{"id":30149,"date":"2022-12-03T15:11:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-03T19:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30149"},"modified":"2022-12-03T15:11:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T19:11:37","slug":"payne-big-ute-in-the-big-city-gmc-yukon-denali-holidays-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/payne-big-ute-in-the-big-city-gmc-yukon-denali-holidays-in-chicago","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Big ute in the big city, GMC Yukon Denali holidays in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 This is a big city. Big buildings. Big avenues. Big sports teams. Big shoulders. Big swagger.<\/p>\n

The big, bling-tastic three-row 17\u00bd foot-long 2023 GMC Yukon Denali fits right in.<\/p>\n

Well, mostly. I drove GMC\u2019s three-ton flagship to the Windy City for family Thanksgiving with the in-laws, where the big ute was as useful as 335-pound William \u201cRefrigerator\u201d Perry on Soldier Field\u2019s goal line. And as awkward as the Fridge trying to squeeze into a booth at the Eleven City Diner on Wabash. There was never a dull moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tell Mrs. Payne there is a family holiday gathering and she\u2019ll start packing a week in advance. Good thing we had the Denali and its yawning 123 cubic feet of cargo room. We packed it with wrapped Christmas gifts, food, suitcases, computer bags, a cooler, tennis bag and a partridge in a pear tree.<\/p>\n

I stepped on the Denali\u2019s throaty 6.2-liter, 420 horsepower V-8 and we were in Chi-town in no time, cruising up State Street in our five-story-tall SUV \u2014 waving at people in their apartments \u2014 to our hotel on the Near North Side. You might think that we were an anomaly in the packed residential streets of Chicago, but you would be wrong.<\/p>\n

Despite $4-a-gallon gas, a gridded street system laid out 100 years ago and parking spots the size of postage stamps, Chicago was bustling with giant SUVs and pickups. In our swanky North Side neighborhood I saw numerous Yukons, Chevy Tahoes, Ram 1500s, Ford F-150s and Expeditions \u2014 and just two Chevy Bolt EVs all weekend. As industry production fractures into government-forced electric vehicles \u2014 and the gas-guzzling utes to pay for them \u2014 it was a telling sight. Indeed, had I been driving an EV, I had few opportunities to charge it \u2014 downtown had but two fast-charger stalls.<\/p>\n

\"With<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

My Denali Ultimate cost an eye-watering $97K, but its electronic gizmos are fast trickling down into more affordable vehicles \u2014 making huge utes more drivable in small places. Typical of GM vehicles, its ergonomics are superb with intuitive steering wheel scroll wheels to adjust cruise control, dials for climate control, buttons for self-parking. Yes, self-parking. On Walton Street west of the Magnificent Mile, I watched a white Yukon Denali Ultimate \u2014 the salt-colored opposite of my black-pepper model \u2014 parallel park itself. Then its mother hen clambered down from the cockpit, dragged a stroller from the back and hustled three kids into the nearby Lululemon.<\/p>\n

She appeared a seasoned pro, and no doubt used GMC\u2019s hands-free, Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist \u2014 one of my favorite urban features. GM also has one of the most advanced self-driving systems in the business (more on that later).<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t bother to parallel park in Chicago; I tried something more difficult: parking in a garage.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

My relatives live in a building built in 1925. The garage beneath it is a mouse maze designed for cars of that era, not the barges of today. The 6\u20195\u201d tall Yukon barely cleared the entry door, but then its sensor system went to work to help me squeeze Denali into its designated spot.<\/p>\n

So concerned is building management of damage to tenants\u2019 cars that they\u2019ve wrapped the garage\u2019s thick pillars in rubberized bumpers. Denali customers needn\u2019t worry. Thanks to a 360-degree camera view, I could see all four corners all the time. Come too close to a pillar and my seat would buzz. I had to saw back and forth numerous times to make it into my space \u2014 but make it I did.<\/p>\n

I would ask only that GMC make the ute\u2019s 10-inch infotainment screen bigger \u2014 think the massive 17-inch dash screen on the Cadillac Escalade \u2014 to better see multiple camera views. The bigger screen would also match the Denali\u2019s fancy interior, which looks like a room in the Mar-a-Lago mansion.<\/p>\n

\"Thanks<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The dash and doors were lined with open-pore Paldeo wood (laser-etched with a topographic map of Mount Denali, natch), panoramic sunroof and Alpine Umber-stitched massaging leather seats (what, no chandelier?). It’s gorgeous, though shy of the sumptuous Jeep Grand Wagoneer I recently tested.<\/p>\n

My 20-something nephews were suitably impressed when they piled in to go to grandma\u2019s house for turkey dinner. Yukon Denali might have been able to fit all 37 members of my wife\u2019s extended family, but on this night we just needed to transport five, including my 6\u20195\u201d and 6\u20193\u201d nephews. They could have fit easily into any of Yukon\u2019s three rows. Yes, even row No. 3, made comfortable thanks to an independent rear suspension for better foot room. Two levers on the second-row seat sides offer third-row access by either sliding the seats \u2014 or just flattening them.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

After patiently extracting Denali from the garage, we plunged into the thick of holiday traffic on I-94 north for suburban Winnetka. Super Cruise time.<\/p>\n

The \u201823 Yukon Denali Ultimate is equipped with the General\u2019s latest, expanded Super Cruise hands-free driving system that maps 400,000 miles of U.S. roads and automatically changes into the fastest-moving lane. Though not as ambitious as Tesla\u2019s Autopilot (it won\u2019t automatically follow navigation direction and exit the highway), it\u2019s always improving.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

That includes anticipating slower cars in its path and aggressively moving into the left lane. \u2014 too aggressively in some cases, forcing me to take over the steering lest the car behind me have to apply brakes.<\/p>\n

The system is ready for prime time \u2014 but how about humans? This was the first time my millennial relatives had been in a hands-free chariot, and they were noticeably uneasy. Ultimately, they trusted their motorhead uncle\u2019s judgment but they wouldn\u2019t use the system themselves.<\/p>\n

Super Cruise is more natural on long, less-crowded rural stretches of highway like I-94 between Gary, Indiana, and Ann Arbor. I went autonomous for miles, relaxing my hands on my knees as if I were sitting in a leather chair at home.<\/p>\n

\"Super<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Don\u2019t get too comfortable, though. The system struggled as rain began to fall south of Lake Michigan. \u201cSuper Cruise Unavailable. Sensor Can\u2019t Find Lane Lines,\u201d read the screen as Denali handed control back to me \u2014 the green monitor light on the steering wheel changing to red.<\/p>\n

Happily, we weren\u2019t challenged by fuel range. Truck-based three-row GM SUVs may guzzle gas like Bears fans guzzle beer after a win \u2014 but they have big bellies to store it in, too. With 24 gallons on board and 16 mpg, I only had to make one five-minute stop for fuel on our 600-mile round trip.<\/p>\n

2023\u00a0GMC Yukon<\/h2>\n

Vehicle type: Front engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive six-or-seven-passenger\u00a0SUV<\/p>\n

Price: $59,295, including $1,795 destination fee ($97,745 Yukon Denali Ultimate 4WD as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 5.2-liter V-8 engine; 6.2-liter V-8; 3.0-liter inline-6 cylinder turbo-diesel<\/p>\n

Power: 355 horsepower, 383 pound-feet torque (5.2-liter V-8); 420 horsepower, 460 pound-feet torque (6.2-liter V-8); 277 horsepower, 468 pound-feet torque (diesel)<\/p>\n

Transmission: 10-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.0 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 7,500 pounds (as tested)<\/p>\n

Weight: 5,827 pounds (as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA est. mpg 14 city\/20 highway\/16 combined (as tested)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highs: Room for lots of family; tech-tastic for city maneuvers<\/p>\n

Lows: Small screen relative to competitors; gets pricey<\/p>\n

Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago\u00a0\u2014 This is a big city. Big buildings. Big avenues. Big sports teams. Big shoulders. Big swagger. The big, bling-tastic three-row 17\u00bd foot-long 2023 GMC Yukon Denali fits right in. Well, mostly. I drove GMC\u2019s three-ton flagship to the Windy City for family Thanksgiving with the in-laws, where the big ute was as useful as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30150,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30149\/revisions\/30150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}