Both the Yukon XL and QX80 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Yukon XL has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The QX80’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Yukon XL (except SLE with front bench seat) has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The QX80 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Yukon XL 4WD’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX80 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Yukon XL Ultimate helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The QX80 doesn’t offer a night vision system.
The Yukon XL’s optional 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 QX80 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Yukon XL and the QX80 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, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Yukon XL is safer than the Infiniti QX80:
|
Yukon XL |
QX80 |
OVERALL STARS |
4 Stars |
3 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
2 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
384 |
Neck Injury Risk |
23% |
36% |
Neck Stress |
312 lbs. |
439 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
51 lbs. |
95 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
152/161 lbs. |
983/651 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
233 |
285 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
1.2 inches |
Neck Compression |
66 lbs. |
78 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 GMC Yukon XL is safer than the Infiniti QX80:
|
Yukon XL |
QX80 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
25 |
27 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1 inches |
Hip Force |
118 lbs. |
144 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
14 inches |
16 inches |
HIC |
239 |
437 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
39 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.