The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV is a real head-turner. It can accelerate to 60 mph in an astonishingly fast 3.5 seconds, like something straight out of a video game! It also has adjustable ground clearance, letting you drive over anything that stands in your way. Plus, its special “Crab Walk” ability helps you turn diagonally or go sideways. And it looks so cool with video game graphics and a lunar design – this vehicle is definitely not from Earth!
No matter how good its tires are, even the newest Hummer EV SUV can’t defeat Mother Nature. GMC had planned to show off the amazing capabilities of their 2024 Hummer EV SUV during a special event in California’s wine country. However, they were stopped by record levels of rain after a long period without rain – making it impossible to drive through this difficult terrain.
In a strange turn of events, floods took over droughts, and an old military car that uses lots of gas became the center of attention again because one of the biggest car companies is changing to using electric cars.
Unlike the Hummer EV truck that launched in 2022, the Hummer EV SUV looks much like the original Hummer H2 from early 2000’s. It has a muscular look and wide shape with small windows surrounded by big and strong fenders on top of 22-inch wheels giving it a tough, American bulldog look.
The GMC SUV differs from the Hummer EV pickup in terms of its shorter wheelbase and an overall shorter length. This leads to it having a smaller 170-kwh battery pack which has fewer modules compared to the 205-kwh pack found on the truck. The front part of the SUV is like that of the pickup, but with reduced rear wheels and a full-size spare tire installed, this makes it look more proportional than the truck and it takes up less space in garages as well as when off-roading.
Table of Contents
“GMC Hummer EV Taking on the Rain
When we got to Napa, it was raining, and when we left it was still raining. This made the people in nearby San Francisco excited because they had been dealing with a drought and now many of the reservoirs have filled up again. But this wet weather caused problems too; the ground became very squishy and cools off after forest fires in 2020 that left plenty of ash on the ground.
Sean Poppitt from Buick & GMC Communications said that “it felt like walking on mashed potatoes”!
The day before we arrived, a Hummer EV SUV got stuck while trying to go up a hill. Even though the Hummer EVs had recovery hooks and winches, they needed a Bobcat for four hours to recover it. The SUV was better at off-roading than the Hummer EV truck since it has a sharper angle when going up (49.6 degrees compared to 49.7). It also has a higher break over angle of 34.4 degrees (compared to 32.2 in the truck) and its shape allows it a steeper departure angle of 49 degrees (which is much higher than 38.4 of truck).
Due to the heavy rain, GMC had changed their plans and created a flattened off-road course to show what their Hummer EV SUV was capable of. The SUV weighed 8,700 pounds and sunk into the boggy field if it didn’t keep moving. The only people allowed on this ride were the GMC experts, such as Aaron Pfau who was leading development engineer for the Hummer EV. He proved just how great this vehicle really was despite (or because of) the challenging road conditions.
Dominate Your Next Adventure with the Hummer EV SUV’s Special Features!
Throughout life, we will all face difficult decisions. Taking the time to explore these options can help us to choose wisely. We need to fully assess the pros and cons of each option in light of our values and goals in order to make an informed decision. Doing so will give us the best possible chance of being happy with the outcome and can prevent future regrets. Therefore, when faced with any tough choices, it is wise to reflect on them before making any big decisions that could have a major impact on our lives.
Pfau changed the car settings so that the car had higher clearance and more power. Three motors sent out up to 1,200 lb-ft of torque which was a lot more efficient than a regular two-speed transfer case. A physical locker at the front and a virtual locker at the rear were linked together in order to measure and adjust all four wheel speeds simultaneously.
The Hummer SUV EV slid out of the mud which reached about half way up its 18-inch-high wheels with chunky 35-inch Goodyear off-road tires. It took some manoeuvring from the back axle to stay on track when in deep, muddy places, but luckily there was no need to use a function called Extract mode – like we had to do the day before on that hilly terrain – that would have raised the ground clearance up to 15.9 inches.
The Hummer EV SUV has a really cool special feature called Crab Walk. It uses the rear-axle steering to turn the rear wheels in sync with the front wheels and actually make it climb up and down hills! To activate this you have to press and hold the left side of your console until an icon appears on the touchscreen. The best part is that there are two cameras embedded underneath, so you can see what’s underneath you while driving through mud or steep hills. Plus, there are 17 different kinds of camera views which give you incredibly clear visibility so you know exactly where you’re going!
Lots of cars have features to help when you go off-roading, such as Ford’s inside rear wheel lock which helps with tight turns. Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV takes this one step further by having rear-axle steering that enables even tighter turns. Going diagonally is called Crab Walk, and it feels strange in a parking lot or mud. You can do this by turning the steering wheel up to 180 degrees, which is much more than the 10 degrees allowed by normal rear-axle steering. It will keep on turning until your car goes over 15 mph, at which point the Crab Walk disengages.
The Hummer 3X trim has an optional Extreme Off-Road package for $10,000 that comes with some cool features. It includes a camera system called UltraVision, front e-locker, and special AT tires. Plus it has five metal plates from the front bumper to the back of the car to protect the batteries. The flat underside makes it easier to go over rocks and logs. You can also drive into water up to 32 inches deep without any trouble—the letters on the grille will still be visible!
The front locker can be activated with a long press of the button under the touchscreen. Most of the time, it’s not necessary since there are five modes that adjust the steering, damping, traction control settings, and create drive noises inside the vehicle. Each mode also has pretty graphic displays on the screen just like PC video games!
According to Pfau, the native drive unit sounds are amplified in order to express the power and torque of a machine. Also, each mode has inspirations of sound. As an option, this sound can be switched off.
Unfortunately, due to the big rainstorm, we didn’t get to test Off-Road mode. This mode works like a higher speed Baja race with its air suspension lowered and certain traction control settings changed. By turning off traction control, it’s possible to drift like in an actual rally car race!
Feel the Power
The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV has a special last mode called Watts to Freedom (WTF) which was inspired by the electric racing series called “Formula E”. When activated, it makes an extra loud sound.
To activate, tap the traction control toggle twice, then select ‘Watts to Freedom’ in the instrument panel. The air suspension will lower making the car 3.5 inches shorter, from 10.1 inches to 6.5 inches from the ground. This is lower than its usual starting point and it looks like a bulldog squats on its haunches. You’ll feel your seat vibrating to let you know that it’s working and you must make sure that the steering wheel stays straight. Once lowered, press down firmly on the brake pedal, hit the accelerator and release the brake at once.
As this giant SUV accelerates quickly and pins you in your seat, it uses all three motors but reduces the power of the front one. Keeping the wheel straight is surprisingly difficult as you fly from 0 to 60 mph in only 3.5 seconds (even faster for a truck). While doing “party tricks” like this might be fun, driving this way with a Hummer EV’s bottomed-out suspension isn’t really recommended.
Big Impressions and Bigger Features
The Hummer EV SUV makes a big impression on the streets. It’s so wide that it needs 3 special orange lights at the front, just like trucks and work vehicles. If you’re driving in busy cities, you may feel a bit worried. The car itself is very short and the windscreen is quite wide and thin – which means three wipers are required to clean off any raindrops. You can’t have a Head-Up Display (HUD) because there isn’t anywhere to put it safely.
The layout of the two screens is strange. One is 12.3 inches and the other one is 13.4 inches, making it look a bit crowded. Even though they might not look too cool, they’re simple to use and have awesome graphics showing different information like which wheels are getting more power and how high we are above ground level or how fast we’re moving in different directions. It’s like GM electric vehicles have gotten an upgrade!
The Ford F-150 is a great pickup truck because you don’t have to use the touchscreen to control the drive mode or climate functions. Instead, there’s a cool dial on the console that lets you adjust the drive modes and suspension height and there’s also a bar with actuall switches in it that helps you manage the air conditioning and heating system. This truck looks retro but still has all of today’s advanced features so it really stands out!
The Hummer EV SUV has lots of space at the front, but the small windows and A-pillars are preventing you from looking outside. It’s also a bit squishy in the backseat. Four people can still fit inside okay, but if you’re going on a long drive, the ones in the back might not be too comfortable.
The driver sits up high and the car leans into turns like a boat. You can also hear loud squeals from the tires at over 60 mph, and some wind noise getting stuck in the side mirrors and pillars. When you’re driving slower though, it’s nice and quiet.
To test the two models, I tried out the Hummer EV 3X SUV (priced at $106,645 with a destination fee of $1,995) and its special Edition 1 version (which has already sold out) that was priced at $105,595. In June, GMC stopped taking orders for the Edition 1 and increased prices for the EV3X, EV2X and EV2 by $6,250 each. For my testing comparison both vehicles were similarly specced out – with an Infinity Roof on the EV3X that had a spine in the middle plus four removable panels that can be neatly stored inside the front trunk.
The Edition 1 of the Hummer EV SUV came with Super Cruise, an awesome hands-free driving system that works on 400,000 miles of highways. But it didn’t work for me on Highway 101 and I couldn’t figure out why. The lanes were visible, it wasn’t a broken model, and there weren’t any construction zones. When it worked though, it kept the car in its lane, sped up and slowed down as needed, and could even switch lanes without any help from me. Despite this tech advantage though, the big size of the Hummer made sure my hands were never far away from the wheel!
Recharge Quicker and Easier with the GMC Hummer EV’s 19
The Hummer EV SUV has a special battery stack that allows it to be charged very quickly at an electric station. 100 miles of range can be refilled in just 14 minutes when using a 300 kw station. However, if the electric station is not as powerful and only has 117 kw, then you’ll need to wait around 55 minutes until the car’s battery goes from 20-80%. All that energy requires a pretty large battery pack, so keeping this car efficiently charged can take some time.
I tested to see how far the car could go on one battery charge, and it was 1.4 miles per kwh over 90 miles of driving on highway 101 and rural roads. This is not ideal for an average electric vehicle or crossover EV, as it’s about half of what you would typically expect for those types of cars. The climate control was off during this test, and there were 950 feet of both climbing up and descending down a hill. Also, I used the special brake setting on the paddle shifter, but it didn’t seem to work correctly in a big car like that. It was smoother to use the ‘L’ setting in the shifter instead, and in the touchscreen there are even different settings you can adjust. Having three options for setup was too many though – drivers will find their preferred set-up eventually so they can use just one pedal when needed.
For the SUV and truck in 2024, all models will come with a 19.2-kw onboard charger that makes 240-volt charging faster and easier. This charger can add back 30 miles of power each hour, but it’ll take about eight hours for a full recharge from 20%. Plus, you have to have a 100-amp circuit coming from your house, so if your home is old, upgrading the wiring could be necessary.
The coolest thing about it is that it makes electric cars charge each other really fast. GMC wouldn’t tell us how much the special adapter costs, but in a demonstration, two Hummer SUVs were charged at a rate of nine miles per hour.
The new GMC Hummer EV trucks have an upgraded onboard charger that can provide a boost to other electric vehicles. Compared to the old model, the new ones are now more capable of charging other electric cars.
The new GMC Hummer EV in 2024 will have something called V2L – vehicle-to-load power generation. This is a Power Station generator that can give 3 kw of energy so that you can power tools, camping equipment, home appliances or even an air compressor using a regular 120-volt connection.
Get Ready for GMC’s New Hummer EV SUV!
GMC believes that 60% or more of the Hummer vehicles they produce will be SUVs. This means that GM is transitioning from an automated car company to an electric vehicle company and the Hummer EV SUV will help with this transition.
GM’s Ultium propulsion system strategy is offering special, expensive models to get people excited about less pricy cars, like the new Hummer truck and SUV. Starting with the Silverado EV for fleets, then the Blazer EV and Equinox EV, next will be the Silverado EV for retail customers, and in 2024 GMC Sierra EV.
The GMC Hummer EV SUV has become very popular. So much so, that 90,000 people have already signed up for one by September! It is not yet known how many will actually end up buying the car but it’s expected that the first ones could be delivered this month.
It’s hard to know how we can sustain the environment. The 2 new Hummer EVs are still just as wasteful with electricity, kind of like how the H2 was wasteful with gas. It’s weird and sad that a vehicle originally built for military use, now being used in a time when people try to look after the planet, still causes so much harm. All this shows us that nature is more powerful than anything else – even if GM tries hard to defy it.
The Hummer EV SUV is still impressive in terms of GM’s electric vehicle technology. We’ll see how it will be made available to more accessible and eco-friendly vehicles. GMC provided all the expenses such as travel and accommodation, so AutoMotorMart could write a review of this firsthand experience.