Need Opinion - LTZ or Denali?? HELP!!!

[pgaduane]

As a fellow member of several boards I find these forums very valuable for information. With that said I would like to hear some opinions.

I have found 2 vehicles that I am struggling with making a decision to purchase. Both are used and here are the following info on them:

1st - 2007 Tahoe LTZ. 20k miles, 4x2, fully loaded with the exception of Nav. Color is Gold with Ebony Interior. All stock. Includes DVD as well. One owner and has 1.5 years left on factory warranty. Cost - $25,300

2nd - 2007 Denali. Fully loaded with the exception of Nav. One owner and color is Black with Tan interior. Just under 33k miles. Cost $27,500. Owner put 22" wheels on this one. Nice looking wheels.

As you can see one has more warranty and less miles, and the other has more engine and AWD. Both cars are clean and have clean carfax as well.

I would like to hear some opinions from you all for I would really like to make a choice by tomorrow because I sold my 08 BMW 335i almost 3 weeks ago and we've been driving one car. With the times I take out my motorcycle.

I appreciate and look forward to your feedback.

Thanks,
pgaduane

 

[bocaytomas]

it being a tahoe forum, most people will say tahoe, but i have an LTZ, and i would have preffered getting a denali or escalade, for the reason that the interior materials are far better. the tahoe has a lot of plastic in it, while the Denali has much more leather, more like the escalade. check out the prices on some escalades, around my area some used ones go for 30k.
here's the escalade i'm talking about
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...ional&paId=267998584&recnum=1&leadExists=true

 

[tbully]

That LTZ vs Denali thing has been debated before and really comes down to personal opinion so I typically do not response, but what the heck.......

I am a proud owner of an '09 Denali and partially agree with bocaytomas. The interior on the Denali is great and the engine is even better (if you're not in to saving gas - ha).

However, I actually prefer the exterior styling (mostly the front end) of the Tahoe. I feel it's much cleaner and reserved. I must say the Yukon is growing on me now that I own one, though.

It comes down to what you need. Do you need AWD? Do you need / want the larger motor? Do you like the Escalade-like interior? If the answer to a few of these questions is "no" then the Tahoe may be your better choice. (less miles and cheaper)

(The colors are most certainly a personal choice so it's not worth debating IMHO.)

My 2 cents (which is actually worth 4 these days)......

 

[Yukon Joe XL]

I have the Yukon myself but was torn between the two when shopping. The kicker was one dealer playing games that leaned me the other way. That said ,if flex fuel is at all a consideration ,the Denali does not have that. As far as the rims you could get decent rims of your choice for the difference in price. I did feel there may have been a (very) slight difference in the interior and I personally liked the Yukon better. But thats me and I wanted the flex fuel and did not look further into the Denali. Also depending on where you live AWD may mean butkus to you I will probably use my 4WD 5 times a year...thats it but I like having it. Good Luck ...either way you will have one cool truck.

 

[joetm]

i have the ltz ... its basically the same as the denali minus a few pieces of wood smooth leather air ride and the engine which sucks down gas because it is larger and doesnt have the v4 mode and a few others.

its a waste for an extra 10 grand ... plus im not too crazy about the headlight cluster and grille
... either vehicle is awesome ... denali isnt justified

 

[bocaytomas]

The Tahoe front is far better than the Denali, the lights on the Denali are too big for my taste, the Tahoe seems more sophisticated

 

[07SuburbanLTZ]

I like the motor in the LTZ but I would never buy a 2 wheel drive truck. Go for the yukon.

 

[Black Dog]

Yeah, so much of it is subjective opinion. Most people have it in their mind which style they like best and that should really be your deciding point. Check the other thread that was mentioned, it was pretty recent and had a lot of good points. With that said, it is just my opinion that- Tahoe>Yukon; Denali>LTZ; 6.2L>5.3L; 6speed>4speed; 4WD>AWD>2WD, and so on... Some of that is contradictory but it means that in order for me to get a Yukon over a Tahoe it had better be a Denali. Not a big fan of AWD though so if and when it comes out the right combo for me would be LTZ with 6.2L AND 4WD, 6 speed; out of these criteria. Kinda just depends on what sets it off for you.

 

[avgabriel]

Exterior= Tahoe... Interior= Denali... Engine= Depends, Tahoe has plenty of power, Denali has more, plus u spend more $$$ on gas. Unless you're going to tow something, you really don't need it. COLOR= Your choices are like night and day (black Denali/Gold Hoe) I prefer black. Gold doesn't do it for me when it comes to SUV's. AWD and Air ride on the Denali is cool, but necessary??? All in all, it just depends what floats ur boat. I picked the Tahoe, the exterior is better(front end)

 

[joetm]

yea teh denali interior is nicer by far...

07burbanltz --- i agree there is no point even if you live in fl or a warm place u still get 4x4 bc ull never kno when u need it

 

[akim47]

i had the same choice to deal with when i purchased my denali. in the end i purchased a denali, because it was not $10,000 more, but $1500 more. for that much it was worth it. i'm actually selling my denali now, and in the end, i can get more for the denali than the ltz as well...

first, the denali leather is 10x better than the pebble grain in the tahoe. i actually like the way the tahoe looks... but i go to the mountains and the awd is a nice option... as far as gas goes, my gas mileage isnt that much worse than my friends tahoe lt3... about 3-4 mpg... and even he agrees, that it seems i have much more car (truck)...

other than the leather, all the other options were the same... i also like the nicer roofrack, the towhitch cover, and a few other extras... it was worth the bit extra

 

[mlwald79]

i just got a new denali. this thing is a beast with the 6.2 6-speed and the interior is awesome. i have had 2 tahoes before and i won't go back.

 

[metro273]

I don't own either one but when I do buy one...LTZ for me!
I don't like the headlights and the taillights on the Denali...but that's just me!

 

[tommyg]

I would definitely steer you towards the Denali. The only thing that the LTZ has going for it is the front end of the truck, which is admittedly nicer than the Yukon.

However, having AWD vs. 2WD is much nicer, better interior quality, and the biggest selling point...5.3 with a 4 speed tranny is a big downgrade from a 6.2 with a 6 speed. Admittedly, it's a bigger deal for me than most because we tow our boat with it, but the 5.3 doesn't really compare IMO.

We bought our '07 XL at the end of '07, used with about 11k miles on it. In the slightly used market, I wasn't finding a big price difference, and the few extra k for the Denali was well worth it.

The funny thing is that the front end bugged me a bit on the Denali, but I quickly forgot about, even has kind of grown on me too!

 

[sarahw]

I drove both and an Escalade; chose the Tahoe LTZ. Just better looking, IMO. ('Lade was nice but not worth the $20k more.)

So...which one did you choose????

 

[Rollin Thunder]

I love my yukon, but if i did it over again I would have sprung for the denali. My 5.3 has nice power. But i get 14 MPG average with mixed driving. My buddy has a tahoe with a 6.2 liter (2wd) and he averages 14 city and 16 highway. Plus has a 6 speed and almost 400 hp. Driving them is night and day difference too. I always liked the tahoe front end more, but the yukon frond end has really grown on me. It looks really elegant and has a luxury stance, while the tahoe looks really mean and has an offroad type stance. Both are really neat, but i like the luxury stance more, I wish i could afford both LOL.


Plus black on tan interior is a really sweet color combo.

 

[quikag]

I got the Denali because I'm a sucker for power. I love the 6.2L motor in my Vette, so I had to have it in the SUV too. The six-speed automatic is very nice too. Now, you can get the six-speed in the 5.3L, so it's probably the best overall choice. But for power junkies that like that nasty stock exhaust note on the 6.2L, it's a good way to go.

Also, got a true 20mpg driving all highway from Dallas to Austin yesterday cruising between 65mph and 80mph as traffic permitted. Not bad at all IMO.

 

[pgaduane]

Well, I made up my mind and went with the Denali. Actually I went with another Denali than the one I listed. It's Black on Black. Clean carfax, low miles and has what I want.

I drove the LTZ and I must say I loved the way it drove, love the exterior but hated the interior. I bought my wife a new 08 Armada a few months ago and it has better interior than the LTZ. I must say I was disappointed. Love the looks, but in the end I chose the Denali.

As far as gas milage - I work from home and travel. So my extent of driving is going to the airport. I average less than 8k a year on my car.

Thanks for all the inputs, and here's a pic of the new ride.

pgaduane

 

[akim47]

congrats. u wont be dissappointed... after stayin on the boards, i decided to keep my denali!!! it's pretty crazy. i thought i got a steal when i got mine (stickered at $55.5K) for $45K. it's more of a steal when the best offer i got was $28K for a 1 year old denali!!! overall, its worth more for me to drive it and deal with the bad gas in CA.. luckily gas is in the mid 3's right now here in CA (although i dont expect it to stay here)...

 

[quikag]

Trading out of a relatively new SUV now to save money on gas is robbing Peter to pay Paul. You're going to take a massive bath on trade-in, several thousands of dollars, which will take years of better fuel economy to make up. All IMO, of course.