2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali- Still Great, Now Less Shin Pain!

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
1/18/2016

General Motors is one of the most generous and supportive sponsors of the automotive press. GM goes out of their way to put vehicles on track for testing and to put daily-drivers into writers' driveways. So here we have a sort of update to our test last April of a similar 2015 Yukon XL Denali. Check out our prior report to read about all of the great things this vehicle offers, but allow us to provide an update on some important things.

This one year newer 2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali was a little less expensive. The reason made us smile. The gawdawful power retractable running boards are gone. Yeah!!! Happy Dance Time! In my prior review, I mentioned that they hit me in the shins more than once when I would open a door and reach in for my phone or jacket. I hated those running boards, and I’m glad they are gone. The fixed ones seem just as usable for entering and exiting, and they left my shins with the same amount of skin I started with. Good for GM having ditched them.

During my prior test, I used the Yukon XL Denali to haul two condos worth of laminate flooring home from the store along with a lot of other stuff. During this test, mother nature had removed and destroyed a long downspout from my home. The Yukon XL Denali swallowed a two-story straight aluminum downspout - just. I wrapped a towel around each end, and it fit using a bit of the dash and rested the other end against the tailgate glass. Thus, my conclusion is that the Yukon XL Deanli is as gig as a house inside - a two-story house! Sorry, no picture due to sideways rain.

The 2016 Yukon XL Denali lives up to any realistic expectation. It is not a city vehicle. In fact, during my time with the Yukon XL Denali I had two events in the center of Boston (I go to Boston only under duress) and I left it at home. Dealing with city traffic, parking garages with low ceilings and valets (the thing is $76,600) was just too daunting when I had my own mid-size crossover beater to take instead. In the beginning of this mini-review, I mentioned that GM was very generous. I'd like to keep that relationship strong, so letting a specialty vehicle sit for a couple of days made more sense than risking damage to such a nice machine.

General Motors' sales of full-size SUVs are way up. Having spent some time with the 2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali, it is clear to me that this is no accident.