2024 Yukon Denali Diesel impressions

[Dolph]

I’m about 20,000 miles into the experience with this Yukon Denali - I wanted to share what I’ve found -

First, the radio is awful. No HD, and no plans to fix it.

Second, they moved the grab handle to a place that’s horribly inconvenient, above the front seats.

The ten speed transmission is indecisive, hunting its way to something that delivers mediocre performance.

The Car Play implementation is good, but it will sporadically drop the connection all together.

The diesel is really good.

SuperCruise is meh (it does not hold a candle to BlueCruise)

Overall, it’s a mediocre at best vehicle at a premium price tag.

If Ford really introduces a new Excursion, I’ll trade this piece of excrement in a heartbeat.

Overall, an awful experience. Good dealer. Great service department. Bad GM.

 

[JayceeP]

I have a 2024 XL SLT diesel.

I agree, ford’s tech is better. My 2024 F150 Lariat has blue cruise but even without that, its lane keeping/centering technology is far superior.

I love my Yukon, but in addition to the above:
-driver seat position is awkward
-steering wheel is small and doesn’t come out far enough
-infotainment interface is kinda weird and a bit dated
-the temperature dial doesn’t do half degree changes so going from 22C to 23C is a noticeable temperature difference and I’m always having to switch the temperature back and forth. 22.5C would probably be the setting I’d default to
-fog lights always have to be manually turned on when the headlights turn automatically. I don’t ever remembering having to do this on any car that I’ve owned in the last 15 years. Why can’t the fog lights just stay on when headlights are on?
-no auto high beams
-no heated windshield
-no HUD
-no power adjustable pedals

My F150 Lariat has all of the above (even my 2021 did except HUD).

The Yukon is a beautiful looking truck. Not sure I’d be prepared to bail on it just yet but the interior and tech definitely doesn’t match up to the price tag.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Have a hard time believing that Blue Cruise is better than Super Cruise. First time hearing someone say this. Most of the complaints sound like nitpicking. Compared to our previous ‘20 Expedition, our ‘22 Denali is heaps better. Better infotainment, better transmission programming, nicer interior etc. I get that for MY22, they got updated but each their own.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I have a 2024 XL SLT diesel.

I agree, ford’s tech is better. My 2024 F150 Lariat has blue cruise but even without that, its lane keeping/centering technology is far superior.

I love my Yukon, but in addition to the above:
-driver seat position is awkward
-steering wheel is small and doesn’t come out far enough
-infotainment interface is kinda weird and a bit dated
-the temperature dial doesn’t do half degree changes so going from 22C to 23C is a noticeable temperature difference and I’m always having to switch the temperature back and forth. 22.5C would probably be the setting I’d default to
-fog lights always have to be manually turned on when the headlights turn automatically. I don’t ever remembering having to do this on any car that I’ve owned in the last 15 years. Why can’t the fog lights just stay on when headlights are on?
-no auto high beams
-no heated windshield
-no HUD
-no power adjustable pedals

My F150 Lariat has all of the above (even my 2021 did except HUD).

The Yukon is a beautiful looking truck. Not sure I’d be prepared to bail on it just yet but the interior and tech definitely doesn’t match up to the price tag.

The XLT trim has Intellibeam Auto High Beams, see here or your owners manual for how to enable.

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[Joseph Garcia]

I’m about 20,000 miles into the experience with this Yukon Denali - I wanted to share what I’ve found -

First, the radio is awful. No HD, and no plans to fix it.

Second, they moved the grab handle to a place that’s horribly inconvenient, above the front seats.

The ten speed transmission is indecisive, hunting its way to something that delivers mediocre performance.

The Car Play implementation is good, but it will sporadically drop the connection all together.

The diesel is really good.

SuperCruise is meh (it does not hold a candle to BlueCruise)

Overall, it’s a mediocre at best vehicle at a premium price tag.

If Ford really introduces a new Excursion, I’ll trade this piece of excrement in a heartbeat.

Overall, an awful experience. Good dealer. Great service department. Bad GM.

Thank you for taking time to post your opinion on your truck after 20,000 miles of driving experience. Much appreciated.

 

[Sean Michael]

The transmission complaint stands out to me. I really like the current 10-speed, especially compared to my previous Tahoes that had 4 and 6-speed transmissions. Maybe it's a gas vs diesel thing, or maybe the learning function on your example got wonky, but I think the 10-speeds shift great. Besides, the 10-speed was co-developed with Ford, so if you switch to a full-size Ford you're still going to have basically the same transmission anyways.

Btw, don't get me started on the new Google infotainment system in these vehicles. Frustrating is putting it mildly. Dang thing is glitchy, slow, and I've had that no-volume issue others have reported. The infotainment is my biggest complaint with my Tahoe.

 

[StephenPT]

The 10-speed and diesel are a perfect pair. I've noticed zero issues with the transmission hunting for a gear. The diesel has sooo much low end torque that it rarely needs to downshift. It gets to 10th gear by about 60mph and then almost never downshifts - unless coming to a stop or going over a mountain pass.

 

[JayceeP]

The transmission complaint stands out to me. I really like the current 10-speed, especially compared to my previous Tahoes that had 4 and 6-speed transmissions. Maybe it's a gas vs diesel thing, or maybe the learning function on your example got wonky, but I think the 10-speeds shift great. Besides, the 10-speed was co-developed with Ford, so if you switch to a full-size Ford you're still going to have basically the same transmission anyways.

Btw, don't get me started on the new Google infotainment system in these vehicles. Frustrating is putting it mildly. Dang thing is glitchy, slow, and I've had that no-volume issue others have reported. The infotainment is my biggest complaint with my Tahoe.

Agreed on the transmission. No issues with mine.

 

[JayceeP]

The 10-speed and diesel are a perfect pair. I've noticed zero issues with the transmission hunting for a gear. The diesel has sooo much low end torque that it rarely needs to downshift. It gets to 10th gear by about 60mph and then almost never downshifts - unless coming to a stop or going over a mountain pass.

Yeah it’s crazy. Only thing I can complain about is highway passing… but that’s really only an issue on single lane highways.

 

[pa31p]

I’ll never be able to compare to Ford. never owned one never will. the looks, the layout, the infotainment, all one big turnoff to me. But …agree on Denali door handle for passenger side. to remove it on high end trim makes no sense.

My SLT Duramax has been flawless but then again, just at 10K miles