Both the Yukon XL and QX80 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Yukon XL 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 QX80’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.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Yukon XL are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The QX80 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Yukon XL 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 QX80 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Both the Yukon XL and the QX80 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all-wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
GMC pays for the first scheduled maintenance on the Yukon XL. GMC will pay for the first oil change, lubrication and any other required maintenance in the first year. Infiniti doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the QX80.
There are over 8 times as many GMC dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Yukon XL’s warranty.
The Yukon XL 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 QX80 doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.
A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Yukon XL’s reliability 21 points higher than the QX80.
The Yukon XL Graphite Performance Edition/Denali’s standard 6.2 V8 produces 20 more horsepower (420 vs. 400) and 47 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 413) than the QX80’s 5.6 DOHC V8.
An engine control system that can shut down half of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Yukon XL’s fuel efficiency. The QX80 doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.
The Yukon XL has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the QX80 (31 vs. 26 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.
The Yukon XL 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 QX80 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.
A ten-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Yukon XL Graphite Performance Edition/Denali, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the QX80.
For better traction, the Yukon XL’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the QX80 (285/45R22 vs. 275/60R20).
The Yukon XL’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 QX80’s optional 50 series tires.
The Yukon XL has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The QX80 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.
The Yukon XL 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 QX80’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.
For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Yukon XL’s wheelbase is 8.9 inches longer than on the QX80 (130 inches vs. 121.1 inches).
For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Yukon XL is 1.2 inches wider in the front and .8 inches wider in the rear than on the QX80.
The Yukon XL Denali 4x4 handles at .75 G’s, while the QX80 AWD pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.
The front grille of the Yukon XL uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The QX80 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.
The Yukon XL Graphite Performance Edition//Denali uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The QX80 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.
The Yukon XL offers optional seating for 9 passengers; the QX80 can only carry up to 8.
The Yukon XL has 2.9 inches more front headroom, 5.7 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, 1.9 inches more rear hip room, 1.6 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.7 inches more third row headroom, 5.7 inches more third row legroom, .5 inches more third row hip room and 2.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the QX80.
The Yukon XL’s cargo area provides more volume than the QX80.
A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Yukon XL easier. The Yukon XL’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 34.1 inches, while the QX80’s liftover is 35.8 inches.
The Yukon XL’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The QX80’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.
To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Yukon XL SLT/Denali’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The QX80 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.
The Yukon XL has a maintenance free battery for long life without checking the battery’s water level. The QX80 doesn’t have a maintenance free battery, so the water level in the battery’s cells must be checked often to prevent damage.
The Yukon XL Graphite Performance Edition/Denali has a standard heads-up display that 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 QX80 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.
The power windows standard on both the Yukon XL and the QX80 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Yukon XL is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The QX80 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.
Standard IntelliLink for the Yukon XL 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 QX80 doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.