GMC Hummer EV SUV review

When we asked one of the Hummer engineers what was one of the hardest things to achieve on the program, they said "getting it to drive in a straight line". Which hints at just how fiendishly complicated it is to get a three-engined tank like this to behave in any normal way. It’s an amusing notion considering there are featured mechanics in place specifically to drive it askew.

At launch, the Hummer’s ‘crab walk’ – an ability to slide the hulking EV diagonally for tight trail navigation, or to simply slide into a curbside parking spot – was all anyone could talk about. Now, GMC has introduced ‘King Crab’ mode that fully utilizes all the hardware in place for superior off-road maneuvering. We take this to mean a tighter turning radius and using the power on hand to rotate the rear, similar to Ford’s ‘trail turn’ or Rivian’s ‘kick turn’ functions. 

The fact that it drives just like a big SUV – only much, much bigger – shows what a thorough job they have done. Our road test route took in San Francisco streets, the Golden Gate Bridge, freeways and sinewy back roads through vineyards.

Sounds tricky…

The only real concern throughout was the SUV’s width – on the bridge, which was clearly built when cars were narrower, it needed a steady hand not to rub wheels with the next lane or the central divider. Likewise trying to thread it down a wiggly country lane without collecting a slice of the scenery required concentration. But everywhere else it was fine. Supercruise made the freeway portion easy.

With a nine-inch shorter wheelbase and four-wheel steering, it steers and handles like a compact SUV. Even with the off-road package-equipped vehicles it is not ponderous or unresponsive, just linear and faithful to the inputs. Again, that sounds simple but must require some serious algorithms.

Is it faster or slower than the HEV pickup?

If we’re talking about the 2X, the Hummer SUV and the pickup are matched in both power output and their 0 to 60mph times of 4.4 seconds, as stated by GMC. For the beefier 3X, the automaker claims it can get all 10,000 pounds of this thing up to 60mph in just 2.8 seconds.

For its part, the SUV manages to do this in 3.5 seconds. Slower, but considering all of… it, still impressive. It’s not going to out-drag a Tesla Model X, but then an X can’t climb a mountain or ford three-feet deep rivers. The Hummer EV SUV can.

What about charging? 

As with all EVs right now, you’re always going to be on the lookout for chargers if you plan on some more major excursions. The SUV can charge at up to 300kW – enough to add around 100 miles in an hour, when available.

But equally, thanks to its new onboard Power Station Generator, stranded drivers are going to be happy to see the Hummer. It can not only act as a full-power generator for power tools and more, it can also charge other EVs.