Reader Review: 2021 GMC Yukon 4WD AT4

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Brand new for the 2021 model year is GMC’s Yukon in AT4 trim. What is AT4 as it applies to the Yukon? It’s a version of the full-size SUV that offers some off-road performance and comes with standard four-wheel drive, larger 20-inch wheels with Goodyear all-terrain tires, and skid plates. It’s also identifiable by its uniquely designed grille.

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Other Yukon trims include SLE and SLT, and the AT4 fits in just below the top-of-the line Denali. All models can be had in XL variants, adding overall length for increased passenger room and cargo capacity. The AT4 is powered by a 5.3-litre V8 engine paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Also available is a 6.2L V8, and at a later date, GM will offer a 3.0L inline six-cylinder turbo diesel engine. With the 5.3L powerplant, the AT4 has a maximum trailering capacity of 3719 kg.

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Calgary driver Alan Roth spent six days behind the wheel of the AT4 from GMC, and he’s no stranger to trucks. In fact, he learned to drive a 1953 Ford truck on his family’s farm near Bow Island in Southern Alberta and was piloting a tractor by the time he was 12 years old. The first car he bought with his own money was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, and a few of his favourite vehicles over the years include a 1973 Renault and a 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Currently, he’s driving a 2013 BMW X5 while his wife maintains a 2009 BMW 328i. The ‘summer’ car is a 2010 Porsche Carrera 4S.

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When shopping for a family vehicle, Roth says he’s looking for room to carry his wife and daughter with some luggage, and he likes to have the ability to haul bicycles on a bumper hitch carrier.

“It’s a very good looking vehicle that’s smart and stylish,” Roth says of his first impression of the AT4. “Yes, it’s big, but it’s also sleek and modern, and with the grille design I’d say it appears muscular.”

At five-feet-eleven, Roth says he liked having the power retractable assist steps that are part of the optional $9,795 Premium Plus package. All in but before taxes, his AT4 with the White Frost Tricoat paint was close to $84,000. Once inside, Roth says the leather seats with their brandy-coloured accents were nicely stitched together and as rather high-end in appearance.

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“It was quite straightforward to get adjusted,” he says. “All controls were easy to find and intuitive to use. There’s a lot of driver instrumentation and information available and I did need to educate myself in how that all worked.”

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He appreciated the blind spot warnings that would pop up in the exterior mirrors, and adds, “It’s a fairly large vehicle with a lot of flank. If there’s a small car beside you, you want to be aware of it. If you don’t signal and begin to move in the lane, you get a haptic warning in the seat, too. It engages all of the driver.”

As a matter of personal preference, Roth likes to use a shift lever to put a vehicle into reverse, drive or park.

“I had to get past pushing a button to put it into drive,” he says, and continues, “Once in drive and underway, the engine had a good amount of power, and you could easily accelerate up a hill or when merging – it had good get up and go. The transmission worked really well, and you could never really sense when it was shifting gears, everything was very smooth.”

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He didn’t experience the AT4 in snow or go off-road but did mention the vehicle gave the driver confidence that it could tackle more gruelling conditions. His AT4 came equipped with adaptive air ride suspension and during his time in the SUV, Roth traveled with his family down Highway 2 to Lethbridge. He found the SUV rode quite well and handled the trip with ease.

“It’s large and heavy, but the driver gets the sense of it being almost nimble and handles quite easily,” Roth says. “In the city, it’s a good driving vehicle but you do need to be aware of its size. With the backup camera, I found it easy to parallel park. I did find the warnings about how close you were to objects by the colour in the screen to be useful.”

His daughter enjoyed having a large space to travel in, and Roth says he didn’t hear any negative comments about overall front and rear passenger comfort. They never had the third row of seats in the upright position, and with them stowed, there’s 72.6L of cargo volume; more than enough to haul most anything, Roth figures.

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The AT4 would best suit an outdoorsy family, Roth says, with a couple of children that routinely pulls a trailer and needs to haul larger objects.

Roth concludes, “At the end of the day, our daughter was sad to see it going back, and we were quite liking it after spending a week in it. There’s a lot of functionality, and of course, it was brand new.”

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DRIVER’S JOURNAL

Day 1

Noticeably big. Tall – definitely need the auto-slide out assist steps to get up into it. Wide. Heavy. Vehicle also goes up when you drive and settles down when you turn it off. (Air suspension). Had to raise the driver’s seat higher, vehicle could accommodate a very tall person. Bit odd – dashboard buttons to select gears, use transmission, to the right of the steering wheel. Three rows of seats. 7 passenger. Sunroof. LED headlights. Heated seats front and back, and heated steering wheel. 110 v. electrical outlet in back storage space. I imagine the Denali version would have the higher trim level. This was very nice though, much admired by our daughter. Going through owner’s manual. A great deal of information and, like any upper end vehicle, numerous features to learn about.

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Day 2

Lina’s SW Calgary. Used parkade, had to get out and check door height before entering, one inch to spare to enter parkade. Wondered whether there is a way to ensure it doesn’t decide to “rise up” the air suspension in a situation like that. Also, getting around in underground parkade requires extra care for the tight quarters. In the dim light of the parkade, the GMC logo light projected on the floor below the step assist showed well. Went for some golf, vast room for a set of clubs. Noted the auto stop at red lights. Both the engine shutting off and then restarting once one takes one’s foot off the brake are quite imperceptible.

Myself and family came to like the vehicle quite a lot.

Day 3

School run, Shaganappi golf course. Filled up – $41 for mileage so far. Couldn’t figure out how to reset the trip odometer. Vehicle ventilation very good – again, interior size makes good HVAC a necessity. However, this means the fans are loud because they work at a high capacity. Stopped at light beside construction work on 17 th Ave. SW, driver window open; very loud. When I closed the window, I was impressed by the soundproofing; heavy equipment just a few yards away was well muted.

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Day 4

Drive to Lethbridge pleasant, vehicle has plenty of acceleration capability for highway driving. Managed to figure out cruise control. One comment is the key fob has nowhere to “live”. Found myself digging around for it quite often, under masks, phones, sunglasses in the front console. Would be more convenient for the driver to have a particular spot for the fob – a core item.

Day 5

Also, when windshield washer fluid ran low, another persistent advisory message. Manual just says to ‘clear’ with a checkmark – but checkmark on knob on centre stack doesn’t do it. Finally figured out the little wheel rotor on the steering wheel also pushes in, and that clears such advisories. Small annoyance but not easy to address even via using owner manual. Myself and family came to like the vehicle quite a lot, daughter especially sad to know it goes back tomorrow.

Day 6

All in all, nice vehicle especially for any couple with some kids to use to pull a trailer and do some camping, take longer road trips and such. Vehicle very suited to highway trips. I’d say that is the principal reason to own this type of vehicle. Not the best choice for a daily city ‘all purpose run-about’ car. Nice and roomy, which was a key aspect of everyone feeling quite comfortable during highway driving.