When One Trip Has to Be Enough: The Yukon XL and 144 Cubic Feet

The XL measures 225.2 inches in total length compared to the Yukon's 210.1 and provides a maximum cargo space of 144.5 cubic feet. The engines, the trims, and the technology are all the same. The only differences are in the length, the cargo space, the room in the third row, the fuel tank, and a small part of the tow rating.

A certain kind of frustration arises when one has to make two trips.

You carefully loaded the SUV. In it you took the dorm fridge, the mattress topper, three bins and the desk lamp. Then you're standing in the driveway with a duffel bag, a floor lamp and a bike and you're working out the figures for driving back.

Or it could be the lumber yard, or hockey season, since the equipment alone takes up the space left over by the passengers. The Yukon XL is intended for those who have experienced that moment so many times that they no longer find it amusing.

The number that actually matters

144.5 cubic feet is a number that has been commonly used. This is the maximum volume that is achieved when the second and third rows of seats are folded. The 144.5 cubic feet is a real number.

You never drive around having your seats folded; instead, you drive around with people sitting in them.

Here then is the more useful comparison: when all three rows are in position and occupied, the Yukon XL has 41.5 cubic feet behind the third row, whereas the standard Yukon has 25.5. The difference of about 16 cubic feet is the entire point of the argument.

A trunk with a capacity of twenty-five cubic feet is decent. Forty-one cubic feet would be enough luggage for six people for a week, or would be the amount you'd need for a trip to Costco that you didn't have to plan around, or the volume of the hockey bags with space still left over for the sticks.

The full set of numbers:

Behind the third row: in the XL the figure is 41.5 cu ft and in the Yukon it is 25.5 cu ft.

Behind the second row: the figures are 93.6 and 72.5.

When all the rows are folded the maximum is 144.5 as compared with 122.8.

The legroom in the third row is 36.7 inches compared to 34.9 inches.

The final point is worth looking at; under two inches seems like nothing at all, for it's the difference between a third row that your teenager is willing to put up with on the way to Waterbury and one that an adult can sit in when traveling from Torrington to Boston without making a complaint.

What stays the same

The XL isn't a different vehicle; it is the same vehicle, but extended in length.

Both body styles get the same three engines paired to the same 10-speed automatic:

The 5.3-liter V8 produces 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque and is fitted as standard on the Elevation and AT4 models.

The 6.2-liter V8 produces 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque and is fitted as standard on the Denali model and is available on the AT4. As to which engine is standard on the two Ultimate trims, different sources give conflicting information, so it is necessary to check with the specific vehicle. General Motors recommends premium fuel for it.

The 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel engine produces 305 horsepower and 495 lb-ft of torque and is offered on all trims with ratings of about 21 in the city and 26 on the highway.

The same five trims are available: Elevation, AT4, AT4 Ultimate, Denali, and Denali Ultimate. If a listing refers to SLE or SLT, then it is giving old information since those names have been withdrawn.

The seating arrangement is identical in both cases. The Elevation and the AT4 have eight seats with a bench in the second row; the AT4 Ultimate, the Denali and the Denali Ultimate have only seven seats since the higher trims include second-row captain's chairs. The more upscale the interior, the smaller the number of people the vehicle carries.

The same features are included without any changes: a 16.8-inch touchscreen with Google built in, an 11-inch digital driver display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; Super Cruise is standard on the AT4 Ultimate and Denali Ultimate and is available on the other models as well, including the Elevation.

What is actually different, beyond the obvious

That is where I would like to put the correction of something which is often repeated.

The main differences relate to length, cargo space and legroom; they are not the only ones.

The fuel tank in the XL is larger since it has a capacity of 28 gallons as compared to the Yukon's 24 gallons. Together with the Duramax engine this gives a range of about 640 miles at the combined rating and even more if you're driving on the highway all day; that's enough to get you from Torrington to Detroit on a single tank.

The towing capacity is slightly lower. Since the XL model is longer and heavier, when compared to the standard Yukon it has a rating that is about 200 pounds less. When properly fitted with the 5.3L engine, rear-wheel drive and the Max Trailering Package, the XL reaches a weight of around 8,200 pounds. The 8,400 figure that is often quoted refers to the shorter Yukon, not this model.

With four-wheel drive the figures decrease even more: they are approximately 7,500 with the 5.3L, 7,300 with the 6.2L and 7,700 with the diesel, and increase to about 8,000, 7,800 and 7,700 respectively when the Max Trailering Package is added. Check the figure against the particular vehicle you are considering because it varies depending on the configuration.

In some four-wheel-drive configurations fuel economy drops by around a mile per gallon due to the extra weight, while in the case of rear-wheel drive the figures are the same.

It is more expensive; you can expect to pay about $2,500 to $3,000 more than you would for the equivalent standard Yukon trim. The price of the XL Elevation is about $72,200, and this amount comes before the additional destination charge of $2,795.

This should not lead you to abandon the XL size, but a salesperson who says the two are the same except for length is ignoring four actual differences.

Measure your garage before you fall in love

This is the part that I want a friend to go over with me.

The Yukon XL is 225.2 inches long, that is to say 18 feet 9 inches. As a standard garage bay for two cars is roughly 20 feet, or 240 inches, there is about 15 inches of space from the front to the back.

Fifteen inches would be sufficient provided the garage had been built to that specification. In many of the houses in Litchfield County it wasn't. In the area older homes generally had garages designed to hold the cars that were available back then, and a bay built decades ago could very well be less than twenty feet long. The XL will not fit in such garages and in certain cases the standard Yukon will not fit either.

Then measure it. When you're thinking of going shopping, get a tape measure and measure the distance from the wall to the closed door inside your garage. As a general rule, leave yourself nearly a foot of space beyond the 225.2 inches that the vehicle occupies. If your garage doesn't have that much room, then consider going for the standard Yukon or else switch to a completely different vehicle since it'd be a bad idea to find out like that after you've already received the car.

Another point to think about is your daily commute, involving parking at the office and your journey to the bank by way of the drive-through. Even though the XL is not hard to drive, it does have 15 inches of extra length which you'll notice in tight spaces.

Who should skip it

If you only find it necessary to put the third row up twice each year, the standard model of the Yukon already offers an impressive 122.8 cubic feet of interior space when the seats are in the down position. There is no point in paying extra money for a feature that you won't use very frequently. Additionally, you will lose the handling advantages of your vehicle on a day-to-day basis.

If you make frequent use of all three rows of seats and also need the extra storage space behind them, then the XL earns its money and this is the option you should choose. But if that does not apply to you, then you are better off going for the smaller one and simply enjoy parking.

Where to look at both

The Northwest Hills GMC, located on East Main Street in Torrington, has the Yukon model. If you telephone in advance, ask that they have both body styles ready for you when you arrive; it is much more effective than any specification sheet to see the two cars parked side by side since 15 inches sounds like a rounding error in writing but makes a great difference when you look at them.

Take the measurement from your garage with you. Fill the third row with actual people and have yourself sit in that row too. Also, while you're there find out about the diesel option since it is available throughout the range and is the model most appropriate for anyone who is driving a fully loaded vehicle over long highway journeys, as this is precisely the type of customer the XL is meant for.

144 cubic feet is the headline, and the reason for buying is the 41 cubic feet that is available behind the full third row.

Work out what number corresponds to your life, measure the garage, and then go and have a look at both of them.