Video: Up Close with the 2025 GMC Yukon

It's got some new styling, it's got a new interior, it's got some new technology, and it's got a new trim level that we really should talk about. What else have they changed on the '25 Yukon? Well, lemme take you through it. From a trim level walkthrough, they've changed things a little bit in how things are ordered. You've got the SLE and SLT on the bottom end. Those are gone. Now, they've been replaced by one trim called the Elevation, which will be a little bit more expensive, but we'll have more standard equipment than before. Move up from that and you get the off-road AT4 version, which comes with a bunch of off-road equipment, smaller rims, but off-road tires, underbody protection, red tow hooks, things like that. Move up from that and you get the very popular Denali trim level, which is the luxurious model that a lot of people are very familiar with. But there's still two trims above that. There's the Denali Ultimate, which comes with a really nice interior and a lot of really cool standard equipment. And then you've got something new for 2025. This is the AT4 Ultimate version. Now this has about 95% of all of the Denali's really luxurious features, but it combines them with the AT4's off-road equipment. So things like 20-inch rims with all-terrain tires, you've got different styling front and rear. You've got things like these red tow hooks, you've got underbody protection, skid plates up front, things that are meant to help you go off-road, but with an interior that should really coddle and comfort you. Powertrains for 2025 are mostly carryover. The standard 5.3 liter V8 remains as the base engine and the 6.2 liter V8 still remains as the optional engine, but standard in some of the higher trim levels. More interesting is now the three-liter turbo diesel six-cylinder engine is available across all trim levels. You can get it in anything from the Elevation all the way up to the AT4 Ultimate. That diesel engine is also now available in the AT4, which is something that consumers have really been demanding. They want that ability to have good fuel economy and long range with that off-road capability as well. And it's the new three-liter turbo diesel as well, making 305 horsepower and 495 pounds feet of torque. So you get really good performance and you get decent fuel economy in range as well. The interior is really what got a lot of really good updates for the 2025 model year. It starts with this dashboard. The whole instrument panel is lower than the outgoing model, just like in the new Tahoe, so you can see out much more easily. The visibility out of the new Yukon is much better than it was before. You also have some new things in this dashboard, such as an 11-inch digital instrument cluster and a 16.8 inch vertical touchscreen in the middle, running a new multimedia system. One thing that they haven't done is to go completely touchscreen for all of their controls. There's still an excellent mix of both buttons, knobs, and touchscreen controls in the interior of the new '25 Yukon. And I gotta say, that is the way to go. A lot of things are still with dedicated buttons as well, so you've got a number of things like the lights on this side still have a light control switch instead of being relegated to a touchscreen control like we've seen in some of their new vehicles. And you've got things like the HVAC systems and audio controls still have actual buttons and knobs. Absolute winner. That's the way to go. Definitely easier to use while you're driving. Now, this one is the Denali Ultimate model. So it's got the nicest leather interior you can get on a Yukon and it is definitely really quite nice. You've also got things like real wood trim all the way around, laser etched in this Denali Ultimate version. You've got the really cool center console that has a power-activated slide to the aft. So if you've got something like a large bag or if you've got a purse that you don't wanna put on the floor, you could put it in the center console very easily. This one also has the executive package, so the rear seats have heat massage and cooling features. And there's also an 18-speaker Bose sound system in here, which should sound pretty fantastic. And there's one more feature that's brand new to GMC for the 2025 model year, night vision. It's actually using a thermal camera to detect things that are in front of you, whether they be pedestrians or wildlife. And that's great for situations like fog or other inclement weather where you can't necessarily see what's going on in front of you very well, but the cameras certainly can. The new 2025 GMC Yukon goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year, so late in 2024. Now, we don't have pricing just yet. That will be available closer to the vehicle's on sale date in a couple of months. But when we do have that information and when we get some time behind the wheel of the new '25 Yukon, you'll be sure to find it at cars.com/news.