body, primarily Buick Electras and Oldsmobile Ninety Eights where newer vehicles were concerned, parking spaces were bigger than what they are today. Some of those structures built during that time that are still around will easily accommodate a Suburban, and you will not scratch your front bumper as you go up or down a level. You have a hard time parking a newer Tahoe in a lot of these newer structures and something like my Grand Marquis will noticeably stick out. 
