2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid 4×4 Review

Mike Solowiow
by Mike Solowiow
2008 gmc yukon hybrid 4 215 4 review

Let's get something out of the way right now: the Yukon Hybrid is over-priced. Our tester stickered at $56k. At that price point, GM's gas – electric SUV competes against BMW's enlarged X5, Audi's Q7 carcoon and Lexus' golf club friendly RX 400h (to name a few). Hybrid or no, the GMC Yukon's not exactly what you'd call an upmarket machine. If The General had taken the hit and offered the Yukon Hybrid for the same price or less than its gasoline equivalent, it would be a far more compelling proposition. But they didn't. So let's press on.

Aesthetically, the Yukon Hybrid is about as bashful as a drunken sorority girl at Panama City Beach Spring Break. The big rig's plastered with no fewer than nine proclamations that it possess a gas-electric drivetrain, including three-foot-long "Hybrid" stickers along its mighty flanks. Custom side skirts, a rear spoiler and good-looking low-weight 18-inch wheels add more not-so-subtle style (and mpgs) to the equation.

Other than that, it's a Yukon: big, bland and boxy. OK, the SUV's creases were sharpened pre-Hurricane Katrina, but the Yukon's looks still aren't going to blow anyone away.

To drop the Yukon Hybrid's aerodynamic Cd from .39 to .34, GM re-softened those sharpened creases with a slightly reshaped hood and rear hatch, and lost the roof rack. Although the new hood and hatch are fashioned from aluminum, the Yukon Hybrid's batteries and electric motor make it heavier than the standard model. The Yukon Hybrid's heft rises from either 5270 to 5541 lbs., or from 5438 to 5617 lbs., depending on whether you believe GM PR or the GMC website.

GM's new truck interiors may be far better than anything they've ever offered, boasting attractive chrome accents and a real woven headliner. But at $51k (base), the Yukon Hybrid's interior feels cheaper than a Las Vegas motel on a Tuesday afternoon. Fake wood and aluminum abound. Vinyl that tries (and fails) to look like leather stretches across the ample dashboard. The seats are flat and unsupportive, and the optional third row seat is

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 82 comments
  • Jstnspin82 Jstnspin82 on Nov 24, 2008

    This is what happens when engineering goes down the drain. Either costs are cut and the engineers are limited to what they can or can't do so they don't waste time trying and therefore poorly engineered vehicles are marketed and sales go down because for the same price as this piece of crap you can buy a finely engineered BMW X5, AUdi Q7, Toyota Sequoia, or a Lexus RX 400h. Then GM has the intelligence to hybrid such a heavy gas guzzling SUV. They engineered the Escalade to so you can be cool and think you are saving the planet to. What's next for GM, are they going to hybrid a Tank?

  • Jstnspin82 Jstnspin82 on Nov 24, 2008

    What is GM's next move, are they going to Hybrid a tank and sell it to the Army?

  • Analoggrotto I'd try to smash a can of tuna and some crackers with some fruit to avoid the sugar, cholesterol, refined starch and other crap in fast and packaged foods. Otherwise, Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich without mayo is good.
  • TheEndlessEnigma The tires are worth more than than rest of the car. IT's also a Michigan car, probably has unreported frame rust problems.
  • TheEndlessEnigma Fiesta ST, I have a 2016, I'd love to grab the newest spec 2023.
  • Redapple2 Jimny - obviously.
  • ToolGuy Something like this.
Next