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Mt. McKinley in my parking space. That's what it seemed like after driving a Saturn for a week. McKinley is the name we gave the Alaskan mountain Native Americans call Denali. Whatever you call it, it is NOT in the Yukon, which belongs to Canada. But, then, geography has never exactly been our strong suit as a people. The last survey I saw revealed that most Americans couldn't point to the British Isles on a map of Europe. So we end up with a test vehicle named after a territory in Canada and a mountain in the United States, and no one thinks twice about it.

And, speaking of twice, who was the marketing genius who thought it was okay to assign TWO geographic names to one product? What will we see next from GM? The Pontiac Bonneville Le Mans? The Chevy Malibu Biscayne?

Okay, maybe I'm hyperventilating. But if multiple geographic names are acceptable, why limit it to two? Why have a Yukon Denali (our test vehicle) and a stretched version known as the Yukon Denali XL? Why XL? No sex appeal there. It needs something evocative. How about a place that, almost since the founding of the Republic, has been uniquely associated with bigness? Yes, that's right: The Yukon Denali Texan! I shall forward this suggestion to GM in the morning…

As longtime readers know I've never been a fan large sport-utility vehicles. Having said that, I must admit that GM builds the best ones around. Toyota's probably in the same league, but no one's better. Recently, Ford tried to go head to head with their Excursion against Chevy's Suburban (kissin' cousin to the Yukon Denali Texan), and failed miserably. It's not often Ford Motor Company admits defeat and leaves the field of battle, but they did in this case.

For 2005, GMC’s Yukon Denali lineup delivers increased safety features, including the availability of StabiliTrak for every model and a standard enhanced passenger safety belt reminder, which provides a repetitive, progressively strident message to any unbuckled front seat occupant. They are also offering a DVD-based touch-screen navigation system for the first time.

Changes designed to improve fuel economy include improved sealing of the front end. For example, tow hook openings are now sealed when not ordered on the vehicle. In addition, the center hole in the front air deflector has been sealed, an extension has been added to the front air deflector, and the aerodynamics for the running boards have been improved. As a result, fuel economy from the 6.0-liter V8 has been improved by about one mile-per-gallon and now stands at 13 city, 17 highway according to the EPA. This is nothing to write home about, to be sure — especially in an era of two-dollar-a-gallon gasoline — but at least they're trying.

New Yukon Denali models feature an all-electric cooling system, replacing the traditional fan and clutch offered in 2004. The all-electric system consists of two 200-watt electric fan packages and an improved dissipation radiator. According to GM, it provides a reduction in parasitic losses, a significant improvement in idle air conditioning performance and quieter operation.

Additional refinements include two new colors. One of them, Blue-Green Crystal, was featured on our test vehicle (which is not the vehicle in the photo that accompanies this review). It's a gee-whiz paint that you might expect to find at a hot rod show. With a lot of metal flake in it, it appears almost iridescent in bright sunlight, and the perceived color changes constantly, as well, depending on the amount of ambient light, the angle of the sun, etc. Sometimes it appears green, sometimes blue, and sometimes purple. Yes, purple. This ain't your father's GMC truck…

One nice option included on our test vehicle was the second row captain's chairs. At cost of $490, essentially what they do is give rear seat passengers the same seats used in front. It make a lot of sense to me, especially if you're going to have full-grown adults sitting back there. I've never understood why the typical second-row seats are so skimpy, even in full-size SUVs. Virtually every manufacturer is guilty of this. Now, GMC has come through with the captain's chair option. Well worth the money, in my view.

The other option on our test vehicle was the "Sun Entertainment and Destinations" package. Costing more than four grand, this consisted of a power sunroof, Navigation radio, and the rear seat DVD entertainment system. Not worth it to me. I don't like sunroofs, I listen to my own CDs while I drive if I listen to anything, and I figure my rear seat passengers can bloody well find some way to amuse themselves for free.

And, of course, our test vehicle came standard — as its designation suggests — with GM's all-wheel-drive system. While very few Yukons are ever going to be taken off road on purpose, all-wheel drive can be extremely useful in inclement weather, especially in the wintertime.

The base price of the GMC Yukon Denali AWD is $49,860, plus $850 in destination charges. Add to that the cost of the captain's chairs, and you have a very well equipped vehicle for just over $51,000. I still believe the average consumer would be better served with a less costly and more fuel efficient midsize SUV, of which GM offers several excellent examples. But if size and luxury are the things that do it for you, you would be hard pressed to beat the Yukon Denali. R&D