The Yukon also tops the Expedition in the usefulness of its third-row seat. While the Ford's third seat is a children-only compression chamber, the Yukon's third seat provides space for adults' feet. It isn't a lot of space, but it is there. The third seat also folds, flips, slides and removes impressively. Whichever way you choose to stow the third-row seat, it is easy to do; it even has wheels to help it roll into the garage for storage.

One child-only seat in the Yukon is the middle seat on the optional front bench seat. The seat is basically two low-bolstered bucket seats, bridged by a fixed, non-reclining mid-section where the console sits on most Yukons. This perch is too uncomfortable for any adult and is probably not a good idea for more than short rides for children. Yes, kids are safest in the back seat, but the front seat in a full-size SUV like the Yukon is statistically safer than the rear seat in most any car. Just keep those rear-facing child seats in the back, away from the airbags.

The leather seats standard in the SLT are very nice. Seat-mounted shoulder harnesses on the front and rear seats make the Yukon's belts easier to wear.

The Yukon has a good nine-speaker stereo with a subwoofer and uses a spiral-wrapped radio antenna to cut wind noise. GMC says it chose to use a conventional mast rather than embedding the antenna in a window for better performance. Look for a different antenna matched to an improved radio late in the model year.