Compare the2024 Ford ExpeditionVS 2023 GMC Yukon

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The middle row seatbelts optional on the Expedition inflate when a collision is detected, helping to spread crash forces over a much larger area of the body and limiting head and neck movement. This can help prevent spinal and internal injuries. The Yukon doesn’t offer inflatable seatbelts.

The Expedition has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Yukon’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Expedition has standard Cross Traffic Alert and Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Yukon and the Yukon’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

The Expedition’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Yukon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Expedition and the Yukon 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Expedition is safer than the GMC Yukon:

	Expedition	Yukon
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	23/39 lbs.	152/161 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	35%	47%
Neck Stress	155 lbs.	272 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	271/178 lbs.	333/811 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Expedition is safer than the GMC Yukon:

	Expedition	Yukon
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	23	25
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	108 lbs.	111 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	61	88
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	134	239
Hip Force	569 lbs.	764 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Expedition is .4% to 2.6% less likely to roll over than the Yukon.

Warranty

The Expedition’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Yukon’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 79 percent more Ford dealers than there are GMC dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Expedition’s warranty.

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Expedition have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Yukon.

The Expedition 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 Yukon doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, GMC is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 3 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The Expedition has more powerful engines than the Yukon:

	Horsepower	Torque
Expedition 3.5 turbo V6	380 HP	470 lbs.-ft.
Expedition Limited/KR/Platinum 3.5 turbo V6	400 HP	480 lbs.-ft.
Expedition Timberline/Stealth Performance 3.5 turbo V6	440 HP	510 lbs.-ft.
Yukon 5.3 V8	355 HP	383 lbs.-ft.
Yukon 6.2 V8	420 HP	460 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Expedition (base engine) is faster than the GMC Yukon 5.3 V8:

	Expedition	Yukon
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	7.2 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	15.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.7 MPH	90.6 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Expedition gets better mileage than the Yukon:

			MPG
Expedition
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/23 hwy
	AWD	3.5 turbo V6	16 city/22 hwy
		Timberline 3.5 turbo V6	16 city/19 hwy
Yukon
	RWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/20 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/20 hwy
	AWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/20 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/18 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Expedition higher (6 out of 10) than the GMC Yukon (3 to 6). This means the Expedition produces up to 23.4 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Yukon every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Expedition’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Yukon:

	Expedition	Yukon
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	13.5 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Expedition’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Yukon (285/45R22 vs. 275/60R20).

The Expedition’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 Yukon’s optional 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Expedition’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Yukon doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Expedition’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Yukon (122.5 inches vs. 120.9 inches).

The Expedition XLT 4x4 handles at .76 G’s, while the Yukon AT4 4x4 pulls only .66 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Expedition XLT 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the Yukon AT4 4x4 (27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 30.6 seconds @ .51 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Expedition has a 1.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Yukon (9.8 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Expedition to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Expedition Timberline’s minimum ground clearance is .6 inch higher than on the Yukon AT4 Air Ride (10.6 vs. 10 inches).

Chassis

The Expedition Timberline/Limited/King Ranch/Platinum uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Yukon doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Expedition has 3.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Yukon (171.9 vs. 168.3).

The Expedition has .7 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear hip room, 1.2 inches more third row legroom, 2 inches more third row hip room and 1.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Yukon.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Expedition’s middle and third row seats recline. The Yukon’s third row seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Expedition easier. The Expedition’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 34.7 inches, while the Yukon’s liftover is 37 inches.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Yukon is limited to 8400 pounds. The Expedition offers up to a 9300 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The Expedition’s optional front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Yukon’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Expedition’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Yukon doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Expedition is less expensive to operate than the Yukon because it costs $182 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Expedition than the Yukon, including $327 less for a water pump, $655 less for a muffler, $44 less for front brake pads, $106 less for a starter, $227 less for fuel injection, $287 less for a fuel pump, $14 less for front struts and $518 less for a timing belt/chain.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Expedition will be $1763 to $9871 less than for the GMC Yukon.