Yukon Denali vs. SLT

[soulsea]

So I'm in the middle of a little trip and I rented a Yukon SLT and I thought I'd give some of my impressions on the differences between my Denali and this truck for anyone who might be considering both versions of the Yukon, a Tahoe, or an Escalade.

- First thing that jumped right me is how quiet the 5.3 is compared to the 6.2. Granted I have deleted the resonator on my Denali, but even with it, the 6.2 is much louder both at idle and whilst driving.

- The 5.3, when stopped with the gear in Drive, is much stiller than the 6.2. You can feel the engine on the seat of your pants in the Denali whereas in the SLT you basically feel nothing ... it is as quiet and still as any sedan.

- Much better mpg in the 5.3, especially when left in 2wd. Drove from Phoenix to Sedona (115 miles) and 75 miles since and I've got about half a tank left.

- The 6.2 is much stronger than the 5.3. I know this seems obvious but it deserves noting that the extra .9 makes a lot more difference than one would think ... it's very noticeable from a stop but the real difference in the power band is when accelerating to pass. Plus the 6.2 down shifts a lot less to hold speed.

- The SLT, although not the lowest trim in the Yukon line, basically comparable to a Tahoe LT, really lacks options. It comes with leather heated seats, bose, and that's about it from a luxury pov. No nav, no sunroof, no auto lift gate, no chrome anywhere, 17" rims, and a strange mix of faux wood and aluminum finishes inside.

Those are my first impressions, obviously the Denali is a lot more expensive, but hopefully this will be of some assistance to those trying to choose between the two.

 

[NathanJax]

I looked at Yukons, Escalades, and Denali's. Ended up with the Yukon SLT for a few reasons.

-Better MPG and quieter just like your first three post.

-Not worried about the power. 5.3 is fine for me.

-The SLT can come with all those options, Nav, sunroof, power lift gate, 20's. Depends on how it was ordered. Mine has power lift and 20's. but i wanted one without nav so I could do my own stereo.

-I agree with the wood. That's why I switched all mine out for the Denali wood.





Overall, I spent about $10,000 less on a SLT over a Denali and swapped out all the luxury stuff like grilles running boards, wood, shifter, etc. for less than $2,500 and I still get good gas mileage.

 

[yates ™]

My SLT has all that shit

 

[SLT Kon-Man]

Mine came with every available option...

 

[edgaranah1]

You should have rented an SLE. Lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[soulsea]

Yup yup ... I'm sure hertz just buys the base versions of pretty much every vehicle they order. I was just mentionining it for anyone looking for those options to expect to pay more for them and noting that they aren't standard.

One last thing I should mention which actually gave me a little piece of mind ... the 5.3 suffers the same symptoms as the 6.2 in regards to bogging down on up shifts. You guys had told me this, but in the back of my mind there was always the worry that there's something wrong with my truck cause it was hard for me to believe that such an expensive vehicle would be configured to operate this way. But both transmissions and engines do it.

BB tune to the rescue!

 

[yates ™]

BB tuning the rental?

 

[soulsea]

BB tuning the rental?

If I was keeping past Friday I'd pretty much have to.

 

[yates ™]

Haha. Adopt me Serge.

 

[07Burb]

Nice comparison I'm sure that's an SLT1 as opposed to an SLT3 or whatever GMC does comparable to LT1,2,3

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Always get the Denali unless you cannot afford to do so. Whenever you sell a car, the only thing people search on is the model, so any extras you add have no effect on resale. On the list, yours will just look more expensive if you try to price in the "extras".

 

[yates ™]

I feel so poor now

 

[felixgun]

It's crazy how much quieter the 5.3L is in my Avy LTZ. When in drive at a red light I sometimes think/feel that the engine is off whereas in the Esky 6.2L I can always feel the constant rumble. Although the gas mileage is worse in the 6.2L I feel that it's worth every penny.

 

[NathanJax]

Always get the Denali unless you cannot afford to do so. Whenever you sell a car, the only thing people search on is the model, so any extras you add have no effect on resale. On the list, yours will just look more expensive if you try to price in the "extras".

Unless your not worried about resale to a specific group of people and you get a vehicle because you like it and want to own it...


I buy vehicles because I like them, not for their resale value.

 

[soulsea]

Given the ease which our trucks can be modified I can easily see why one would choose an SLT over a Denali. Pretty much everything but the engine/trans can be made to look exactly how one wants it.

Getting a Denali as a dd involves the commitment to dealing with ever rising gas prices ... If you live in the city you're basically adding a second car payment to pay for gas.

I love mine, plus I wanted to experience these engines before they get faded out, which they inevitably will ... but after driving the SLT I can also appreciate the ability to start modding from a much blanker canvas. Plus it's not like the 5.3 is weak ... it is actually a lot more reasonable to save $100-$200 a month in gas and put it in the mod fund.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Unless your not worried about resale to a specific group of people and you get a vehicle because you like it and want to own it...


I buy vehicles because I like them, not for their resale value.

Eventually you will sell it. Unless you wait until the remaining life is essentially zero, the add-ons will always fully depreciate.

 

[Denali0229]

I hope the new body styles come equipped with a 5.3L with no option to upgrade to a 6.2L for the sake of my bank account. Because I know when it does come out, I will be very tempted to trade mine in unless they do something like I just mentioned. If that's the case, i'll be happy with my then older body style but much bigger and powerful engine LOL. Unless they come out with a crazy DIC that will trump the smaller engine. Why can't they just keep one body style for like ten years? I guess they got to keep you on your toes to pull in those huge profits and pay their executives.

 

[NathanJax]

Eventually you will sell it. Unless you wait until the remaining life is essentially zero, the add-ons will always fully depreciate.

I had 4 cars last year (Escalade, regular Trailblazer, Trailblazer SS, and an STS. It's not the getting rid of I care about. it's buying what I want. I can take every upgraded piece of my vehicle off and get 90% to 150% of what I paid for it.


I'm just saying when some people go to buy a car, the last thing on their mind is re-sale value. They care about the options they want, and not the best, highest priced, highest optioned, highest re-sale valued vehicle.

 

[yates ™]

I looked at Denali's and there wasn't enough there to justify the price difference.

 

[iwaslowr]

...I'm just saying when some people go to buy a car, the last thing on their mind is re-sale value. They care about the options they want, and not the best, highest priced, highest optioned, highest re-sale valued vehicle.

I couldn't have said it any better.

I looked at Denali's and there wasn't enough there to justify the price difference.

x2.

One thing that made the SLT more appealing to my wife and I was the greater variety of interior colors. I can appreciate exclusive options however paying more should result in additional choices beyond that which is offered on lower tiered models, not less.