Assuming 22's contraints, is waiting for air ride worth the wait?

[BrokerThis]

Seeing as there are several of us waiting on constraints to be lifted, or just not wanting to deal with the dreaded "first remodel year blues" .... he is a question being thrown out to the current owners:


Would you keep waiting until constraints are lifted to fill your order with air ride? Or do you bite the bullet and the magnetic ride control is good enough ?


You would think GM would cut the microchips out of the lower grade vehicles and funnel them to their money maker..... seems silly that a blazer, for example, can still get wireless charging... but that's a discussion for a different thread. Hopefully GM will release more info about restrictions/forecasts in the next couple weeks before they start production.

 

[Fireman591]

Wait for the options you want. Don't settle for a stripped down unit when you are dishing out the kind of money GM is charging for these large vehicles.

 

[Stbentoak]

I would second that, if you can’t order and get what you want in a reasonably timely fashion, start searching regionally and nationwide for incoming stock that might be available. There are still vehicles coming in with supposedly constrained options. Most are sold, but some are not. This is your best chance to get what you want without waiting on an open ended length purchase agreement…..
I have air ride and it simply floats down the road….

 

[kybandy]

The vehicle that my future Yukon will eventually be replacing works fine (knock on wood), and I plan to keep my future Yukon for several years so I'm planning to hold out for the exact vehicle I want--even though that could be many months. If don't have a hard deadline on when you need a new vehicle, then I would wait for exactly what you want. Heck, if I'm waiting until MY2023, maybe I'll get Super Cruise too!

As to air ride specifically, the reviews that I have seen of the Tahoes and Yukons equipped only with the magnetic suspension are overwhelmingly positive. I've also ridden in a relative's 2021 Yukon with magnetic suspection (no air ride). It's a great ride. I personally don't think it's worth the money or the wait. Also keep in mind that if you get the 20" wheels (versus the 22"s) you'll have a smoother ride by virtue of the fact that there's more sidewall on the tires to "give" over bumps.

I think air ride is another one of those gimmicky features that GM adds to get more money from customers (like the power sliding center console and the rear view mirror camera). That's just my two cents anyway!

 

[TrueAt1stLight]

Here is a cut and paste from my original thread about ordering a 2021 Denali:

“Regarding the Adaptive air ride suspension, I test drove one with and one without back to back. A few findings:

When I first drove the Denali without adaptive air suspension I was concerned that it rode every bit as I figured a large SUV would: a bit soft, prone to diving in the curves and overall unrefined compared to my experience driving German SUV’s over the past decade. I just figured that’s what I had to come to grips with in order to have the size and space of the Yukon. Then I drove the adaptive air ride-equipped model and it was literally night and day to me. It rode so much more composed and had a brawny athletic feel to it while braking and taking turns. It literally rode like a big, heavy, solid German SUV and I was blown away by the ride quality.

Regarding ride "feel," I would not say the ride is “softer” with the adaptive air suspension- rather more planted, responsive and athletic. Bumps and jarring pavement imperfections, as well as aggressive steering inputs and abrupt braking didn’t cause it to be unsettled in the least.”

 

[Quark]

These SUVs are tall and heavy which makes them more sensitive to inertial influence in corners and road contours. Air ride helps to offset leaning from those conditions plus it would counteract nose diving and rear squat while braking and accelerating. If these don't concern you then go without air ride it is a personal choice.

 

[SAdude]

As previously mentioned, I've also read that magnetic ride control is a bigger factor in ride quality than air ride. But I'm sure having both can only further improve the ride.

 

[BrokerThis]

I live in metro detroit, and half the roads around here are garbage, which is the main reason I want to go air. Figured I would just keep on waiting like you all mention to get the options I want, since we are talking 80 large at the end of the day. Just seeing if there was any "dissatisfied" owners that thought it might not be worth while after riding on it after a while.

@Stbentoak I always keep my eyes open, but its few n far between when a dealer picks a 2nd row bench seat option for their inventory sales.

 

[Campingfamco]

If you’re planning to do any towing at all yes you want the air suspension. The new gens air suspension is fast and what seems to be powerful. The ability to change heights with the knob is also really useful.

like others said, order it exactly how you want. Be sure to find a dealer with allocation though otherwise you’ll wait forever!

 

[Stbentoak]

Just talked to a friend today that works at a Toyota dealership. He said Toyota stockpiled chips up till this point and kept production up. That has now just ran out and they are cutting production up to 40% product line wide for the foreseeable future. 40%!
He said everything we experienced is 2021 will most likely be in place for all off 2022 at least....