NOTE: Pricing based on data collected February 2011. Costs of hybridization and forced features are UCS estimates based on information available on manufacturer websites.
See full Hybrid Scorecard methodology
Vehicle Summary
General Motors (GM) introduced the four-wheel-drive (4WD) GMC Yukon Hybrid in model year 2008. The Yukon Hybrid and its twin, the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, were the first full-size hybrid SUVs on the market and the first light-duty vehicles to use GM’s two-mode hybrid system, originally designed for buses. The Yukon Hybrid 4WD, which seats eight, gets a combined EPA estimated fuel economy of 21 miles per gallon (mpg). Unfortunately, GM chose to increase the size of the gasoline engine in the Yukon Hybrid 4WD compared with its conventional counterpart, boosting horsepower and torque rather than maximizing fuel economy gains. This dampened the Yukon Hybrid 4WD’s overall environmental performance. The Yukon Hybrid 4WD is a full hybrid, offering electric-only operation under certain conditions, idle stop/start, power assist, and regenerative braking.
Environmental Score
The Yukon Hybrid 4WD did improve its overall fuel economy from 20 to 21 mpg in the 2011 model, which now makes the EPA-measured efficiency the same in the 2WD and 4WD hybrid variants. However, the conventional Yukon 4WD also improved by 1 mpg, resulting in little change from the Yukon’s previous Environmental Improvement Score. The Yukon Hybrid 4WD’s impressive two-mode, full hybrid drivetrain could have been used to bring far more to the table as the first full-sized hybrid SUV. Instead, GM failed to fully capitalize on hybrid technology by wedding the electric motor to an upsized 6.0-liter V8 engine.
Despite modifications to improve its efficiency, the upsized gasoline engine gives the Yukon Hybrid 4WD more peak horsepower and peak torque, making it a “muscle” hybrid. Using the more common 5.3-liter V8 engine would have delivered better fuel economy, though it may have compromised towing capacity. GM has also eliminated more fuel-efficient options from its conventional Yukon, as customers can no longer opt for a smaller 4.8-liter engine over the 5.3-liter engine version we have used for our comparisons. Toyota has proven with its Highlander Hybrid, which reduces global warming emissions 32 percent, that six-passenger-plus SUVs can indeed achieve substantial global warming reductions without reducing engine cylinders (a common approach for hybridization).
A poorly performing tailpipe emissions-control system also compromises the smog-forming emissions performance of the Yukon Hybrid 4WD, earning it an EPA air pollution score of 6, the lowest among all hybrid vehicles. These factors give the Yukon Hybrid 4WD an overall Environmental Improvement Score of 4.3. Hybrid technology and modern emissions-control systems offer the unique quality of providing a “no compromise” vehicle that does not trade smog-forming emissions for global warming emissions, and vice versa. The Environmental Improvement Score for the Yukon Hybrid 4WD could be greatly improved if GM focused two-mode hybrid technology on maximizing fuel economy, and made an effort toward reducing smog-forming emissions.
Scorecard Environmental Improvement Score methodology
Hybrid Value
GM is charging $5,401 for the hybrid system in the Yukon
Hybrid 4WD. With a 19 percent reduction in global warming emissions, this puts
the Yukon Hybrid 4WD in the “Poor” range for Hybrid Value.
Scorecard Hybrid Value methodology
Forced Features
GM continues to load on the extra features with the Yukon Hybrid 4WD, forcing consumers to spend $6,014 on additional or upgraded features compared with the base model for the conventional Yukon 4WD. This merits a Forced Features rating of “$$$$$”—the worst rating in this category. The abundance of forced features significantly undermines the ability for consumers looking for more fuel-efficient full-sized SUV options to see the Yukon Hybrid 4WD as a cost-effective alternative. Sample forced features include the 6.0-liter V8 engine; remote vehicle starter system; rearview camera system; rear parking assist; leather-appointed, heated front bucket seats; and a Bose® audio system with DVD-based navigation and nine speakers. Click to see full list of forced features. Click to see full list of forced features.
Scorecard Forced Features methodology
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Additional Info
Visit the Who’s Got Hybrids section to read comments and stories from actual hybrid owners.
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