2015 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4WD

Deep inside, we’re no different than your average motorhead. We live to thrash sports cars (with Android Car Gps) on challenging roads. And for those occasions when two seats won’t cut it, we grab the keys to sports sedans. So what’s up with spending 40,000 miles in an XXXL SUV that’s bigger than many NYC apartments?

Fact is, our transportation needs run the gamut, just like yours. Boxsters and Miatas—vehicles of choice for two-person getaways—are misfits on family vacations. We occasionally move furniture, take camping trips, and shuttle visitors to and from the airport. Some of us avoid our families altogether by spending our weekends at racetracks. Which is to say, sometimes we need something big.

Meet Big Den, a 2015 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4WD that casts a shadow twice as large as a Fiat 500’s. Mashing the scales at just over 6000 pounds, this Lone Star limo hauls eight, tows 7900 pounds, and comfortably sleeps a parent and two adventurous kids. Full disclosure: When this 40,000-mile gantlet was complete, we negotiated an extra 8000 miles to accommodate pressing vacation and racing needs.

This is the flagship of GMC’s fleet. Starting with the longer 130-inch wheelbase (versus the regular Yukon’s 116), four-wheel drive, and sumptuous Denali trim, our order monger exercised restraint by adding but two options to the $69,375 base price: a $4160 Touring package (entertainment system with second- and third-row Car DVD Player, sunroof, theft-deterrent system with self-powered horn, and head-up display) and $495 22-inch wheels.

Most Yukons are sold with Denali trim for good reason: There’s substance behind the geographically disorienting badge. The $16,780 ($16,880 for 2016) upgrade from a base Yukon SLE 4x4 adds a 6.2-liter V-8, heated and cooled perforated-leather front seats, a heated second-row bench, a power-folding third row, magnetic-ride-control dampers, HID headlamps, active noise cancellation, a larger alternator, heated mirrors, a customizable driver’s display, and, last but not least, sparkling exterior body-side moldings.

The heart of the beast is a V-8 that’s closely related to the Chevy Corvette’s LT1 engine. Major features—direct fuel injection, variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing, and cylinder shutdown during light loads—are common to both. The GMC has milder valve timing to skip the Stingray’s nervous idle jitters, which means power is down a touch, but both engines deliver the same 460-lb-ft torque punch. Even though this is a naturally aspirated pushrod design in a world of boosted, multivalve, overhead-cam engines, it’s perfectly suited to the SUV mission, being smooth, reliable, and reasonably fuel efficient. One demerit is that premium fuel is recommended.

After break-in, Big Den clocked a 6.5-second run to 60 mph, 15.1 seconds at 96 mph in the quarter-mile, and a governed top speed of 113 mph. While that’s roughly a dead heat with the last Ford Expedition we tested, the Blue Oval easily beats the GMC’s 70-to-zero-mph stopping distance and 0.75-g (inhibited by stability control) cornering ability. At the 40,000-mile final test, we discovered that launching this rig in four-wheel-drive mode trimmed 0.6 second from both the zero-to-60-mph and quarter-mile-ET figures, moving it toward acceleration parity with the smaller and lighter Mercedes-Benz GL450 three-row transporter.

When it breaks free of parking maneuvers and the ol’ suburban cut-and-thrust, this GMC finds its comfort zone. The l­onger you drive it, the less its dwelling-sized dimensions annoy you. The V-8 is virtually silent in its work, even when half its cylinders go on furlough to save fuel. We were amazed to see the four-cylinder indicator light up with a loaded trailer in tow at 70 mph, at least on level ground. Our 16-mpg overall mileage tied the aforementioned Benz. Multiply that fuel economy by the 30.9-gallon tank capacity and you’ve got enough range to leap whole states in a single bound. If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!