First Drive: 2021 GMC Yukon XL Denali 3.0L Duramax Diesel

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Let’s say one had access to a Bill & Ted -style time machine. And let’s further stipulate, just for argument’s sake, that, for whatever reason, one had a penchant for revisiting the early ‘90s.

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Let’s even, in the full spirit of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure , make this fantasy even more specifically stupid and suppose the entire motivation of this journey back in time is to shock the denizens of the SUV community, which in the early ‘90s, were just on the cusp of re-imagining the sport utility vehicle as something other than bush-beater and manure-hauler.

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In fact, the subject of this road test, GMC’s Yukon, was brand-new in 1992, General Motors thinking the radical step of adding halogen headlights and some chrome bits to the front of the grille warranted a change of name from the previously low-rent “Jimmy” to “Yukon.” And, while according to no less an authority than Motor Week ’s John Davis, the Yukon was ready for “everyday use,” it was still very much the fisherman’s friend.

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Despite protestations to luxuriousness, the original Yukon sported was a basic affair, the cabin pure pickup with even the top-of-the-line SLE sporting the most basic of cloth seats and the most rudimentary of creature comforts.

Imagine then, going back in time, and trying to convince said fishermen that their prized roustabout now costs $96,318 (the cost of the 2021 Yukon Denali I just tested); has an interior worthy of a Mercedes; and is, if judged by the sheer volume of vehicle sold costing over $60,000, one of if not the most popular luxury vehicles in Canada. I doubt if Billy the Kid or Socrates — both of whom Bill and Ted kidnapped back to the future — were more shocked by modern day life than would the apparition of an almost CDN$100,000 Yukon Denali be to the owner of a 1992 SLE which scandalized with its then-US$26,000 price tag.

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That this latest off-road limousine might also be made more luxurious by a diesel engine might well have been an exaggeration too far. The diesels of the last millennium, for the few of us that remember, were truculent beasts, sounding like angry ack-ack anti-aircraft guns on startup and 300,000-mile slant-sixes with worn hydraulic lifters even when warm. They were slow, smelly, and not the least bit, well, luxurious.

Not so today, at least not in a GMC Yukon Denali. Blessed with enough torque to tow 3,545-kilogram trailers and enough passing power to make the Yukon’s optional 6.2-litre V8 superfluous, GM’s latest 3.0-litre inline six oil-burner is a triumph of refinement over spark ignition. Starting up, even in a cold Ontario February, is drama-free, what little diesel clatter there being well-subdued and virtually non-existent when fully warmed. Acceleration is more than brisk; the only time you’ll miss the big gas-fed V8 is at WFO full-throttle and even then not nearly as much as its middling 277-horsepower rating might suggest.

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At lower speeds, the Duramax actually feels healthier than the top-of-the-line 6.2L. Both engines boast 460 pound-feet of torque, but the Duramax’s grunt kicks in at much lower speeds which means it requires but an even gentler massage of the throttle for more modest acceleration. Mated to a 10-speed automatic, it’s as sweet a powertrain as Rudolph Diesel ever imagined.

It also — no surprises here — boasts better fuel economy. That said, I suspect it will come as a surprise as to how much better the fuel consumption is when ignition occurs as the result of compression rather than a spark plug. I’ve tested pretty much all of GM’s new full-sized gas-fed GM sport brutes in the last 12 months or so and, while truly impressive for their performance and creature comforts, their fuel economy — there is no gentle way of saying this — sucked, the worst emptying its gas tank at a rate of a seriously addicted 17.6 litres every 100 kilometres.

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I only had a day-and-a-half in the Duramaxed Denali, but I can say the worst reading I saw from the big diesel was around 12.0 L/100 km, and the best just a little more than 8.0 L/100 km. A day-and-a-half is hardly the amount of testing that accurately predicts long-term fuel economy but I doubt there’ll be much variance from the 10.2 L/100 km my diesel Denali averaged. Officially, Transport Canada rates the Duramaxed Denali at 12.0 L/100 km in town; and 8.9 L/100 km on the highway, which, if nothing else, proves that diesel-powered vehicles are remarkably loyal to their official ranking.

Now, to be sure, no one buys a full-sized North American SUV, let alone one with an almost $100,000 price tag, for its fuel economy. But the Duramax brings with that parsimony the promise of a greater range — my tester promised more than 800 kilometres to a tank, while GMC officially puts that figure at a seemingly incredible 1,224 km — which some open-road warriors will appreciate. All in all, were I shopping the Yukon, I’d choose the diesel option over the gas engines.

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As for the rest of the Yukon, it was pure Denali. The interior was more befitting a palatial S-Class than anything one would normally fill with fishing poles and stinky salmon. The tester was clothed in sumptuous white leather rendering the cabin more appropriate for evenings at the Ritz than weekends in the bush. The ride, thanks to Magnetic ride Control and independent rear suspension, is almost pillow-like. Indeed, if there’s a complaint to the new Yukon and Tahoes, it’s that the ride might almost be too soft. Call me politically-incorrect all you want, but I want a little bit of manliness to what used to be a work-a-day truck.

Inside there’s almost too much technology to really list here. By now, anyone intending to buy a Yukon is familiar with the luxuriousness that is the latest Denali cabin. Nonetheless, it’s worth pointing out the huge 15-inch Head Up Display and the fact that there are no less than nine camera views making sure that Yukon — and Yukon XL — drives smaller than its behemoth proportions might otherwise dictate. The infotainment touchscreen is both large and easily manipulated.

One thing I have yet to find a use for, though, is what GMC calls a Power Sliding Center Console. Basically, you can move the storage bin between the front seats rearward. How that saves you any time or effort compared with just handing it back, I do not know. Considering how thoroughly digitized, electrified, and automated everything in a Denali cabin is, I suspect the engineers just couldn’t stop themselves.

But, as I said, you knew all that. The big news is that the Duramax diesel version of the Yukon is here and, by my estimation at least, it’s the best of the lot.