What's the difference?
If you're in the market for a premium-style four-wheel drive wagon with eight seats and a petrol V8 engine and you live in Australia, your choices have been rather limited. You'd be looking at something like the Nissan Patrol or the Land Rover Defender 130.
Well, that has now changed as General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) is importing the GMC Yukon Denali to Australia. This top-of-the-range Yukon arrives here as a left-hand drive vehicle and is converted to right-hand drive at a facility in Victoria to suit our market.
The Denali has a price tag just under $175,000, though, and that makes it a lot more expensive than most vehicles that could be considered rivals in the Aussie market. Is it worth it?
Read on.
The Audi SQ8 has had a mid-life refresh but this upper large SUV still offers luxury with its powerful V8 engine that fans know and love, as well as the features you would expect in a top model.
It competes against the Mercedes-AMG GLE and Porsche Cayenne but we’re family testing the SQ8 to see how it handles domestic life.
Keep reading to see what we’ve discovered.
The 2025 GMC Yukon Denali is a big, comfortable, eight-seat 4WD with few rivals in the Aussie market. However, while it may occupy its own niche, it doesn't offer enough in terms of premium look and feel and towing capacity over what could be considered its rivals – and it all comes back to that price tag.
While it lacks a competitive warranty and its price puts it way out of reach of a lot of 4WD buyers, if you are in the market for a big premium-style wagon with a V8 and eight seats – and the Nissan Patrol and Land Rover Defender 130 aren’t your cup of tea – then the Yukon Denali just might be the right choice for you.
But when all is said and done, for the price of the Denali, you could buy two Nissan Patrols – maybe not brand-new ones – and a camper trailer and a couple of cartons of beer.
The Audi SQ8 isn’t your typical performance SUV. It’s more refined and less flashy. The tech can be more complicated than it needs to be and if you’re wanting that V8 soundscape, you won’t find it here.
However, the handling and on road experience are superb plus you can comfortably haul the family around and look good doing it.