From A NNBS to a NBS to a K2 comparison in driving and quirks

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Bigkevschopshop

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Ok... So here we go...

K2 Ride is more car like compared to the other 2... Not squishy 70s caddy either... littler firmer, more planted it seems. all in all very respectable for what it is, mine is air ride so there is a variance there.

K2 handling... Handling and driving characteristics are more car like than I thought they would be, steering is very light and easy to input, the handling is pretty dang nice in the corners, way better than a stock nbs or nnbs that I have found. The parking lot though says different. Feels like parking a longbed pickup in the Subruban ESV, XL category. Don't know why it feels larger... But it Does.. The NNBS had a shutter feel over choppy bumps all in the steering wheel like feedback, this doesnt have it at all... The NBS had a wallow feel in the front end on stock softer shocks, but thats torsion bar vs Strut... All in all steering input and feedback is minimal, you get what you want and when you want it..

Interior, K2 wins for gizmos and gadgets, the leather wrapped interior pieces on the ltz are at or above par with my prior Denali NNBS, but no cracked dash. The menus on the drivers display are a bit cluttered compared to the DIC on the other 2... The screen is very nice though.. Push button start is nice also.... Seats have alot more adjustability in weird ways that the others just never quite hit right... The bolsters do grab you right on this much like the NBS, comfy seat, leather seems decent quality but the seat heaters are lame compared to the butt roasters in the NBS. The trailer brake controller is in a good spot and easy to reach... Heated and cooled seat switches are actually nice right in the middle... Console is better quality than prior models, very firm feeling, not loose etc... The ride is quiter than the prior models, I find myself and the wife actually talking normal on the highway where the others we had to raise the voice a smidge... The 10 speaker Bose is a jamming system for sure, great bass response for a factory system, the soundstage is pretty good all on top of the dash, the width of the soundstage is very narrow though... But thats the former SQ competitor in me talking so lets say for factory its not bad...

Drivetrain.... The new DI version of the beloved 5.3 is not bad, very smooth on transition from 4 to 8 mode.... almost scary they got it that good..... The extra HP from DI is nice, the torque you can feel when your about 1800 and accelerating using torque etc... trans is ok... For some reason there is alot of time between gear changes or maybe I am used to the tuned versions... 6 speed is about the best trans that I know of for ease of driving etc... The lower gears make it have more get up and go, and good highway manner. Max Trailering package is nice also, the 3.42 gears really feel good...The locker works, I found that out yesterday on the wet road, lit up the tires and wasnt trying... Kinda cool.

I cant say enough about the steering being so light and nimble...

Brakes are very on par with the NNBS... Far outshining the NBS... Very good pedal feel, very good at being able to feather the pedal for a ultra smooth stop if you want it...

Where the K2 does not excel is in visibility.... You cant see a damn thing out the rear view mirror, blind spot bigtime in the back right of the truck... and the side mirrors are a joke when it comes to visibility also.. Thankfully I have the Blind spot monitors on my LTZ but I respect those who drive the ones with out those sensors... Backing it into a space using just mirrors you have to take a little extra time to get it in there right... The Kid view mirror in the sunglass holder is nice if you have youngsters...

For My 6'3 Big shoulder self, the seating is nice, shoulder room is deff a little tighter, but surprisingly better than the trucks...Head room is great in here now... I dont have my head .5" from the headliner anymore like I did on the NNBS... THe NBS is about equal on headroom. Legroom though is amazing in this, there is more leg width than I have seen in anything with a console... Seat belts are tons more comfy for a bigger person on this NNBS but close second is the K2 and third is the NBS...

Overall.....

Seems to be well built... The changes vs a NNBS and a K2 are there for sure... Some of the truck build feel is gone though... Still Not bad... I am 5 days into having the truck at my fingers and still figuring a few things out. Parking sensors front and rear are a nice addition also, lane departure warning I had to work at it to make the seat shake... I have yet to try out collision alert....

I was hesitant of going to the K2 platform for a long time... 1 week in and it's not a bad platform at all... The NNBS I think will always have my heart, they have their quirks but still do great in many ways... I will be able to see how good the K2 grows on me... The diminished cargo room in the back with the fold flat is kind of a bummer but thankfully I have a suburban... If you have a Tahoe the folding seats would actually help out a ton more I think... All in all I did buy one so there is deff value there, and its comfortable and I will let you know how good after a good road trip soon. I will be pulling a trailer in 1.5 weeks.

Reason I didn't buy an escalade K2.... My fingers on the radio and ac controls didn't work worth a d@mn... Maybe too much callus or too dry, who knows.... Plus the 8 speed nightmare was something I wanted to not get into... All in all so far pleased with the K2... I still miss some things on both the NNBS and NBS... The one thing I don't miss is the 4l60e... In stock form that trans sucks pretty bad... But that's another discussion.

Hopefully this well help someone else who is on the fence to make a good educated decision on moving up a Model Year.

BURB3.jpg
 

Bill 1960

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Thanks for the comparison. I haven’t put a tape measure on one, but to my eye the K2 seems to have more overhang at the rear. Like it’s longer, so maybe harder to park?
 

swathdiver

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Ok... So here we go...

K2 Ride is more car like compared to the other 2... Not squishy 70s caddy either... littler firmer, more planted it seems. all in all very respectable for what it is, mine is air ride so there is a variance there.

K2 handling... Handling and driving characteristics are more car like than I thought they would be, steering is very light and easy to input, the handling is pretty dang nice in the corners, way better than a stock nbs or nnbs that I have found. The parking lot though says different. Feels like parking a longbed pickup in the Subruban ESV, XL category. Don't know why it feels larger... But it Does.. The NNBS had a shutter feel over choppy bumps all in the steering wheel like feedback, this doesnt have it at all... The NBS had a wallow feel in the front end on stock softer shocks, but thats torsion bar vs Strut... All in all steering input and feedback is minimal, you get what you want and when you want it..

Interior, K2 wins for gizmos and gadgets, the leather wrapped interior pieces on the ltz are at or above par with my prior Denali NNBS, but no cracked dash. The menus on the drivers display are a bit cluttered compared to the DIC on the other 2... The screen is very nice though.. Push button start is nice also.... Seats have alot more adjustability in weird ways that the others just never quite hit right... The bolsters do grab you right on this much like the NBS, comfy seat, leather seems decent quality but the seat heaters are lame compared to the butt roasters in the NBS. The trailer brake controller is in a good spot and easy to reach... Heated and cooled seat switches are actually nice right in the middle... Console is better quality than prior models, very firm feeling, not loose etc... The ride is quiter than the prior models, I find myself and the wife actually talking normal on the highway where the others we had to raise the voice a smidge... The 10 speaker Bose is a jamming system for sure, great bass response for a factory system, the soundstage is pretty good all on top of the dash, the width of the soundstage is very narrow though... But thats the former SQ competitor in me talking so lets say for factory its not bad...

Drivetrain.... The new DI version of the beloved 5.3 is not bad, very smooth on transition from 4 to 8 mode.... almost scary they got it that good..... The extra HP from DI is nice, the torque you can feel when your about 1800 and accelerating using torque etc... trans is ok... For some reason there is alot of time between gear changes or maybe I am used to the tuned versions... 6 speed is about the best trans that I know of for ease of driving etc... The lower gears make it have more get up and go, and good highway manner. Max Trailering package is nice also, the 3.42 gears really feel good...The locker works, I found that out yesterday on the wet road, lit up the tires and wasnt trying... Kinda cool.

I cant say enough about the steering being so light and nimble...

Brakes are very on par with the NNBS... Far outshining the NBS... Very good pedal feel, very good at being able to feather the pedal for a ultra smooth stop if you want it...

Where the K2 does not excel is in visibility.... You cant see a damn thing out the rear view mirror, blind spot bigtime in the back right of the truck... and the side mirrors are a joke when it comes to visibility also.. Thankfully I have the Blind spot monitors on my LTZ but I respect those who drive the ones with out those sensors... Backing it into a space using just mirrors you have to take a little extra time to get it in there right... The Kid view mirror in the sunglass holder is nice if you have youngsters...

For My 6'3 Big shoulder self, the seating is nice, shoulder room is deff a little tighter, but surprisingly better than the trucks...Head room is great in here now... I dont have my head .5" from the headliner anymore like I did on the NNBS... THe NBS is about equal on headroom. Legroom though is amazing in this, there is more leg width than I have seen in anything with a console... Seat belts are tons more comfy for a bigger person on this NNBS but close second is the K2 and third is the NBS...

Overall.....

Seems to be well built... The changes vs a NNBS and a K2 are there for sure... Some of the truck build feel is gone though... Still Not bad... I am 5 days into having the truck at my fingers and still figuring a few things out. Parking sensors front and rear are a nice addition also, lane departure warning I had to work at it to make the seat shake... I have yet to try out collision alert....

I was hesitant of going to the K2 platform for a long time... 1 week in and it's not a bad platform at all... The NNBS I think will always have my heart, they have their quirks but still do great in many ways... I will be able to see how good the K2 grows on me... The diminished cargo room in the back with the fold flat is kind of a bummer but thankfully I have a suburban... If you have a Tahoe the folding seats would actually help out a ton more I think... All in all I did buy one so there is deff value there, and its comfortable and I will let you know how good after a good road trip soon. I will be pulling a trailer in 1.5 weeks.

Reason I didn't buy an escalade K2.... My fingers on the radio and ac controls didn't work worth a d@mn... Maybe too much callus or too dry, who knows.... Plus the 8 speed nightmare was something I wanted to not get into... All in all so far pleased with the K2... I still miss some things on both the NNBS and NBS... The one thing I don't miss is the 4l60e... In stock form that trans sucks pretty bad... But that's another discussion.

Hopefully this well help someone else who is on the fence to make a good educated decision on moving up a Model Year.

View attachment 350329
Great review Kev! Let us know if you now find yourself doing 85 mph on the highway like all the K2 owners here in Florida!
 
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Bigkevschopshop

Bigkevschopshop

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Great review Kev! Let us know if you now find yourself doing 85 mph on the highway like all the K2 owners here in Florida!
What is really funny is In the NNBS and K2 I find 80 to be a sweet spot for it... The NBS just feels like you are going faster than these other two... No clue why but maybe the chassis and the way it feels...
 

91RS

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You must have found one of the rare decent 2015s for it to ride better than an NNBS. I wonder if someone has replaced the steering gear bushings to the updated design. The K2 does handle a little better than the NNBS but I've only ever driven a couple that I thought rode decent and still have never driven one I thought rode better than an NNBS that isn't worn out and has good tires on it.
 
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Bigkevschopshop

Bigkevschopshop

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So, the only bad thing I can say over a month in is the cargo height being diminished for the fold flat 3rd row kinda sucks...
and the floor sloping from front to back, be careful cause sometimes the things are piled right by the lift gate, open it up and bam something falls out.

Sometimes the drivers side blind spot monitor goes off for no reason, and I have the flash of the dome lights in the back when hitting brake sometimes, thankfully I have a warranty on this and will get those fixed for sure.

I find myself missing the extra shoulder room in the NNBS sometimes. I do like the headroom for sure thought...

The MPG average is deff nice... Freeway I will average over 20 mpg... Some mixed city driving with minor traffic, 19, heavy city 16... stop and go gridlock, 14... Best I have gotten is 29 to 31 doing 45 mph for extended period of time on a back road.
 
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Bigkevschopshop

Bigkevschopshop

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So, long term review now... Turning 90K miles this weekend.

Interior is still like it was when I bought it. Drivers seat bottom is wearing down and cracking a bit, going to replace that soon. Had t replace the console lid cause it started doing the nutsac look.

Extended warranty paid off, decemeber 2021 the lifters started going, they did lifters, vlom update etc. March 2023 front struts started leaking, got those replaced under warranty.

The appliques on the doors suck, I have found plastic epoxy to be the way to re enforce the stock tabs onto the applique.

Other notable things I have done,
Debadged early on..
Typical oil changes ever 4-5k depending on usage.
Brake pads all around, Wagner ceramics, good bang for the buck pads with no dust. 05/22
Sway bar end links, Moog - 5/22
I did lower it, 2/3 drop, rides and handles better than stock. The corners are down right a blast and fuel mileage picked up..Belltech spindles, Eibach progressive coils, DJM sway bar end links. 4/22
Trans flush from dealer 12/22
I did the transmission thermostat update, runs 145-160 degrees all the time. This should keep the converter in better shape. 11/22
Airaid MIT, just to make the engine bay look cool 1/23
Borla XR1 muffler with flapper delete, a little loud but fun 1/23

Other items on the to do list if she stays.
Catch can.
Rear diff fluid.
Swaybar upgrades.
Wheels and Tires or just Tires on the stock wheels. Thinking NItto 421 tires. 285/45r20 or doing Status wheels in 22 or 24...

Best MPG on freeway is 30 average. Normal average after the drop is 23 mpg at 80 mph, drop it down to 72-75 area and pull 25-28

Still torn with getting an esky, miss my nnbs some days but I all around enjoy driving experience in this. The 18-20 6.2 with 10 speed will be next I think for me but till then I cant complain.

Towing and being lowered has been perfect with the air assist shocks. Tow package and brake control work perfectly. I have hauled numerous cars and trucks now, pulls like a dream, the 3.42 gears is my recommendation for anyone wanting to tow.

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Other highlight photos below... The 30 mpg was freeway driving the whole way... 72 mph average
 

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