Been lurking this forum weekly since last year when I took up an account to ask ‘should I buy a 2021 Yukon XL’ and the kind people responded that I should wait.. However, you know what they say about a happy wife..
In reality our family needed a bigger rig. 3 kids and a dog were not cutting it in the Acaida we had. For years the Yukon XL was our dream ride, and the refresh model was so attractive looking we ended up pulling the trigger on one. In April 2021 we paid MSRP for the AT4 to be my wife's daily driver. This was purchased to be a true soccer mom whip.
What we got was a 2021 Yukon XL AT4 with the ‘premium package’ finished in onyx black. This truck is the 7 seat configuration. Like all ’21 AT4s this truck has the GM 5.3 L84 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) and the 10 speed GM Hydra-Matic Automatic Transmission. The build date stamped on the truck was 3/2021. There were no missing components on the window sticker and no factory credits.
PROs:
Looks amazing. Best looking rigs on the road right now in my opinion – which is worthless – but wow do you feel good driving it. The 5.3 matted to the 10 speed has never left me looking for more power. The transmission is amazingly smooth. It picks up and goes at highway speeds with no issues. The RSE has been incredible. It makes long rides a breeze with young kids. The seats are comfortable as can be for long rides. The Magnetic Ride Control makes you feel like you are driving on a cloud. This truck is smooth as possible on the highway and eats up back country roads that make my Silverado feel like a washboard. There is ample room for other people to ride. We have fit 2 adults along with 3 car seats in the back with no complaints. HD surround vision has been so cool. Never have to worry when parking. I’ve stuffed this thing in some tight spots in parking garages that would have been closer to impossible without the technology.
CONs.
DFM – annoying. Wife says she cant tell the difference.. so people like her may not care.. I am here to tell you.. you can feel the difference when the truck is deactivating cylinders. There is a subtle feel the truck gives when DFM is activated. The old Acadia had Active Fuel Management (AFM) which would show you when the car was in v4 or v6 mode. The DFM does not tell you on the dash when it is working or what it is doing. I called Range Technologies however they do not offer the DFM delete for the SUVs, only the pickups. The auto stop is annoying. It is too quick to judge, leaving your truck going on and off fast at stop signs or intersections where your intention is not to fully ‘stop’ and wait. This can easily be turned on and off but you must do it each trip you take. I do use it when I know there is a long stop light though, because the last con is the gas mileage. I knew what I signed up for when getting this rig, but none the less, the gas mileage is not good. I have not once measured it properly but the dashboard reading leaves you feeling lousy about it if you are brave enough to look.
SERVICE:
I feel lucky and fortunate that this thing has treated my family exactly how I hoped she would. We have had 2 oil changes done, swapped the winter tires on and off, and had a mandatory recall for the airbag software. Only other issue we had was I removed the SD card for the navigation, not knowing what it was, which did create an issue. We had to get it diagnosed and then bring it back when they got the new SD card. Other than that, which was user error, we have been thrilled with this truck. I am looking forward to and hopeful for many more years with this truck just like the one we had.
We put over 13k miles in year 1 on this beauty. I wanted to give an honest review and update on our ownership experience on this new rig and show off some pictures. There have been people with issues who I feel for. I hope they all get resolved and made whole. The forum, like any, tends to focus on the negatives. I hope my positive experience can help someone who may be on the fence. This truck is amazing and I would buy it all over again if I could. Here are some pictures I took over the course of the year. I had to add a pic of it dirty too..
In reality our family needed a bigger rig. 3 kids and a dog were not cutting it in the Acaida we had. For years the Yukon XL was our dream ride, and the refresh model was so attractive looking we ended up pulling the trigger on one. In April 2021 we paid MSRP for the AT4 to be my wife's daily driver. This was purchased to be a true soccer mom whip.
What we got was a 2021 Yukon XL AT4 with the ‘premium package’ finished in onyx black. This truck is the 7 seat configuration. Like all ’21 AT4s this truck has the GM 5.3 L84 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) and the 10 speed GM Hydra-Matic Automatic Transmission. The build date stamped on the truck was 3/2021. There were no missing components on the window sticker and no factory credits.
PROs:
Looks amazing. Best looking rigs on the road right now in my opinion – which is worthless – but wow do you feel good driving it. The 5.3 matted to the 10 speed has never left me looking for more power. The transmission is amazingly smooth. It picks up and goes at highway speeds with no issues. The RSE has been incredible. It makes long rides a breeze with young kids. The seats are comfortable as can be for long rides. The Magnetic Ride Control makes you feel like you are driving on a cloud. This truck is smooth as possible on the highway and eats up back country roads that make my Silverado feel like a washboard. There is ample room for other people to ride. We have fit 2 adults along with 3 car seats in the back with no complaints. HD surround vision has been so cool. Never have to worry when parking. I’ve stuffed this thing in some tight spots in parking garages that would have been closer to impossible without the technology.
CONs.
DFM – annoying. Wife says she cant tell the difference.. so people like her may not care.. I am here to tell you.. you can feel the difference when the truck is deactivating cylinders. There is a subtle feel the truck gives when DFM is activated. The old Acadia had Active Fuel Management (AFM) which would show you when the car was in v4 or v6 mode. The DFM does not tell you on the dash when it is working or what it is doing. I called Range Technologies however they do not offer the DFM delete for the SUVs, only the pickups. The auto stop is annoying. It is too quick to judge, leaving your truck going on and off fast at stop signs or intersections where your intention is not to fully ‘stop’ and wait. This can easily be turned on and off but you must do it each trip you take. I do use it when I know there is a long stop light though, because the last con is the gas mileage. I knew what I signed up for when getting this rig, but none the less, the gas mileage is not good. I have not once measured it properly but the dashboard reading leaves you feeling lousy about it if you are brave enough to look.
SERVICE:
I feel lucky and fortunate that this thing has treated my family exactly how I hoped she would. We have had 2 oil changes done, swapped the winter tires on and off, and had a mandatory recall for the airbag software. Only other issue we had was I removed the SD card for the navigation, not knowing what it was, which did create an issue. We had to get it diagnosed and then bring it back when they got the new SD card. Other than that, which was user error, we have been thrilled with this truck. I am looking forward to and hopeful for many more years with this truck just like the one we had.
We put over 13k miles in year 1 on this beauty. I wanted to give an honest review and update on our ownership experience on this new rig and show off some pictures. There have been people with issues who I feel for. I hope they all get resolved and made whole. The forum, like any, tends to focus on the negatives. I hope my positive experience can help someone who may be on the fence. This truck is amazing and I would buy it all over again if I could. Here are some pictures I took over the course of the year. I had to add a pic of it dirty too..
