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.
What sets the most iconic Jaguars apart?
Here’s a theory. Consider history’s greatest: the 1948 XK, its 1961 E-Type replacement and the first XJ of 1968. We’re talking about a grand tourer, sports car and luxury sedan respectively that broke ground in each of their segments.
Despite being a sales disappointment, let’s add the 2018 I-Pace to this elite group.
Like the others, it was a pioneer, this time in the luxury electric vehicle (EV) SUV field, beating most competitors and seemingly influencing newer ones ever since, from the excellent Kia EV6 to the coming Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.
Now, five years and a comprehensive update later, we revisit the 2023 I-Pace to see if it’s still a standout.
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.
In the 1960s Jaguar used to promote its range as providing “grace, space and pace”. Nowadays, the I-Pace may as well also be known as the I-Grace and I-Space, because all three terms still ring true.
Jaguars were never cheap but the greatest hits felt like exceptional value because they were special. The same applies here. Five years might seem like an eternity, but age has not yet wearied the British luxury EV SUV nearly as much as you might imagine. Especially when optioned up as per our test vehicle.
Bereft of any post-modern brand baggage, the I-Pace remains a modern great. If only more buyers would catch on to that.