Certified Benz and Beemer Compares 2016 GMC YUKON VS 2016 Dodge Durango Near Scottsdale, AZ

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Yukon are height-adjustable, and the middle and rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Dodge Durango doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle or rear seat belts.

Both the Yukon and Durango have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Yukon has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Durango’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Yukon has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Durango doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Yukon’s optional lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Durango doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The Yukon has standard Park Assist to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Durango doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

Both the Yukon and the Durango have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, available all wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Yukon is safer than the Dodge Durango:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Yukon is safer than the Dodge Durango:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Yukon’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Durango’s (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

GMC pays for scheduled maintenance on the Yukon for 2 years and 24,000 miles. GMC will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Durango.

The Yukon has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Durango doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2015 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 16th in initial quality. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is ranked 18th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2015 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 9th in reliability, above the industry average. With 69 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is ranked 26th.

The Yukon’s standard 5.3 V8 produces 60 more horsepower (355 vs. 295) and 123 lbs.-ft. more torque (383 vs. 260) than the Durango’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6. The Yukon Denali’s standard 6.2 V8 produces 60 more horsepower (420 vs. 360) and 70 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 390) than the Durango’s optional 5.7 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the GMC Yukon 5.3 V8 is faster than the Dodge Durango V6:

On the EPA test cycle the Yukon gets better fuel mileage than the Durango:

The Yukon has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Durango (26 vs. 24.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Yukon has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Durango doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Yukon’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the Durango V6 are solid, not vented.

The Yukon stops much shorter than the Durango:

For better traction, the Yukon’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Durango (285/45R22 vs. 265/60R18).

The Yukon’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Durango’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Yukon offers optional 22-inch wheels. The Durango’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The GMC Yukon’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Dodge Durango only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Yukon has a standard full size spare so your trip isn’t interrupted by a flat. A full size spare costs extra on the Durango Without the option you must depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Yukon offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Durango’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Yukon is 4.8 inches wider in the front and 4.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Durango.

The Yukon SLT 4x4 handles at .78 G’s, while the Durango Limited 4x4 pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Yukon SLT 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Durango Limited 4x4 (27.5 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.8 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Yukon Denali uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Durango doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Yukon offers optional seating for 9 passengers; the Durango can only carry 7.

The Yukon has 2.9 inches more front headroom, 5 inches more front legroom, 3.8 inches more front hip room, 6.3 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear legroom, 17.5 inches more rear hip room, 14.7 inches more rear shoulder room, .3 inches more third row headroom, 6.5 inches more third row hip room and 12.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the Durango.

The Yukon’s cargo area provides more volume than the Durango.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Yukon’s (except SLE) optional second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Durango doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Yukon’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Durango’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Yukon SLT/Denali’s cargo door can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Durango doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its cargo door, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Yukon Denali offers an optional heads-up display which projects speed and other key instrumentation readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Durango doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Yukon’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Durango’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

Keyless Access standard on the Yukon SLT/Denali allows you to unlock the doors, cargo door and start the engine all without removing a key from pocket or purse. This eliminates searching for keys before loading groceries, getting in the vehicle in bad weather or making a hurried start to your trip. The Dodge Durango doesn’t offer an advanced key system.

The Yukon’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Durango’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Standard IntelliLink for the Yukon allows the driver and passengers access to select programs on their smartphones, including playing internet radio stations and other connected activities without taking their eyes off the road or their hands from the wheel. The Durango doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.

Bluetooth wireless connectivity is standard on the Yukon, connecting the driver and passenger’s cell phones to the vehicle systems. This allows them to use the vehicle’s stereo and hand controls to place calls safely and easily. Bluetooth costs extra on the Durango.

Insurance will cost less for the Yukon owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Yukon will cost $520 to $1520 less than the Durango over a five-year period.

The Yukon will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The Intellichoice estimates that the Yukon will retain 50.66% to 54.51% of its original price after five years, while the Durango only retains 44.82% to 49.13%.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Yukon third among large suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Durango isn’t in the top three in its category.

The GMC Yukon/Yukon XL outsold the Dodge Durango by 11% during 2014.