This is not an inconsiderable amount of weight, but Envoy is blessed with one of the world's great engines — the 4.2-litre, 24-valve, DOHC inline-6 that GM designed for this line of SUVs and produces 270 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 275 pound-feet of torque at 3600 rpm.
While these numbers beat the outputs of many competitive V8s, the extra avoirdupois will tend to make response times in the Envoy XL a little longer and gasoline consumption rates a little higher than they are in an Envoy with the same occupant and cargo load.
Presumably, the Envoy XL should even deliver a smoother ride than the regular Envoy, which is pretty good, since stretching a wheelbase tends to flatten out a vehicle's journey.
It's also promising that GM is promising a structural rating of 23 Hertz for the Envoy XL, since that's the kind of number that luxury sedans get since it's critical to deliver a tight, quiet ride.
Equipment levels for the Envoy XL are still to be determined by GM of Canada, but you can expect them to be pretty healthy on a vehicle that's likely to start around $40,000 and go up from there.
One breakthrough option that will be available in the XL and is already available in the Envoy is a DVD rear-seat entertainment system. This includes a wide screen, flip-down, color liquid-crystal display and the capability of playing audio/video in both CD-audio and DVD formats.
