At first, it all worried me slightly. After all, I know that I'm not getting any younger, but I'm not exactly ready to turn into my grandfather behind the wheel. I'm supposed to be a car nut. I'm supposed to be a test pilot of all things fun to drive. I'm supposed to be in the middle of my mid-life crisis, not becoming one of those people you curse for cruising at 80kph in the middle lane!

Luckily for me, that didn't happen, because together with my new "smoothness", I also became the most considerate driver on the planet. I happily cruised along, and when I did feel the need to overtake, I simply eased down on the accelerator, glided by at a slightly greater speed, and then with consideration for my fellow road users, I signaled and returned to my rightful place, in the right hand lane.

I don't know what was happening to me, but I kind of liked the new me. The tension which usually builds up in me whilst driving was no longer there. I had somehow reached the utopia of driving, and I'll be honest, it's a nice place to be!


The right idea at the right time

Therefore, I firmly believe that this system should be fitted to everyone's vehicle. In fact, when the Canadian public finally sees sense and hands me the job of Prime Minister, I'm going to make it compulsory. Actually, I might even go a step further and convert the L/100 kms numbers into actual dollar per kilometer figures, so that you realize exactly how much your driving style is costing you!

Over a week long period in the Yukon Hybrid, which amounted to a few hundred kms of both city and highway driving, I averaged 11.3 L/100 kms. Considering that we are talking of a full-sized SUV here, those are pretty good numbers, I think you'd admit.

It seems to me that GM might have actually found a way of balancing our love of SUV's with livable fuel economy, and from what I understand, this system is going to be added to a number of GM products in the near future.

Now I know that there are a lot of people out there who will still be saying that we could save more by driving a Toyota Prius or suchlike, but the truth is, some people do actually require a larger vehicle. I live in the countryside just north of Toronto, and many of my neighbors tow horse boxes, boats etc. Also, the winters can get a little rough up here, and you can't exactly walk to work, nor rely on public transport because they is none!

Another consideration is often safety, because if you are involved in an accident in our leafy suburbs, chances are that the collision with involve a full-size pickup truck or something even larger. Because of that, many locals prefer to drive SUV'S. However, these owners have endured the brunt of the anti-SUV feelings for quite some time now, simply because there has never been an option for them. Well, there is now!

The 2009 Yukon Hybrid SUV seems to offer it all. V8 power when you need it, yet reasonable fuel economy when you don't. It sounds like a win-win situation to me. The only trouble that GM is going to have is getting consumers to believe it's possible. My tester carried more decals on it than I have ever seen on a vehicle. In fact, from any angle, it was hard not to notice the hybrid symbols.

I've always said that most people would drive green if they could, but they're not ready to give up the things in life that they love. Not everybody can live with the size of a Toyota Prius, or its funny looks for that matter! That might be fine for somebody living and working downtown whose idea of entertainment is a night out at the theatre, but if you're into other pursuits like boating, horseback riding, white water rafting etc, or simply need to ferry a bunch of hockey hopefuls to the rink, then you probably need something a little bigger.


Conclusion

I think that GM deserves a big pat on the back for this one, because this vehicle will go a long way to changing peoples' minds about gas guzzling SUV's. Remember that when you're next out in your mid-sized family sedan, because the hybrid SUV driver next to you might be looking at you thinking, what a gas guzzler you're driving!