With gasoline hitting near $4 a gallon these days, you might want to spend your time at the auto show this year checking out hybrids and smaller cars.

But if you've got a family of any size, or if you do a lot of hauling, you also need space and lots of it.

Have no fear. If you want to save on gas and carry your family, take a look at the 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid.

It gets about 25 percent better fuel economy in combined city-highway driving, and about 40 percent better mileage in city driving. Although figures have not been set by the EPA, GM said the Yukon could get about 20 mpg in the city, about 22 on the highway, and about 21 overall.

While those figures may not seem like much in the days of hybrids that get 50 mpg, they certainly look good compared with other SUVs.

It features the world's first production two-mode full hybrid propulsion system in an SUV, and includes a 6.0-liter V-8 engine that has active fuel-management technology, which means that in certain situations, such as cruising or in city traffic, the engine switches to a four-cylinder mode, thus saving gasoline.

The Yukon can run on electric power only, engine power only (a 6-liter, 332-horsepower V-8) or any combination of engine and electric power. In lightning-quick calculations, the SUV automatically decides what is needed.

The system also has electric power steering instead of the belt-driven system that uses more gas. Other steps intended to lighten the weight of these SUVs include changes to the seat design and lighting fixtures, aluminum hoods and liftgates, lightweight wheels and low rolling-resistance tires.

This is a really nice-driving SUV, and it's at the top of the list for a long distance trip. Thanks to its quiet, capable handling and roominess, the Yukon, and the Chevy Tahoe are good choices for families on the go.

As you drive, a gauge helps you obtain the best mileage if you keep the arrow indicator in the noon to 2 p.m. position. If you're curious what the hybrid system is doing, there's an easy to understand graph on the navigation screen that illustrates which parts of the system are working and under what conditions. That's better than the bewildering bar graphs and charts used in other hybrids.

The biggest problem I've had -- and this applies to just about all of the full size GM SUVs -- is that the third-row seats have to be removed if you need to load stuff that requires room up to the second row. As you can imagine, with such a big SUV, removing the seat is no picnic. I hope GM gets around to offering power folding third trow seats. It can be such a boon to consumers.

You can get a Yukon Hybrid for a base price of $50,045 to $52,855 -- a lot of money, but it may be well worth it to you if you're tired of getting stung at the gas pump.