School holidays are a time for road trips and one of those ‘someday’ destinations on our family’s list was Myall Lakes National Park to visit one of the tallest trees in NSW, The Grandis. So, during my week with the GMC Yukon Denali, we made the seven hours round trip to go there to admire this beautiful tree.
Just off Pacific Highway, north of Bulahdelah, you’ll find Grandis picnic area set among the lush coastal forests and it’s just a short stroll to The Grandis, previously the tallest known tree in NSW. This Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis) is approximately 400 years old and is around 76.2 metres tall with a circumference of 11.5 metres at the base. The photos don’t do the tree justice, so I recommend you take the quick trip off the Pacific Highway and see it for yourself the next time you are up that way.
GMC is an all-new brand for Australia delivered through General Motors Specialty Vehicles with the Yukon Denali based on the GMC Silverado pick-up truck. The GMC Yukon Denali is built at GM’s state-of-the-art plant in Arlington, Texas and is expertly re-engineered to right-hand drive by GMSV’s trusted re-manufacturing partner, at the GMSV stand-alone facility in Dandenong, Victoria, by the same team behind the Silverado’s local re-manufacturing.
The Denali nameplate is derived from the native Athabascan language, meaning “the high one” or “the great one”. It is also the Indigenous name for Mt McKinley, the highest peak in North America, located in Alaska. In the context of GMC vehicles, Denali represents the pinnacle of luxury and performance, with the only Yukon Denali 4WD offered in Australia is this premium, feature-packed, eight-seat Professional Grade specification.
Behind the signature Denali chrome grille is GM’s 6.2-litre V8 producing 313kW of power and 624Nm of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The gear selector is mounted on the steering column and there are plastic paddle shifters that I didn’t feel the need to use. The drive modes available include Normal, Sport, Off-road and Tow/Haul. I spent the week in Normal mode except for when we drove to The Grandis when I switched to off-road mode for the gravel road.
The powertrain makes light work of the Yukon’s mass and under light loads and conditions, the EcoTec3’s Dynamic Fuel Management system can deactivate four cylinders, markedly reducing fuel use and increasing total range. It appears to work, as my fuel use for the week was 11.8L/100km and the combined fuel consumption for the Denali is 12.8L/100km. I imagine the fuel use would increase when towing and for this the Denali comes standard with a towbar with a fully integrated 12-pin wiring harness as well as Tow/Haul Mode, an Integrated Trailer Brake Controller, Hitch Guidance with Hitch View and Trailer Sway Control. It has a 3,628kg maximum braked towing capacity (using Weight Distribution Hitch – 70mm Ball).
The Denali is equipped with an Active Response 4WD System with electronic limited-slip differential and a two-speed transfer case with 2WD HI, 4WD Auto, 4WD HI and 4WD LOW with push button controls and downhill descent control. But with the 24-inch Pearl Nickel wheels fitted, the largest to any factory production car in Australia, I was not venturing any further than the gravel road on the way to Grandis.
Premium ride comfort is delivered by an Air Ride Adaptive four-corner suspension system which provides both selectable and automatic ride height options, allowing a ride height lift of up to 50mm when extra ground clearance is required. When the doors are opened the power-activated side steps deploy and the Denali lowers for ease of passenger entry and egress. The Denali rides really nice and is not wallowy and the only detraction I noted that I had to push the brake hard to come to a complete stop. I didn’t really feel its size on the road and it was only when I came to narrow street or a carpark that my anxiety increase.
The Yukon Denali comes with a long list of premium inclusions as well, starting with keyless entry on all four doors and keyless start, so the key fob can remain in your handbag at all times. Driver comfort and convenience begins with an 11-inch digital, high-contrast driver display cluster coupled to a 15-inch colour Head-Up Display, powered steering column adjustment, and a heated steering wheel. There’s a large panoramic sunroof that opens for the front half and this was lovely to look up and out of as we were driving through these giant trees or you can close the powered sliding sunshade for a darkened cabin.
Spending a long stint in a vehicle means you get used to it and I had no complaints about the ride or the seat comfort in the Denali. The premium perforated leather seating has Denali-exclusive Fractal stitching on the seats and there’s authentic wood detailing on the trim. Each front seat has power adjustment for recline, forward/back, seat height/tilt front and rear, four-way lumbar support with the driver’s seat having two memory positions. The seat heating works well but needs to have heating elements on the sides of the seats as well. The seat cooling also works well, but is noisy when operating.
The huge 16.8-inch vertical touch-screen tablet is befitting such a big car and it has a nice start up graphic. Interestingly you can set the date and time for anything between 2014 and 2099 an oddity as most vehicles are connected to satellites and you can’t change the time at all. Integrated wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto is needed because there is no built-in satellite navigation on the Denali. You do get a 14-speaker Bose surround sound system though with media sources including AM/FM, radio, Bluetooth, USB, and smart phone. Under the sliding cover at the front of the centre console is a wireless phone charger, one USB-A port and one USB-C port with another USB-A and USB-C port under the arm rest.
The switches and controls feel robust and you will be sure to find a storage cubby for all of your road trip necessities. I like the large flat arm rest and underneath there’s a removable shelf and below is a deep cubby for your handbag, but I don’t like the gloss black plastic used on the centre console. It would also be great if there were an option for this cubby to be cooled for drink storage also. Below the flip up cover are two cup holders with grippy sides but they do not have a removable base for easy cleaning. There are upper and lower storage cubbies in the front doors, the top one for lollies for our road trip and the bottom fits a good-sized drink bottle.
The second-row seats have acres of leg room with ample under thigh support, but the headroom actually feels a bit less than the third row due to the edge of the panoramic sunroof above the outer seats. The second-row has three ISOFix/three rear tether child seat restraint points, which are located at the very base of each seat. Even though the rear floor is flat there is still a gap between the two carpet mats and this could easily be one single mat to protect the carpet and make cleaning easy.
The centre seat folds down as an arm rest with two shallow drink holders in it that have flimsy grippy sides hence bottles could easily fall over. Thankfully there are another two cup holders in the rear of the centre console and the lower cubby in the rear doors fits a good-sized drink bottle. There is also upper storage in the doors for devices or toys.
In addition, the rear-seat passengers have separate 12.6-inch colour high-definition touch screens with wireless headphones, each with HDMI input only limiting the options for entertainment or your children can view the vehicle status including your speed so they can keep an eye on you. To connect to the screens there are two HDMI ports and two USB-C ports below the climate controls. You can turn the rear screens on and off from the front screen, select the HDMI source or lock them so your children have to look out the window at the passing scenery. Rear passengers have roof vents only and there’s digital temperature, mode and fan speed controls for rear passengers that can also be adjusted or locked from the front of the vehicle as well. The second-row seats are also heated, but you can’t turn the rear heated seats on from the front of the vehicle.
The GMC Yukon Denali is an extra-large SUV so the third-row seats are not compromised in any way and three slim-ish adults could fit across both the third and second rows. To access the third row, you have to flip the second-row seat up, and the gap created is large enough for an adult to easily get in and out. But thought would need to be given as to what seat here you put a car seat if required. To exit there is a button on either of the C pillars that flips the second-row seat up and out of the way.
Even with the second-row seat fully back my knees were not touching the back of the second row seat. I also had enough head room and my knees were not sitting up uncomfortably, all big ticks for the Yukon, and there are rear tether points on the outer seats only. Third row passengers also get roof vents on either side with a rigid drink bottle holder and a storage cubby in the wheel arches with one USB-C port on either side. There is a single light above the centre of the third row seats and the only thing I noted as missing was a mat across the floor.
The size of the Danali also means the boot is not compromised either and with the third row in place there is still enough room for the weekly shop or a pram and a small shop or all seven of the school bags if you fill all of the seats with children. To access the boot, you can either double click on the key fob boot button to open the rear glass windscreen to access the boot, but you would need to be six foot or taller to be able to reach in and grab something. Or to open the powered tailgate you can use the exterior button, key fob or a button in the cabin.
You can raise and lower the third row seats from a button in the boot or the roof mounted buttons in the cabin. The second-row seats can also be laid flat using buttons in the boot space creating one large space for storage or a small mattress. Or press the button again and they flip up creating a storage space for taller items and you then have to manually lock the second-row seats back into place. There is a small amount of storage under the boot floor with the temporary use spare tyre located under the rear of the vehicle.
The GMC Yukon Denali is equipped with six airbags and a suite of advanced safety systems including Enhanced Automatic Emergency Park Assist, Front Pedestrian and Cyclist Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Braking, Rear Pedestrian Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning and Reverse Automatic Braking. An advanced on-board camera system offers 11 viewing angles via a 360-degree HD camera system combined with front and rear parking sensors and a digital rear view mirror. For convenience you also get auto lights and auto wipers, but no auto high beam.
The GMC Yukon Denali is a mammoth eight-seat SUV with all the comfort your family needs for mammoth road trips. Prices start from $174,990 plus on-road costs and dealer delivery and as tested with Volcanic Red Tintcoat paint ($2,000) this big, red Denali was $176,990 plus on-roads. For more information you can visit your preferred GM Specialty Vehicles dealer.
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| Pros | Cons |
| There are no compromises on space | You feel its size in tight spaces |
| The engine can be fuel efficient | Limited entertainment options for the rear screens |
| The comfortable cabin experience | No auto high beam |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.