Help with new vehicle for business & personal

[Skiim]

Yukon, Tahoe, Escalade. Okay first off I'll let you know that I don't know the detailed differences between these vehicles. I'm hoping you guys will be able to steer me in the right direction.

I'm 27 and I am a safety man on rigsites in Alberta. The company I work for uses Yukon XL's. We have to fit a bastket stretcher in the back, and the XL has about 1 foot of extra room. I am hoping I will be able to fit it in a normal sized Yuk/Hoe/Esc. Travelling to rigsites means I will be using the vehicle to travel a lot of hiway miles, but once I'm there it stays put for a week or 2 before I goto the next site. Also some of the roads will be rough and sloppy, so 4WD or AWD is a must (which is better?), and the back seats need to turn down.

This will also be my personal vehicle, which means I want it to be nice. I will likely have a set of summer/days off wheels/rims, and would like cool options (first new vehicle I'm not sure what the new options even are!).

Can you guys tell me what you think I should look at, and the differences? I may need to buy this month so I really appreciate your input.

 

[zach2011]

AWD works better in some situations, whereas 4WD will work better in others. No matter which vehicle you pick, all 3rd row seats will fold the same way. Or can be removed.

Difference between a Tahoe and a Yukon is nothing besides looks, it just depends on which style you prefer more. Escalades have some upgrades and are nicer, but Yukon Denali's are also a step up and a lot less than an Escalade.

Both the Denali and Escalade feature leather-wrapped door panels, higher grade (smoother/softer) leather seating, darker woodgrain, woodgrain (optional heated) steering wheel, 6.2L engine, and...that is about it.

As for Escalade-specific upgrades (in addition to above), you get a noticeably bigger navigation system with a few more features, 5.1 Bose surround sound with more speakers than standard Bose, white interior lighting (as opposed to green), HID headlight system, and LED tail lights.

 

[stevek]

Yukon, Tahoe, Escalade. Okay first off I'll let you know that I don't know the detailed differences between these vehicles. I'm hoping you guys will be able to steer me in the right direction.

I'm 27 and I am a safety man on rigsites in Alberta. The company I work for uses Yukon XL's. We have to fit a bastket stretcher in the back, and the XL has about 1 foot of extra room. I am hoping I will be able to fit it in a normal sized Yuk/Hoe/Esc. Travelling to rigsites means I will be using the vehicle to travel a lot of hiway miles, but once I'm there it stays put for a week or 2 before I goto the next site. Also some of the roads will be rough and sloppy, so 4WD or AWD is a must (which is better?), and the back seats need to turn down.

This will also be my personal vehicle, which means I want it to be nice. I will likely have a set of summer/days off wheels/rims, and would like cool options (first new vehicle I'm not sure what the new options even are!).

Can you guys tell me what you think I should look at, and the differences? I may need to buy this month so I really appreciate your input.

Well I would never want to bring an Escalade into I'm sure some muddy and dirty situations. Plus the insurance on Escalades are insane. If you go a lot of highway miles and don't need the extra horsepower, stick with the 5.3L included on the Tahoe or Yukon.

I recommend getting the engine block heater because it sounds like this car will be getting pretty chilly in the winter. Also I would definitely add a red top Optima battery right from the start. These provide a LOT of cold crank amps (CCA). Normal batteries when they get very cold, don't provide as much instant power needed to start the car (if you can get your car to start). You probably would appreciate the heated seats and steering wheel included in the cold weather package, and also air conditioned seats are available.

 

[zach2011]

Can heated steering wheel be an option without having to go Denali or Escalade? I thought you couldn't but I'm not aware of the current packages. At least for my year model, there were no heated steering wheel options for standard Tahoes or Yukons...but it is a somewhat easy swap.

 

[stevek]

Can heated steering wheel be an option without having to go Denali or Escalade? I thought you couldn't but I'm not aware of the current packages. At least for my year model, there were no heated steering wheel options for standard Tahoes or Yukons...but it is a somewhat easy swap.

Yeah just kidding. The steering wheel heater is nice though. Definitely worth the swap. Opening the windows in the (Dallas) winter (40s) with the heater on high, seat heater, steering wheel heater, got the music on... can't be beat.

 

[zach2011]

Sounds nice! I like the heated steering on my mom's Escalade, it's made me debate on buying a new steering wheel and doing the install. But I'm looking out for one with power telescopic adjust and see if that works on mine. Plus it has to be a Denali one because I have Denali woodgrain.

 

[Skiim]

Awesome! This is the help I was hoping for thanks guys.

So I am going to go with a Yukon or Tahoe, +engine block heater, +red top Optima battery, +heated seats/steering wheel. I don't know whether to go with normal, Denali, or possibly a hybrid? I am all for adding details here and there and dropping some coin as I go once I own the vehicle, so maybe I should go with a standard model and customize from there? But then again I don't want to miss certain things like the woodgrain details and what not, and am not sure if once I include the cold weather options I may as well just have gone the denali route.

Feel free to discuss, I have a week before I am on days off and able to go look at the models myself.

 

[stevek]

Awesome! This is the help I was hoping for thanks guys.

So I am going to go with a Yukon or Tahoe, +engine block heater, +red top Optima battery, +heated seats/steering wheel. I don't know whether to go with normal, Denali, or possibly a hybrid? I am all for adding details here and there and dropping some coin as I go once I own the vehicle, so maybe I should go with a standard model and customize from there? But then again I don't want to miss certain things like the woodgrain details and what not, and am not sure if once I include the cold weather options I may as well just have gone the denali route.

Feel free to discuss, I have a week before I am on days off and able to go look at the models myself.

I have the Denali and there aren't many mods I have a desire to do, it's almost perfect for me. To be honest, look at a used one with <10k. I got mine with 5.5k for a great deal, was only 6 months old so I still have a long time on my warranty

 

[zach2011]

I would go with the Denali, it's got almost all Escalade upgrades but for a lot less. Not every Denali has the heated steering wheel though, it isn't standard, so you'd have to check the ones you look at or ask to make sure they have it. If not, it can be added, and there is a very detailed thread on another forum for how to do it, with pics for every step.

The standard Yukon/Tahoe woodgrain is very orange, I do not care for it at all. The Denali woodgrain is a deep brown, it looks so much better in my opinion.

 

[Denali132]

I would go with the Denali, it's got almost all Escalade upgrades but for a lot less. Not every Denali has the heated steering wheel though, it isn't standard, so you'd have to check the ones you look at or ask to make sure they have it. If not, it can be added, and there is a very detailed thread on another forum for how to do it, with pics for every step.

The standard Yukon/Tahoe woodgrain is very orange, I do not care for it at all. The Denali woodgrain is a deep brown, it looks so much better in my opinion.

Zach what do you mean by the Escalade having white interior lighting and the other one green? Also I just installed my lockpic and took the dash apart and found it was easy now I really want to change out the dash to the platinum dash. I know you said you were going to do it have you? Where can I get the prices/part numbers do you have them if so can you send them to me.
Thanks