I own a ‘22 Yukon XL SLE with front bench and Duramax. It is the ultimate rig for my family (5 kids).
The front bench is awesome. It still gives you storage, but when you need the extra seat it’s available. We’ve gone places with my in-laws and have comfortably seated all 9 of us. When we use it, my 11yo daughter will sit there and it’s good seating ergonomics for her. Full grown adults not so much, but that’s OK.
I agree with you on the desire for simple and not needing all the luxury. These SLEs still have everything a person needs and save you ~$15K-20K off a Denali.
The Duramax is a fuel miser on the highway. On most of our 2hr+ road trips we are seeing 32-33mpg on the drive summary.
+1 from a Suburban LS duramax with front bench owner with 4 kids
After owning ours for almost a year I’m convinced the duramax is hands down the best engine for this rig. And fuel economy not even being the biggest draw IMO (although it’s always nice to see 24mpg combined and 30+ on highway trips). It just fits the character of this house on wheels so well with its torque delivery in low rpms. It’s much more engaging to drive, especially compared to the 5.3 that constantly needs to be revved to get it going. The way the 3.0 delivers power is perfect for this truck IMO. It’s zippy around town and can comfortably cruise up to 80-90mph. Sure it quickly runs out of oomph thereafter but like you said, you don’t get a suburban/Yukon for drag racing. IMO it should really be the base engine over the old lazy dog that is the 5.3. And even compared to the 6.2 it has many benefits that I would take over either one any time. And I say this is an initial (diesel) sceptic.
In terms of base model, it was obvious choice as it’s the only way to get 9 seater version (although there’s an awesome thread here of a member who converted an 8 seat RST into 9 seater himself and is planning to do same with his SLT).
Moreover, I also couldn't justify coughing up close to 100k on a GM product. Although there’s nothing that directly competes with the size and capability of a BOF Yukon/suburban/Escalade, with the upper trims you’re entering X7/GLS territory which are way more refined and honestly on another level altogether. The LT-SLT may be the sweet spot for value with some options (like our LS doesn’t have a power tailgate on a 60k+ vehicle.. really GM?). I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to live with the stripper model, but in the end, I actually do find myself enjoying the utilitarian character of a “base model”.
The only thing I miss having besides a power tailgate would be leather seats , which there are plenty of aftermarket options for and I plan to install at some point. I didn’t realize how staticky the cloth seats make me every time I get in/out of the seat. Even the base audio system actually sounds decent, which can be upgraded aftermarket also.
