Suburban LS base model diesel

[Tinbadtin]

Indeed amazing info, thanks Yukon-xl!! Not sure I personally have the stomach to do it though. It scares me taking a brand new truck apart like that, especially when it involves messing with airbags and such. Big kudos to you however for having the Cahoonas to do it and paving the way for others. These posts are a goldmine and hopefully will serve as inspiration for others as well.

Meanwhile, I’ve put a deposit on a custom LS with the bench seat. The dealer says no “diesel allocation” available but not sure what that means. They are saying it will be likely 3-6 months before the truck arrives. We’ll see…

 

[Vic Vinegar]

Haha - thanks for the responses and the congrats (and yes, can confirm, 4 kids is a lot of work lol). You guys aren't helping though with all the mixed opinions

I've def been in situation Geotrash described where I would regret not getting X or Y feature/package so I tried to objectively approach the FoMo that comes with not having the top level trims. What do I really care about in daily use ? (besides bragging rights) and when it comes down it, I also agree with the other commenters that the actual driving experience is probably most important like handling, comfort, engine response, etc.

Can anyone talk to the differences in suspensions between the "Magnetic ride control", air suspension and the regular suspension in the LS? Does it really make a big difference in daily driving? If so, what does? I personally don't care too much for changing ride height and I will most likely not be towing much or at all. How much does choosing an LS compromise on the ride qualities?

I have a 21 Yukon XL Denali with the ultimate package and 3.0 duramax. I’m sure you could special order a Chevy LS with the duramax but highly doubtful any dealer stocks them cause nobody wants them. LS is barebones trim level. Even the federal govt only gets LT trim cause they are plentiful and still check the boxes for options. The 4 corner air suspension is great for load leveling and raising the vehicle when using 4x4 and it combines with the magnetic ride for a cloud like ride. I wouldn’t worry about the diesel fuel too much cause all major retailers sell the same diesel regardless what the name brand is. Sure you can avoid higher biodiesel blends but commercially available diesel is good enough. Yes add a bit of power service diesel clean in the winter months to avoid gelling but your temps need to be consistently around 10 or lower for this to be any kind of worry.

 

[steiny93]

Wife got a Denali XL with the baby Dmax, I did a review of it here: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...comparing-with-ecodiesel.130478/#post-1641799

Wife is very happy with her new Denali (she likes the GM large suv's). I personally have been let down in regards to the 'luxury' side of the denali vs say the x5 we had. The biggest complaints being (1) driving experience (2) GM's 'passive entry' system is not passive at all (you need to press a button) (3) how GM handles warranty repairs (we are over a month on a cold weather drivability issue without resolution).

My summary would be.
If you are thinking you will enjoy the drive of a large GM suv like you enjoy the drive of your x7 I'd strongly recommend you drive one first. I personally wouldn't have bought a denali over either an x5/x7 or even a Grand Wagoneer.

 

[olyelr]

Wife got a Denali XL with the baby Dmax, I did a review of it here: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...comparing-with-ecodiesel.130478/#post-1641799

Wife is very happy with her new Denali (she likes the GM large suv's). I personally have been let down in regards to the 'luxury' side of the denali vs say the x5 we had. The biggest complaints being (1) driving experience (2) GM's 'passive entry' system is not passive at all (you need to press a button) (3) how GM handles warranty repairs (we are over a month on a cold weather drivability issue without resolution).

My summary would be.
If you are thinking you will enjoy the drive of a large GM suv like you enjoy the drive of your x7 I'd strongly recommend you drive one first. I personally wouldn't have bought a denali over either an x5/x7 or even a Grand Wagoneer.

Then you wouldnt have a big suv either lol. They might haul 7 people, but they lack in size/storage for sure.

Thanks for your review/input tho!

 

[steiny93]

Then you wouldnt have a big suv either lol. They might haul 7 people, but they lack in size/storage for sure.

Thanks for your review/input tho!

I consider the Grand Wagoneer in the same size class as the yukon's as it is sized between them.

 

[olyelr]

I consider the Grand Wagoneer in the same size class as the yukon's as it is sized between them.

Hmmmmmm. Im not so sure the grand wagoneer is even as big as a tahoe or yukon. I have walked around them and sat inside but havnt driven one…seemed kinda small to me.

 

[yukon-xl]

I just received the lower piece of the trim and still need to install it. The pictures I posted are taken from an angle that you cant see where carpet/floor meets the lower center console, because there is a gap/opening still below the center dash trim I installed. And the carpet has a hole in it on the hump where the console was, but I covered it with a oem rear floormat from my subaru legacy for now. I also purchased aftermarket all weather floor liners on amazon for pickup truck that come with one piece front liner that goes over the hump, and installed it, however, it is a bit too big, and is not a perfect fit over the hump, but overall looks good and is good protection (see photo). I will post more pictures when I am done. As far as overall effort, I thought it would be smoother/easier. The main issue I ran into is the center dash trim that covers heating controls, audio knobs and where front heated/cooled seats controls are, is different on LS/SLE trim compared to higher trims. (i whish it was the same, because it looked the same on dealers website pictures and videos of both trim levels i have seen... but it's not, and it is angled a little different, meaning the lower part of it comes out about 1/2 inch closer to the jump seat that I installed, so at the end, I believe the legroom in that center seat I installed has about 1/2 inch less space. And if I buy the correct dash cover from LS model, it will not have openings where heated/cooled front seats controls are located... so then you would have to cut them out, and I am not sure how easy it will be and how it will look) I am still very happy with results and It's not noticeable and it looks like original. (see pictures of parts i ordered and the difference in dash trim/cover, i installed #2, and just received #3 lower trim, i left #1 trim stock because it has heated seat controls in it) Hope that helps. Merry Christmas!

Update 7/11/22, So I finally got to trimming out the center dash to fit it around the center heating controls. Now both sides fit and are flush with glove box, and I am using all weather front mat for pickup truck that is one piece to cover the carpet hole. see pictures. I am pretty happy with results, If I would do it again I would be able to cut out/trim the dash better because now I know what sections need to be trimmed. At first, it looked like the sections where volume control/radio dial is located also needed to be trimmed but after I trimmed the lower section the whole dash panel sat more in and down and then I realized that I should have not touched/trimmed the upper sections, so now I have small gaps. Anyways, see some before after pictures.

 

[yukon-xl]

Update 7/11/22, So I finally got to trimming out the center dash to fit it around the center heating controls. Now both sides fit and are flush with glove box, and I am using all weather front mat for pickup truck that is one piece to cover the carpet hole. see pictures. I am pretty happy with results, If I would do it again I would be able to cut out/trim the dash better because now I know what sections need to be trimmed. At first, it looked like the sections where volume control/radio dial is located also needed to be trimmed but after I trimmed the lower section the whole dash panel sat more in and down and then I realized that I should have not touched/trimmed the upper sections, so now I have small gaps. Anyways, see some before after pictures.

final pics

 

[olyelr]

Great job !

 

[Tinbadtin]

Very well done! This is truly one of a kind.