Denali 6.2 vs. Denali Hybrid

[Razorback]

Question for those who have had or driven a hybrid Tahoe/Yukon vs. a Denali with the 6.2 (Serge, I'm talking to you!)

We have a 2012 Denali WDT with 3,500 miles. We love it. We live about 8 miles out of town, so a mix of city/highway driving... we get about 16 MPG. We have had it on one small road trip and saw about 18.5.

Now, my dealer buddy tells me about a 2011 Denali Hybrid 4WD (Onyx Black) with only 2,700 miles. It sounds like $$ difference will be minimal. Crazy to find a 2011 with only 2,700 miles... he says it's "perfect" and like brand new... but I haven't seen it in person yet (it's about 90 miles away.) Typical hybrid setup (6.0L.) 4WD and not AWD like the standard Denali.

It sounds like a hybrid will get me about 21-22 real world MPG... saving us about $1,500 per year in gas.

Am I crazy to even consider this??? Am I giving up a lot performance wise? (And before you say it... I got a crazy good deal on the WDT Denali. I can make this switch for basically no $$$.)

GL

 

[NORCAL SS]

my 2wd 6.2 ***** my buddys 6.0 hybrid and right now im getting 15-16 in the city and 20-21 on freeway with the mods and that is with 3.73 gears not 3.42s and im on 305 35 24s which is even more weight but my truck is 2wd.

 

[Razorback]

Thanks. I meant to mention I haven't done the BB Tune yet, which should change the MPGs a bit.

 

[soulsea]

This is a tough one, basically cause it's an even trade on a truck that's a year older ... they're about the same price new so figure you're actually spending about $5k trading backwards. Also know that the market for the hybrids is a lot more limited than on the regular trucks so it might take longer to find a buyer if you sell it privately when you're ready for something new. One last note is that 2013 will be the last year for the Hybrids, after that GM won't make them any more with their 2014 redesign. I'm not sure what that will mean value wise, but it is worth noting.

That said, in regards to your fuel computations ...

My experience is slightly different than yours because I drive about 90% in the city, and I mean 'real' city not suburbs, so I'm lucky to get 12/13mpg out of a tank. Under the same mostly city driving conditions I averaged around 17mpg with the Hybrid.

From what I read from other hybrid owners, they get a lot better mpg when driving mostly hwy and suburbs, as in around 19mpg. On highway driving the difference tween the hybrid and 6.2 is about the same. When I drove my 6.2 from DC to Florida I averaged 17mpg with the fuel management deactivated, 22 under the same hwy conditions with the hybrid.

So basically, depending on how conscious you are about driving the hybrid to its max fuel efficiency, in real world terms you will average anywhere from 4 to 6 mpg better than the 6.2.

Is that enough to trade to an 11 from a 12 Im not sure.

Keep in mind that although it may be an even trade for you, it means that the dealer will make $ when he sells your truck, so in fact you are paying that difference, plus any additional depreciation the hybrid will have being a year older, and value lost because it will be a two owner car when you go to sell it.

Personally I wouldn't do it unless it was a 2012 for a 2012, then it would make sense value wise, but there wouldn't be any incentive for the dealer to do it as the two vehicles' worth would be a push.

None of this is anything against the hybrid, it's a wonderful vehicle ... I'm just looking at it strictly from a $ point of view.

 

[CYKBC]

Serge nailed it on the head so ill kind of verge slightly with my personal thoughts as someone who once shopped an escalade a couple of years ago

-6.2 is peppy but feels rough and loud in an undesirable way to the hybrid. In a daily beater utility vehicle that is a full size plasticized American SUV, I want as quiet an operation as possible. Hybrid is library quiet in city driving. Having now put on some miles in my 2013 hybrid (no diff to your 2011), there is no question I made the right decision. There's something novel about the two mode power making it a unique ride in a mega production multi-model lineup.

-I tell people I didn't buy my tahoe hybrid for gas savings because it isn't Prius impressive. I bought mine because I'm in love with the styling first and foremost. The breed has been improved in a wind tunnel by some of the world's top engineers. It looks the most masculine of all gm's suvs with its squared corners, side strakes, and locomotive front bumper. Second, you make more power than the base tahoe yet get roughly 30 % better efficiency so free power in a sense. Back to back with the 6.2 the lack of that extra grunt was easily overshadowed by the smoother dynamics, reduced nvh, and gas savings. Third, gm is not making them in the next gen. I got mine and I researched that it is at least as reliable as the gas only powered units.

So unless you're in love with the looks and the unique driving experience it gives you (me), I'd stick with what I got with $s in the glove.

Either way good news is you can't go wrong! You're in a good spot.

 

[soulsea]

^ This is very true. There's no comparison between the smoothness of the hybrid compared to the 6.2. I had to do a tune on my 6.2 just to minimize the poor shift points, throttle management, kill fuel management, and a whole bunch of other small stuff to remedy the bogging down on the upshifts, and it still isn't completely gone. The Hybrid shifts like a dream.

@Ben. In the case of the Denali, other than the fact that the Hybrid version comes stock with CK375 22s and the 2nd row seat has to be bench to cover the battery, the hybrid and non hybrid look identical. They don't have any of the aero stylistic differences that the Tahoe and base Yukon hybrids have compared to their non hybrid counterparts. Escalade Hybrid is the same way ... they basically look identical but for the hybrid lettering.

I note this cause this has always made me suspicious of GM's mpg ratings for these vehicles. The Esky and Denali hybrids are listed with the same mpg ratings as the Tahoe and Base Yukon Hybrids, yet they have bigger rims/tires, none of the aero package, and to my knowledge use the same non-aluminum body parts as the non-hybrids. So more sprung and unsprung weight, no aero, yet same mpg? Doubtful, but there you have it.

 

[NORCAL SS]

The 6.2s are way rich from factory. Mine has no bog and on freeway i get 20-21 mpg on 24s. Granted I put about $1500 dollars in mods in it but no bog and just a responsive truck.

 

[CYKBC]

^ This is very true. There's no comparison between the smoothness of the hybrid compared to the 6.2. I had to do a tune on my 6.2 just to minimize the poor shift points, throttle management, kill fuel management, and a whole bunch of other small stuff to remedy the bogging down on the upshifts, and it still isn't completely gone. The Hybrid shifts like a dream.

@Ben. In the case of the Denali, other than the fact that the Hybrid version comes stock with CK375 22s and the 2nd row seat has to be bench to cover the battery, the hybrid and non hybrid look identical. They don't have any of the aero stylistic differences that the Tahoe and base Yukon hybrids have compared to their non hybrid counterparts. Escalade Hybrid is the same way ... they basically look identical but for the hybrid lettering.

I note this cause this has always made me suspicious of GM's mpg ratings for these vehicles. The Esky and Denali hybrids are listed with the same mpg ratings as the Tahoe and Base Yukon Hybrids, yet they have bigger rims/tires, none of the aero package, and to my knowledge use the same non-aluminum body parts as the non-hybrids. So more sprung and unsprung weight, no aero, yet same mpg? Doubtful, but there you have it.

Thanks for the edification. I kinda forgot about the denali/escalade lack-of body differentiation as i was focused on going thru my thinking process and professing my love for the tahoe hybrid all up.

the more i hang out in internet forums, the less i listen to it. i've been obviously reading up on mpg reports just so i get an approximation of what i should expect and some of the real world user measurements are just totally off the charts whereas others are right in line with what i'm seeing (you). when people report 20+mpg on any of the hybrid models, they get put into the "they're not living on planet earth" bucket right away. let me state this also includes the all gas engine models, too. allegedly there are people getting hybrid level mpgs on all petrol power. lol smh

i definitely took one or two mpgs going from the stock 18s to my current 22s in oem tire sizing. how GM rates the denali/escalade hybrid at 20+mpg is beyond me as that's even a stretch for the tahoe/yukon versions. but then you always need to work down from the window sticker.

i think the 5-6 mpg delta is about right and pretty significant. but again, it's not just about mpg as $1500 saved a year can be usurped by ordering less lattes at the local sbux. it's about the complete package. just go drive them both and see if it's worth giving the dealer some revenue to help hit their monthly sales quota.

 

[Razorback]

CYKBC and Serge, thanks for the useful posts.

This is interesting enough and a toss-up that it's worth the 90 mile drive just to give it a look and a test drive. I know I'm probably leaving a couple grand on the table, but the plan is to keep it 5-6 years, which should more than pay it back.

Vehicles for me and plenty of others are emotional, not just numbers. So how this hybrid feels when I drive it will be plenty important to me. That said, here's how I'm running the numbers for my neck of the woods:

6.2 Denali (91 octane)
20,000 miles per year @ 15.5 MPG average @ $3.65/gallon: $4,709/year

6.0 Denali Hybrid (87 octane)
20,000 miles per year @ 20 MPG average @ 3.30/gallon: $3,300/year

6.0 Denali Hybrid (89 octane)
20,000 miles per year @ 20 MPG average @ 3.40/gallon: $3,400/year

6.0 Denali Hybrid (91 octane)
20,000 miels per year @ 20 MPG average @ 3.65/gallon: $3,650/year

I have read that the 6.0 is happy on 87, so we might start with that.

This is my wife's daily driver. We live about 8 miles in the country, and I'm old school on rear-wheel drive, V8, and big. I still believe the big vehicles provides safety. The hybrid gives me a good mix of mileage and the full size truck attributes.

(We looked at 5.3 Tahoe's and Yukons, but the wife liked the Denali best... our choices were WDT or black. She didn't care as long as it has the cocoa/cashmere interior.) So this is kind of a toss up for her.

GL

 

[CYKBC]

Thanks for sharing your calculations. It's handy for me to see it laid out like that. I go by the book when it comes to maintenance (except oil change intervals) and gas grade recommendations. Been filling mine up with 87 at my local Chevron and it's performing as it should. No knocking. No surprises. 17.8mpg on the DIC rollin' on 22x9.5s, no third row seats, no family, no pets, zero towing, drive it normally. Less than 1000 miles young.

I love that the range on it is about 400 miles which kills both the 510hp premium petrol sucking range rover i had as well as the lexus 2UZ-FE on heavy Toyo MTs. I also keep it on 2WD as I like the lighter steering feel compared to 4 mode.