[ad_1]
The Nissan Patrol-rivalling V8 SUV from General Motors coming to Australia next year will be the updated model spotted in the US, with a big new touchscreen.
Australia is set to benefit from the latest version of the GMC Yukon – an eight-seat SUV bigger than a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series or Nissan Patrol, on pick-up underpinnings – available globally when local showroom arrivals begin early next year.
A facelifted Yukon – sold by GMC, the ute and SUV-focused brand of US car giant General Motors – has been spotted testing in the US, with new styling and a more advanced interior, as a Model Year 2025 (MY25) offering.
The Australian division of GM has confirmed the Yukon – twinned under the skin with the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up – planned for local showrooms in early 2025 will be facelifted MY25 vehicles.
Left-hand-drive Yukons will be shipped from the US to Australia to be ‘remanufactured’ in right-hand drive by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group (or ‘Premoso’) – the former parent company of Holden Special Vehicles – in Melbourne, alongside the Silverado.
Prices are yet to be confirmed, however they could exceed $150,000 plus on-road costs – given a left-hand-drive Yukon Denali with a 6.2-litre V8 and four-wheel drive starts from $US82,000 ($AU125,000).
Spy photos captured in the US show the updated 2025 Yukon will gain restyled front and rear fascias, plus new wheel designs – some measuring 24 inches in diameter – and lighting signatures.
The most significant changes will be inside, where spy photos show a Tesla Model S-style portrait touchscreen will be fitted, and a new digital instrument display.
In other GMC vehicles the central screen measures between 15 and 16.8 inches across, with a volume dial near its bottom edge – similar to a Ford Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lightning.
GM’s Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system will be available, spy photos show, which on approved highways in the US and Canada can accelerate, steer and brake the vehicle in its lane with the driver’s hands off the wheel (but their eyes on the road).
US reports suggest the 3.0-litre diesel engine available in US Yukons will be updated, however it is more likely Australia will receive a carry-over 6.2-litre petrol V8 shared with the Chevrolet Silverado sold in Australia.
In the Australian-market pick-up, the V8 develops 313kW and 624Nm, matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. The V8 Yukon quotes a 3810kg towing capacity in the US, though this may be changed for Australia.
The GMC Yukon will be the first full-size General Motors SUV sold in Australia since the Chevrolet Suburban – which is half a size larger than the Yukon and its Chevrolet Tahoe twin – was sold as a Holden from 1998 to 2000.
In the General Motors hierarchy, GMC vehicles are more luxurious than regular Chevrolets, but sit a rung below Cadillac models in equipment, interior materials and prices.
The GMC Yukon is sold in the US in two body lengths, though even the standard model measures 5.33 metres long – about 16cm longer than a current Nissan Patrol, and 35cm longer than a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.
The larger Yukon XL measures 5720mm bumper to bumper, close to half a metre longer than a Toyota HiLux dual-cab ute – and 343mm longer than Australia’s current longest SUV, the eight-seat Land Rover Defender 130 (5377mm).
[ad_2]
Source link
