The all-new GMC HUMMER EV SUV is Bigger and Better.
Figuratively speaking, when you first drive this massive machine, you exclaim “WTF” because the GMC HUMMER EV SUV is one of the most surprisingly smoothest driving vehicles for its’ size. The 2024 GMC HUMMER EV SUV is a modern-day comic book superhero in the shape of a SUV. It boasts super strength, epic proportions, and has several very cool superpowers.
The days of outsized dimensions and utilitarian mil-spec styling sprayed in shiny paint are over. The Hummer brand is back, better and badder than ever. Reemerging more than a decade later with the HUMMER EV Super Truck, GMC has turned the EV market around especially when they only took a record low 26 months from concept to roll out of the Super Truck. That’s about half the time of a typical vehicle program.
The new GMC HUMMER EV SUV is different for General Motors, not just because it isn’t a gas-guzzler like its ancestors. It marks a major shift for the historically conservative Detroit automaker in both form and function.
There also are other notable features inside the vehicle that are testaments to GM changing as a company to better compete against Tesla and other newer EV start-ups which are discussed below.
“Hopefully, there’s a lot that’s surprising with this vehicle because it’s all intentional,” Aaron Pfau, Hummer’s lead development engineer, said during a media event. “It is to kind of change your concept of not only what an EV can do but what GM as a whole can do.”
The Daily Drive
First time behind the wheel, a part of me expected to have to work the steering wheel to get where I wanted, but I could not be further from fact.
With a nearly 9-inch shorter wheelbase than the HUMMER EV Pickup, the all-new HUMMER EV SUV offers even greater maneuverability, with expected best-in-class off-road proportions and a turning circle of only 35.4 feet (10.8 meters) with 4 Wheel Steer, yet can turn a tighter circle than a Chevy Equinox. It basically bends the laws of physics to their breaking point and slaps a super smile on your face while doing it.
The HUMMER EV SUV has four-wheel-steering that allows it to perform extremely tight turns and offers a “crab mode” that allows the vehicle to move in a diagonal direction. The independent four-wheel-steering also makes every day road driving smooth as glass.
However, much like GM’s original Hummer vehicles of the 1990s and 2000s, such capability comes at a cost. While it doesn’t guzzle gas, it does go through a lot of energy and weighs over 9,000 pounds. That weight is about 4,000 pounds more than the heaviest Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup and more than double an average new vehicle, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The current model being produced offers 830 horsepower, 12,00 foot-pounds of motor torque and 11,500 foot-pounds of wheel torque.
It’s that torque that creates “Watts to Freedom,” or WTF. WTF mode launches the massive vehicle 0-60 mph in about three seconds. That’s comparable to a Chevy Corvette.
At speed, the chunky tires can’t be silenced, but they intrude on the ears less than one might expect. The HUMMER EV SUV Edition 1 also comes equipped with a lovely 14-speaker Bose stereo that’s very capable of drowning out much of the tire noise. And, if you’re jamming to tunes with the roof off, the sound system also has an “Audio Pilot” setting which adjusts the EQ so wind and other external noises don’t interfere with the music.
When coming to a stop, the GMC Hummer EV slows confidently and predictably. In D (drive), regenerative braking is strong, but if you like that true one-pedal driving experience, then an extra tug on the shifter puts it in “L,” which will bring you to a complete stop without touching the brake pedal. Alternatively, in D, one can use a paddle on the left side of the wheel. Hold it in, and the truck will come to a halt.
The Hummer EV also comes equipped with the Super Cruise advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). So, on an enabled stretch of a divided highway, you can leave steering and speed control to the truck as long as it detects you’re keeping your eyes on the road. It’s also capable of making lane changes. Push on the steering stalk and if traffic is clear, it will move over a lane on its own. For now, at least, the onus is on the driver to turn off the turn signal after the maneuver.
The Off-Road Drive
If you really want the GMC Hummer EV to shine, take it off-road.
For these off-road situations, the Hummer EV has two main modes: “off road” and “terrain.” During the trail portion of the drive, I put the truck in off road, which raises the body two inches above “normal” mode, allows for a bit of wheel slip, softens the accelerator pedal mapping, and doubles the steering ratio of the rear wheel from normal mode. It also allows you to bring up displays on the center screen which show real-time suspension articulation, pitch and yaw, the amount of torque each wheel is being sent, as well as GPS coordinates and other information.
In addition, having cameras mounted on the underside fore and aft, allowed me to see exactly where I was putting the wheels with glances at the center screen when my view out the windshield was nothing but sky as the truck climbed up the steep trails.
Switching to “terrain mode” to tackle a steep ascent over uneven rock surfaces, a number of changes happen to the truck to make it practically unstoppable. The suspension is softened, the rear-steer ratio doubles yet again from off road mode, the electric power steering gets more assist, and the mechanical braking system takes over from the usual regenerative setup. In terrain mode, switching from “D’ to “L” engages one-pedal driving as before, but now it’s a mechanical operation. So, when the truck is on a steep incline it will not roll forward or back, the mechanical brakes holding it in place.
If you’re still not sure you have enough climbing capability, you can also lock the back axle with the push of a toggle. This is a virtual lock, as there are no physical connections between the two rear motors that reside in the same housing on the back axle. If you want to go that extra final mile, you can lock the front axles. That is a mechanical operation achieved by holding its toggle down for five seconds. It’s not recommended to leave it engaged when it’s not specifically needed.
The Tow
While the confirmed max tow ratings are not available currently, one can assume that they will be similar to the HUMMER EV Truck which has a max two rating of 7500 pounds.
These towing and payload ratings are comparable to those of the 2022 Chevy Colorado mid-size pickup. While these towing and payload capacities may seem slightly low for a vehicle with 1,000 horsepower, it’s worth pointing out that the GMC HUMMER EV SUV is tailored more to off-roading rather than towing with its oversized tires and soft suspension, which may affect its towing/payload performance.
For instance, with the GMC HUMMER EV SUV weighing over 9,000 pounds by itself, towing a 7,500-pound trailer equates to a very heavy, 16,500-pound rig.
The GMC HUMMER EV SUV, which is currently being produced at a plant in Detroit, has an electric range of 250+ miles, it’s not clear how towing a 7,500 pounds trailer would affect the vehicle’s range.
About That Whole EV Thing
The HUMMER EV SUV uses the flagship General Motors new Ultium EV technologies, the new benchmark for the Detroit automaker in terms of development time.
“The whole goal of this vehicle was to get people excited and thinking about EVs that wouldn’t necessarily be excited and thinking about EVs,” Pfau said.
Ultium was originally the branding for a new family of battery cells and modules for all the new electric vehicles produced by GM over the coming years, but has been expanded to include the motors, drive units, and power electronics that make up the propulsion systems to be used in these vehicles.
The heart of the Hummer EV is its massive battery pack. It holds over 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) usable and consists of 20 separate modules. It’s basically a 400-volt system, until you plug it into a DC charger capable of sending power at 800 volts.
The system is wired up as two separate 400-volt battery packs of equal size, which meet at a battery disconnect unit. To reach its full 350 kW charging potential, 400-volt relays within the unit are opened and 800-volt relays are closed. This changes the packs from a serial configuration to a parallel arrangement, which doubles the voltage, allowing the pack to accept a higher amount of amperage and reduce charging time.
It all translates, GMC says, to being able to add 100 miles of range in about 12 minutes if plugged into a 350-kW DC fast charger that’s capable of serving power at 500 amps. In 42 minutes, it can go from 20 to 80 percent averaging about 175 kW.
Charging at home will take more time, of course. If you have an EVSE connected to a 60-amp circuit and can take full advantage of the 11.5 kW onboard AC charger, you can add about 16 miles per plugged-in hour. Going from 20 to 100 percent would take 16.5 hours. Typically, though, it would take just a couple hours to replace the 30 miles or so worth of energy most might use on a daily basis.
Other Easter Eggs Found in the Hummer EV
The overall mission, internally referred to as “moonshot” in a nod to NASA’s Apollo 11 first lunar landing is shown throughout the vehicle. The mission was to create a “fun” vehicle that would draw attention to the company and its new EVs, which are expected to scale to 30 models globally by 2025.
It’s expressed in a topographical map of the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) on the door speakers and also makes its way onto the center infotainment display as a backdrop for some of the drive mode screens. The dead pedal has a large lunar boot print molded into it, and there are several small boot print Easter eggs sprinkled through the cabin. It’s an interesting, if a somewhat indulgent, quirk.
Climb up into the cabin and you’ll find a thoroughly modern, thoughtfully designed interior, but one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s spacious and airy thanks, in part, to the glass “infinity roof.”
If you’d like an even more open feel, those glass panels can be popped off and stored in the frunk. The back window also rolls down. Sans roof, you become more connected to the environment, be it the boulevard or the backwoods. Still, in traffic, with the truck sitting on 35-inch tires and the cabin built on top of an extra thick battery pack, the elevated position makes you still feel somewhat above commoners.
The interior feels premium – the two main screens, a 12.3-inch driver display and a 13.4-inch center infotainment touchscreen are accented in bronze trim that tastefully finds its way onto a few other surfaces. A small strip of screen beneath the main one on the center stack offers climate readings with a row of toggle switches below to warm or cool the cabin or seats. Another row of toggles below those are assigned duties such as locking front or rear differentials, turning off electronic stability control, and turning on hazard lights.
Despite the classy touches, it has a rugged feel – the vinyl floors have rubber inserts covering them so it should be easy to clean up if it gets messy.
That “H’ design element found on the outside is echoed throughout the passenger compartment. It’s in the air vents, the grab handles, the steering wheel – even the center armrest.
