2005 GMC Yukon Preview

What's in a Name?

The difference between the GMC Yukon Denali and a Chevy Tahoe is the nameplate and about $20,000.

Nametag-swapping is a cute exercise at costume parties, but when the masks come off you can sure be in for a rude surprise. Unfortunately, General Motors has been putting on a similar ruse with its cars for years, and one of the reasons Oldsmobile went down the tubes is that for decades there was no difference between an Olds, Buick, and a Chevy.

Now GM's playing the same game with its sport utility vehicles, and they're not fooling anyone.

Take the GMC Yukon Denali and Denali XL. These large and larger SUVs are not only based on the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, they're practically the same vehicles. GMC added leather, a plusher ride package, and stripped out the shiftable four-wheel drive, making the Denali brothers "all-wheel drive" (more on the differences below). Then they altered some external trim and improved the trucks' V-8, which in the Denali cranks out 325 hp and 370 pound-feet of torque -- enough force to tow 8,500 pounds.

Oh yes -- they also amended the price.

The Chevy Tahoe with four-wheel drive goes for a base sticker of $28,587, while its upmarket GMC Yukon Denali cousin sells for a shocking $46,680. That's a lot of money for a truck, and it puts GMC in direct competition with the likes of Toyota's new Sequoia, not to mention into the same price range as smaller BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Land Rover SUVs. The only place GMC may be on the mark is in competition with Lincoln's Navigator, which, after all, is just a tarted-up Ford Expedition.

However, GMC neither has the bombproof consumer confidence of a Toyota, nor the cache of the aforementioned European imports. So the question is, if you actually need a really big SUV, should you buy a Yukon Denali instead of a Chevy Tahoe?