1997 GMC Yukon The civilization of the brute ute. By Mitch McCullough, Editor-in-Chief, New Car Test Drive .com

Nothing can haul people, move stuff, pull

trailers and go anywhere like a full-size sport-utility vehicle.

That term was once synonymous with--and limited to--the Suburban. You

know the Suburban. Sold by GMC and Chevrolet, it's been around since 1946,

and it's still the king when it comes to hauling capacity. But it is no

longer alone; there are other choices now.

Four of those choices come from the same dealerships that sell the Suburban.

The nearly identical GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe are essentially short

versions of the Suburban; each of them is available as either a two- or

four-door model. The two-door Yukon measures 188 inches from stem to stern.

The four-door is nearly a foot longer, while the Suburban adds another

32 inches.

GMC says the Yukon is the sport-utility of choice for people who want

to comfortably dominate the roads they travel. There's certainly some truth

to that. The Yukon can do most of what a Suburban can do, yet it's easier

to park and ease into a garage.

This year those choices were expanded even further by Ford's new Expedition,

which is four-door only. The Expedition is an extraordinarily good sport-utility,

but the GMC and Chevrolet trucks stand up well to this challenge.