Yukon Hybrid has room, power and better mileage

• By STEVE WHEELER
• Advocate Wheels editor
• Published: May 22, 2009

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General Motors has determined that some people still need large passenger vehicles. Try towing your 6,000-pound boat or loading up the softball team in a Prius.

And just like the people who drive the iconic Japanese hybrid, the people who need large passenger vehicles wouldn’t mind getting better mileage from them.

That’s why GM makes trucks and SUVs in hybrid versions. Like the GMC Yukon Hybrid, which gets as much as 50 percent better mileage than a regular Yukon in city driving.

Because it’s a 2-mode (full) hybrid, the Yukon Hybrid can move itself on battery power alone.

During my test week with the Yukon Hybrid, I managed to gently accelerate the big SUV to almost 20 miles per hour before the 6.0-liter V-8 engine came to life.

GM says you should be able to get to nearly 30 mph, but three factors influence how fast you can go on battery power alone: how hard you press on the accelerator, the state of charge in the battery system, and the requirements of the climate control system.

I guess I like it cold in the car.

If you ask me, it’s amazing that any battery can push this eight-passenger, 5,617-pound vehicle at all. The battery is recharged by regenerative braking.

At stop lights and in stop-and-go traffic, the big engine turns off. That’s one of the main reasons the vehicle gets 21 miles per gallon in city driving. And with GM’s Active Fuel Management system, the engine can operate under light loads with only four of its eight cylinders. But when you need the power, the 332 horses under the hood can create 367 lb.-ft. of torque, and they can do it with regular unleaded gasoline. On the highway, the Yukon Hybrid gets 22 mpg and can tow up to 6,200 lbs.

I found the Yukon Hybrid surprisingly agile, with a turning circle of just over 39 feet. The room inside is unmistakable: 41.3 inches of legroom in front, 40.5 inches in the second row and 25.4 inches in back. The second and third row seats are among the easiest to fold and move that I’ve seen in large SUVs, and even my diminutive wife managed them effortlessly.

Interior spaces are also quite comfortable. The power leather seats adjust six ways, there are three zones of climate control, power everything, navigation, a rearview camera system, Bluetooth, Bose premium sound, XM Satellite Radio, automatic headlights and power mirrors.

Assembled next door in Texas, the Yukon Hybrid is a terrific road machine, ideal for hauling the family to Florida for summer vacation.

Government safety tests resulted in five out of five stars in frontal and side crashes for all passengers, but only three stars in the risk of rollovers. Take a curve too fast, and you’ll see why. Body roll is noticeable.