My colleague says he likes the seats and the radio. His wife has suggested he use their spare car, a Honda Civic, but "it's a four banger, it can't pull itself up the hills" or her car, a BMW, but "it's cramped and people take the piss" and so he fills the Yukon with petrol every second day.

Where is that "facepalm" smiley when you need it...



I didnt realise there were that many mountain passes in your neck of the woods... my civic does just fine, even in top. Presumably his wifes is an Automatic, so even less excuse.

Only the Yukon is an automatic. I must admit I was a bit surprised to find that where he comes from a 5 series BMW is seen as being a hairdresser's car, like a Boxster, but then he does live in Barrie. I suppose I'd best not mention what I drive.

Well its not for the purposes of towing anyway, its only the 4 small kids thing (5 to 10 months) and all the garbage you have to bring with you when you go anywhere along with one 15kg lakeland terrier who thinks her pride of place is anywhere the family goes! I did suggest a MPV which is what I drive at the minute but was told that this was safer when I questioned it.. Then again, what price do you put on your kids safety???

And Deer & Moose fatalities??? I'm assuming its dead people not animals?? Never factored that in and I'd probably just have a heart attack and keel over if I came across one anyway so no need for a Yukon! Me thinks that this "adventure" is going to take some getting used to! I'm starting to feel a little like Robinson Crusoe!

Its not really safer, just more weight and a higher center of gravity to bring to a stop or to change direction with than say a Honda Oddessy or Toyota Sienna.

I value my safety and that of my kids, and Id rather avoid the accident in the first place. I dont lose sleep driving my family around in my Civic.

In all seriousness, if you're after safe and practical transportation for a family of six plus a dog, you'd be much better off with a minivan than a Yukon. Easier to get into and out of, greater versatility of internal configuration, better fuel economy and a much more pleasant driving experience. The safety myth of high-centre-of-gravity behemoths is just that - a myth. Sure, if you run over a passing pedestrian you're less likely to notice it, but a more nimble vehicle (and compared to a Yukon, anything is nimble) is less likely to get you into trouble in the first place, and less likely to end up on its roof if you do.

Or, having just see Iain's post, "what he said."

Depending on the type of vehicle you are driving and at what speed you hit a moose, elk or deer then there is the possibility of death by both human and animal. Newfoundland appears to have the most related human deaths when hitting a moose.
A Yukon may or may not stop death but its better than driving a Toyota Prius or smart car IMHO.

What ever happened to walking???? It is just gone from the dictionary??

Canada is pretty spaced out. There are other reasons too.


If you already have the Yukon, then dont sweat it.

Love the pic!

We got rid of our gas guzzler here because of the cost of running it, I was only getting about 16/18 mpg out of it and it was only a 3.2. It was a pajero passenger and I found that even though it was 2wd/4wd, when you swapped it over in winter you'd spend most of the time driving (sking) sideways even at 10mph. We didn't have a bad winter last year so I didn't have a chance to test it out in bad conditions..

Anyhow, if we do end up on the roof at some stage (hopefully not) apparently we'll be able to watch a DVD upside down while waiting for a moose to come along and save us!

Not all 4WD/ AWD/ 4x4 systems are created equal, and the single most important factor in the winter is how well the 4 small patches of rubber in contact with the road grip in the cold / ice/ snow. I drove here for five years or so on "all season" tires before my better half got winter specific tires on her car, but having experienced the difference it was a real eye opener how much better they were in the cold, even on bare roads. Its not cheap though to buy into.

FWIW there is a whole section in the wiki on winter driving.

Great, I'm going to have a look at that now, might be more beneficial than pondering on the moose/deer thing that I'm preoccupied with now!

When I was taking the bus to work I used to regard minus 20 as a nice warm winter's day. A fifteen minute walk home at minus 50 was a bit 'Scott of the Antarctic', though.

I disagree. Get rid of the stupid thing. You'll just look silly driving it.