The GMC Yukon name has been amazingly successful for decades now. The handsome SUVs have taken several different forms over the years but we’d argue that none were more handsome than the form they took in the 1990s with two doors. The proportions and look of the two-door Yukon was spot on to us. One thing had slipped out mind, though. The fact that these things were available with diesel power nearly 20 years ago! No, it was not the mighty Duramax but rather the venerable 6.5L turbocharged unit that made 180hp and 360 lb-ft of torque. This made the rig less a drag strip stormer and more a woodland slogger, but we think it is boss all the same. We have never seen a two door Yukon with a diesel in it, have you?
The 350 gas engine which was the only other power plant available for these rigs from the factory was rated at 200hp and 300 lb-ft at 2,800 rpm. You could opt for the 5-speed stick with the gas engine only. The only transmission you could get with the 6.5L diesel was the four-speed automatic.
We’d usually crack jokes about the diesel getting you anywhere, just not in a hurry but we’re guessing that it wasn’t that far off of the gas engine, head to head. The specs don’t indicate that it would be too much of an acceleration slaughter. There’s no drag strip test here, largely because the Yukon was with the crew in February during horrible weather. No way to run it down the strip in the snow, we suppose.
