- 3 months ago
The GMC Yukon Denali is finally here, and it's not just big—it’s MASSIVE. At 5.3 metres long, with seating for eight, a 6.2-litre V8, and 3.6-tonne towing, this American brute is now prowling Aussie roads with an AUD$174,990 price tag (before on-roads). But is it just a flash-in-the-pan chrome fest, or does it genuinely challenge local and European rivals like the LandCruiser 300 Series, Nissan Patrol, Defender 130, BMW X7, and Mercedes-Benz GLS?
We spent a few days with the locally converted R
We spent a few days with the locally converted R
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00If your Toyota Land Cruiser is too small
00:02and your Ford Ranger can't tow enough,
00:04well, I think I might've found the answer.
00:06It's the 2025 GMC Yukon Denali.
00:09I've just spent the last day driving it around
00:10the south coast of New South Wales.
00:13It's 5.3 meters long, it's 2.7 tons in weight.
00:17It can tow over three and a half tons.
00:19I'm gonna show you guys around it today.
00:21We're gonna do a walk around in the vehicle.
00:22We're gonna show you the interior.
00:24We're gonna take it for a drive.
00:25And finally, I'll give you my final thoughts.
00:27Let's check it out.
00:30Let's go.
00:575.3 meters long.
00:59I don't think you necessarily realize how big these vehicles are
01:02until you see one parked on the road next to a Toyota Land Cruiser or a dual-cab ute.
01:07We've got 24-inch wheels up the front, and I don't know about you,
01:12but I reckon they look like 19s or 20s tucked under these massive wheel arches.
01:16It's as if this vehicle is just scaled up 20% on everything else on the road.
01:22Heaps of chrome you'll notice around the outside of the vehicle.
01:24It's pretty obvious that this thing's a big American truck,
01:26but you can get a lot of these pieces blacked out as an option in the aftermarket.
01:32There's 25 accessories available at launch,
01:35including roof racks and a whole bunch of other stuff,
01:38including a glowing front grille.
01:40Have a look down the side here.
01:42You need a sidestep in a vehicle like this,
01:44and these present themselves when you open the doors,
01:48and they are pretty quick to come down, which I like as well.
01:51Four exhaust tips at the back here.
01:53It looks super menacing,
01:54just sort of giving you a little preview about what's hiding up front underneath the bonnet.
01:58And of course, we have an absolutely giant rear tailgate powered,
02:04which you're going to need,
02:05and a nice hidden rear windscreen wiper, which I like a lot.
02:09Plenty of head height here for me to get underneath,
02:11but more on the inside later.
02:13And when you're up the front,
02:14would you want to see this in your rear view mirror?
02:16It's over two meters wide, this GMC Econ Denali,
02:20and it has an epically, epically, massive front grille,
02:24which gives you all the glitz and glamour that you expect from an American pickup truck,
02:28but it also previews what's under the bonnet,
02:30because it needs to feed a lot of air into it.
02:33As I mentioned before, glowing front GMC logo available as an option.
02:37Just an extra flex, really, isn't it?
02:39All right, I think it's about time we take a look inside,
02:41and I just want to give you a little bit of a scale of how big this is.
02:44I'm just going to sit in the driver's seat, and it'll make me look tiny.
02:47I'm six foot tall, I'm not a small guy.
02:51I look tiny, don't I?
02:52Come and have a look inside.
02:53And now we're inside this absolute behemoth.
02:56I think the first thing you notice is just how big this thing is.
02:59I know a lot of the American audience out there are going to be laughing at me,
03:02going like, bro, we drive these things to school every single day,
03:04but look at it.
03:06It's like I'm in a couch.
03:07I'm sitting on a couch, honestly.
03:09And my passenger is in a completely different postcode.
03:12But I think the touch materials or the softness of everything
03:16is generally quite good where all your elbows go and things like that.
03:20Steering wheel's heated.
03:21It's the right size.
03:22The driving aspect, a lot of glass and a lot of visibility
03:27because you're in an absolutely massive thing
03:28sitting above everyone else on the road.
03:30Let's talk a little bit about the tech
03:32because I can't hide the fact there's a giant 16.8-inch touchscreen.
03:37So that's bigger than what you'll get in things like Teslas,
03:40which are not having massive touchscreens.
03:42And in front of me, this nice little 11-inch digital driver's display
03:46that's sort of integrated nicely with a little bit of piano black materials
03:49and things like that.
03:50But let's take a closer look.
03:52I'm going to jump to the POV now
03:53and touch a few things and see how things work.
03:56So this absolutely gigantic touchscreen is nice and snappy.
04:00It doesn't have satellite navigation in Australia,
04:04which is probably the only sort of major downside I can see
04:07of something like this
04:08because it does have physical buttons down here
04:10to adjust the climate.
04:12You can do your recirculation over here.
04:15Large buttons.
04:16I guess that's the big advantage of a touchscreen that's this massive
04:18is that you can find the buttons that you need to press very easily.
04:22Ventilated seats, heated seats.
04:24Nice, large volume control knob.
04:27And actually very satisfying to use.
04:30But this is pretty much how you're going to have your Denali set up.
04:33You'll almost never touch this.
04:34Again, once you have it set up,
04:36you can do things like that.
04:37Switch it on and off very easily.
04:39Big fan of this touchscreen.
04:40AC vents, directional,
04:42none of that weird stuff that you find in Teslas.
04:44Down here, good storage.
04:47USB port, USB-A port,
04:49and a wireless charger,
04:52which is nice to see.
04:54Large cup holders.
04:55American size.
04:56I don't think you'd fit...
04:57I wonder if this is an insert.
04:58Eh, oh, no, it's not an insert.
05:00I don't think you'd fit, like, a Yeti in here.
05:04But still, nice and large.
05:06Damped?
05:07Yes.
05:08Is the glove box damped?
05:11Yes.
05:11We'd love to see it.
05:12Let's check out the materials.
05:13So, you've got nice, soft,
05:18leathery type materials up here with stitching.
05:20A kind of strange plastic fading wood
05:24sort of set up here.
05:26Not a gigantic fan of that,
05:28but I guess it does look kind of cool.
05:30Lock-unlock.
05:31You've got all your mirror buttons over here.
05:33All the window buttons are automatic in the front.
05:36Seat memory.
05:38Two positions there.
05:40Down here, trailer brake controls,
05:43headlight functions,
05:45vehicle height adjustment over here,
05:48parking sensors, parking brake.
05:49More soft-touch materials here,
05:51where your elbow sits.
05:53A bit more stitching.
05:54Extends all the way over here.
05:56Nice and comfortable for long-haul trips.
05:57Then down the bottom,
05:59you do have quite a bit of scratchy plastic,
06:04which isn't my favourite,
06:05but maybe we'll give it a pass.
06:06I'd like to see...
06:08I'd like to see the door bins lined
06:12because you do get a bit of a rattle.
06:14And now's probably a good time to show you the cameras
06:16because you're towing with this car.
06:18You've got to use that all the time
06:20and there's a bunch of different views,
06:21so let's run through them quickly.
06:23So, here are your camera views.
06:25You sort of have two of each.
06:26You've got a front and a rear,
06:28as you expect to see.
06:29And you've got a top-down front,
06:31a top-down rear as well,
06:33which makes it easy to park the car
06:36and use a trailer.
06:37Side views too.
06:38These are particularly useful when you're off-road,
06:40but you have front and back views too.
06:41There, and when I turn the steering wheel,
06:43you can see the front wheels moving.
06:46So, that's mostly useful for parking
06:48because you do not want to curb these 24-inch wheels.
06:51And then, of course, you've got your trailer view,
06:54so you can attach your tow ball hitch,
06:56and a few more views back there as well for towing,
06:58taking corners,
07:00and removing the blind spots.
07:01Plenty of cameras.
07:02It's a big tick for me.
07:03The digital driver's display in front of me
07:05is pretty standard for cars these days.
07:07There's not too much to write home about
07:08about this screen.
07:10Although, it does give you a nice sort of central
07:12rev counter and speedo,
07:13which I like.
07:14I don't really love it too much
07:15when it's offset to the side,
07:16but it's got a whole bunch of screens
07:18you can go through on the left and right-hand side,
07:20tire pressure, radio station,
07:21and you're listening to all those fun things.
07:23It's pretty much it for the interior, though.
07:25So, let's check out the second row behind me.
07:29Now, we're in the second row,
07:30and there is so much space back here.
07:31I've said it with a Silverado,
07:33and this kind of reminds me of it.
07:34Like, I would love for my, you know,
07:36site manager to be driving around a Silverado,
07:38because if you were going to work with him
07:39in the morning, you'd be so comfortable.
07:41You'd sit up a little bit compared to the front row,
07:44but look at the space,
07:46and you can even adjust things like this
07:49to give the third row passengers more space,
07:51but more on that in a second.
07:53We can't hide the fact
07:54that there are touchscreen screens back here
07:57for viewing all your media.
07:59You've got two HDMI options,
08:01and you can also check things like vehicle status,
08:02which gives you the speed of the car's going,
08:04fuel ranges, and trip information.
08:07Center armrest, tick.
08:09It does have cup holders
08:10with some nice little rubbery things
08:11to keep your cups in there
08:13and a little coin pocket, I guess.
08:15Generally, the quality of the leather
08:17and everything back here is very good, too,
08:19and it's a good amount of head height.
08:20I'm not the shortest guy in the world.
08:22I also noticed this pretty large sunroof in front of me.
08:25Yes, sunroof, and that comes as standard
08:27on all Australian-delivered models.
08:31Beyond the touchscreen,
08:32we have some climate control buttons back here
08:36for the rear passengers
08:37and heated seats, which is massive.
08:40It's an auto-climate control, too.
08:42USB-C ports, HDMI ports, as I mentioned.
08:44Matte pockets, soft-touch materials.
08:47People wouldn't want to sit back here.
08:48Super comfortable.
08:49Check out the third row.
08:50So to get in the third row,
08:52double pull this,
08:54and then the seat goes forward.
08:56It's actually pretty easy.
08:58You can kind of squeeze back here,
08:59and I'll meet you back here.
09:00Third row comfort, tick.
09:02There's actually a little cutout in the roof,
09:04which I didn't notice
09:05because I don't exactly drive around
09:07in the third row of this car,
09:08but good amount of headroom.
09:10Probably, honestly, the equal amount
09:11to what's in the second row.
09:12You've got your own cut poles back here,
09:14USB ports, air-con vents.
09:17It's pretty good.
09:18I'd be happy to travel back here
09:20medium-long distances.
09:22I don't know if I'd want to do
09:23a city to Melbourne,
09:25but a city to Canberra trip,
09:26perfectly fine.
09:27And then when you want to
09:28launch your passengers forward,
09:29you can just press this button
09:31and chop their heads off.
09:34Tick.
09:35And while the third row's up,
09:36I want to show you the space in the boot
09:38because you're not always
09:39going to have the third row up,
09:40but let's take a look
09:41at how much space is back there.
09:43So here's the space
09:43in the back of the Yukon Denali
09:46with the third row up.
09:47It's not too bad.
09:48You wouldn't want to necessarily
09:49have more than maybe a backpack
09:50or a couple carry-on bags,
09:51but it's not too bad.
09:53Underneath here,
09:54not a lot of storage.
09:55I was kind of hoping for a little bit
09:56of a storage bin back there,
09:58but not the world's best.
09:59You can power fold these rear seats
10:03or you can just double tap this thing
10:05and everything goes absolutely nuts.
10:08Second row's down.
10:11Right side.
10:14Left side.
10:15And then look at that load space.
10:193,400 plus litres of storage
10:22with all of these seats down.
10:23And it's nice and flat.
10:25Which I like.
10:26It's a big tick there.
10:27That's how much stuff you can put back in.
10:28You can probably put a mattress,
10:29to be honest,
10:29and have a sleep
10:30in your $175,000 Yukon Denali.
10:39So here we are,
10:41behind the wheel,
10:41finally.
10:42It's been so long
10:44since this car was announced
10:45for Australia.
10:46I honestly didn't know
10:47if I'd ever get the chance
10:48to drive it,
10:48but we're here on the south coast
10:50of New South Wales,
10:52about three hours out of Sydney,
10:54Shellhaven,
10:56to drive the GEMC Yukon Denali.
11:00The first thing that I've noticed,
11:02honestly,
11:02in driving it
11:03is just how big it feels.
11:05It sounds dumb to say
11:06because it's quite obvious
11:07that it's a giant American truck,
11:09but you don't really realise it
11:11until you get behind the wheel.
11:12You spend a lot of time
11:13in land cruises,
11:14patrols,
11:15and some of this car's competitors,
11:17and they kind of get used to it.
11:20And you get into something like this
11:21and it's a complete reset.
11:23The distance between you
11:24and the passenger,
11:25it's like they're
11:25in a different postcode.
11:28The size of the steering wheel
11:30and just the driving position
11:31in general,
11:31you feel like you're really
11:32sitting inside the car
11:33despite its proportions
11:34on the exterior.
11:36And then it's the view
11:37out the front
11:38and down the side
11:40with these massive mirrors
11:42that just makes you feel
11:43like you're piloting
11:44a cruise ship.
11:46But I guess that's
11:46exactly the point.
11:47That's exactly why
11:48you would want to buy this car.
11:49So it's hard to say
11:51it's a negative.
11:52So we're on a typical
11:52Australian back road now,
11:55100km an hour,
11:56windy,
11:56single lane.
11:58And it doesn't feel too big
12:00on this type of road.
12:01Yesterday we spent
12:02a little bit of time
12:03driving it around,
12:04some sort of twistier
12:05back roads,
12:06on the dirt.
12:07But here it feels at home.
12:09There's plenty of space
12:10on each side of the lanes,
12:11not too tight around
12:13city streets
12:14where it would feel
12:14particularly large.
12:15But it just sort of floats.
12:16I think that's kind of
12:17the whole point.
12:18It feels very American
12:20in its suspension setup
12:22with this
12:24adaptive air suspension
12:25with Magne Rider
12:26standard in Australia.
12:27So it does do a good job
12:28at absorbing bumps.
12:30One up, one down,
12:31motion
12:32on the compression,
12:33decompression.
12:35It just feels floaty.
12:36I think you can tell
12:38a little bit
12:39through the steering
12:39that it has been
12:41converted locally.
12:42They're very good
12:44at doing this.
12:45They've been doing it
12:45for Silverado
12:46for a very long time now,
12:49four plus a year.
12:49It's not like you can tell
12:50that the car's converted
12:51when you're on freeways,
12:52but when you are taking
12:54twisty back roads,
12:55it is a little bit difficult
12:56to figure out
12:57just exactly where the car
12:58is on the road
12:59through the steering rack.
13:00There's a little bit of,
13:01it's not delay,
13:03but it's just a bit
13:03of numbness on center
13:04and you're not always
13:06aware of exactly
13:07what the front wheels
13:08are doing.
13:09When the car's loaded up
13:10in the corner,
13:11it starts to give you
13:12a little bit more feedback.
13:13But I think overall,
13:14it's a giant vehicle
13:16and I do wish there was
13:17a little bit more feeling
13:18and feedback
13:19through the wheel
13:19just so I knew
13:21or know
13:22where the car is
13:23on the road.
13:24Sometimes you tip it in
13:26to a corner
13:27and you're just not quite sure
13:28what it's going to do
13:29in terms of,
13:30it'll get through the corner,
13:31it's not really a grip issue,
13:32it's more of just like
13:32a comfort feeling
13:34from the driver's position.
13:35You're just not
13:36acutely aware
13:37of where the car
13:38is on the road
13:39and I think
13:40either that's just
13:40the nature of a vehicle
13:41that's this large
13:42or it leans a little bit
13:44into that steering rack
13:45and the conversion.
13:46I'm not particularly sure
13:47but it's there
13:49and I kind of wish it wasn't.
13:50To sum up
13:51how the car drives,
13:52it's pretty unique.
13:53It's completely different
13:54to Land Cruiser,
13:56Lexus GX.
13:57It's getting close
13:58to Defender
13:59but I think
13:59even Defender
14:01is a little bit
14:01more fun to drive
14:02especially the steering
14:03in the Defender
14:04is just simply
14:04better than this
14:06and they're very good
14:06at it
14:07but you can still tell
14:08that there is a little bit
14:09of sort of numbness
14:10through the steering.
14:11The on-center
14:12is not great
14:14and I don't think
14:15these massive
14:1524-inch wheels
14:16help too much
14:17with the steering feel
14:18or the ride
14:20although it's not
14:20as if it's uncomfortable
14:22in any way.
14:23The air suspension
14:23makes up a big portion
14:25of that
14:25but sharper potholes
14:28and bumpier roads
14:29it does show
14:29a little bit
14:30and I think
14:31the 24-inch wheels
14:32are probably
14:32mostly to blame.
14:34The power though
14:36is certainly there.
14:37The V8 6.2 litre
14:39is about 313 kilowatts
14:41of power
14:41so it ain't
14:42a small amount
14:43and at no point
14:44in driving this car
14:45do you really
14:45ask for more.
14:46It's kind of
14:47perfectly tuned
14:48to this gearbox
14:49as well.
14:49It just chugs along.
14:51It doesn't really
14:52make too much sound
14:53but when you want
14:53to punch it
14:54out of a junction
14:56there's plenty of power
14:58and overtaking
14:58is just the easiest
14:59thing in the world.
15:01We did a little bit
15:02of towing yesterday
15:02with a horse float
15:05and like a lot
15:06of these big
15:06American pickup trucks
15:07and SUVs
15:08you don't even
15:09really know it's there.
15:10It'd be interesting
15:10to load up
15:12a big caravan
15:13dual axle caravan
15:14and see how that goes
15:15but I don't really
15:16see this thing
15:17have any trouble
15:18at all
15:19especially if we use
15:20the Silverado
15:21as a baseline
15:21I mean I think
15:22tow's like
15:23it's pulling
15:23a cart.
15:26It's quiet
15:27you hear a little
15:28bit of a rumble
15:29from the V8
15:29but I think
15:30generally speaking
15:31the interior
15:32of the car
15:32is very quiet
15:34for long distance
15:35journeys.
15:35The Bose
15:36sound system
15:36is exceptional.
15:38It's a really
15:38nice place to sit
15:39and you could
15:39easily rack up
15:40a few thousand
15:41k's
15:42touring around
15:42Australia
15:43as they did
15:43when they were
15:44developing this car
15:44they did a lap
15:4614,000 kilometres
15:48a bit of a test
15:49and I'll be happy
15:50doing it.
15:51The safety features
15:53and lane keep assist
15:53everything like that
15:54it's not too
15:54intrusive at all
15:55it doesn't yank
15:56the wheel away
15:57from your hands
15:57or anything like that
15:58it doesn't beep
15:59at you all the time
16:00which I know
16:00has become such
16:01a prevalent thing
16:02in modern vehicles
16:03they do not shut up
16:04but this car
16:05it's quiet
16:07and no point
16:07in driving this car
16:08over the last
16:08couple of days
16:09have I been
16:09annoyed by it
16:10besides the
16:11constant binging
16:12when you start it up
16:13but I think
16:14that's just
16:14an American car thing
16:15isn't it?
16:16And then there's
16:17the driving position
16:18we've talked about
16:19the outlook
16:20and just the
16:20humanic glass
16:21in front of you
16:22and the fact
16:22you sit up so high
16:23in it
16:23but there's a couple
16:25other extra points
16:25I think the brake pedal
16:27I do find
16:28a little bit
16:28too high up
16:30for me
16:30and it does cause
16:31a little bit of pain
16:33pain
16:33a little bit of discomfort
16:34on longer journeys
16:36through the right leg
16:37I don't know
16:37it's just a little bit
16:38too high up
16:39you kind of feel
16:39like you have to
16:40move your leg
16:40a little bit too much
16:41to transition
16:41to the brake pedal
16:42but again
16:42I think that's just
16:43another
16:45truck thing
16:45another big American thing
16:46the driving position
16:47is not always
16:49like the most
16:50thought about thing
16:50the accelerator
16:51and the brake
16:52are pretty much
16:53perfectly calibrated
16:54you don't have to
16:55do too much
16:56thinking when you're
16:57jumping on the brake
16:57pedal
16:58the accelerator
16:58does the right
16:59amount
16:59so we haven't
17:01spent too much
17:01time on windy roads
17:02in this video
17:03but yesterday
17:04we were driving
17:04some back roads
17:05and as I mentioned
17:05they were a little
17:06bit tight
17:06and the car did
17:07feel pretty massive
17:08on the road
17:09and it does feel
17:11massive on the road
17:12and it is a little
17:13bit floaty
17:14it's a quintessential
17:15American truck
17:18SUV experience
17:19which is I guess
17:20what you should expect
17:21looking at this thing
17:22on paper
17:22but I wouldn't say
17:23that it is the most
17:24refined driving experience
17:25you can get for the money
17:26and you can certainly
17:27find a more
17:30complete driving experience
17:31from the European brands
17:32your Audis
17:32your BMWs
17:33your Mercs
17:34and even those
17:35ladder frame vehicles
17:35like the Lexus
17:37LX
17:38they're just simply
17:39going to be better
17:40I guess the best way
17:41to sum up the way
17:42this car drives
17:43is again
17:43it's just super
17:44American
17:46the air suspension
17:47is floaty
17:48it feels like
17:48you're in a land yacht
17:50you're just cruising
17:50down the road
17:51so that was the
17:522025 GMC Yukon Denali
17:54it's priced from
17:55around $175,000
17:56Australian dollars
17:57before on-road costs
17:58and options
17:59it's definitely steep
18:00it's priced
18:01well above
18:02its European competitors
18:03but it is
18:04a gigantic vehicle
18:06I've shown you guys
18:07around the exterior
18:08of the car
18:08the interior
18:09we've even taken it
18:10for a drive
18:10and I think it's time
18:12for you to let me know
18:12what you think
18:13about this car
18:14down in the comments
18:15while you're there
18:16smash that like button
18:17hit subscribe
18:18and hit the bell notification
18:20as well to see more
18:21of those videos
18:22that's it
18:23I'm going to go take
18:23this big ass truck
18:24back to Sydney
18:25and I'll see you next time
18:51and I'll see you next time