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Its improbable quickness is worth two points here. Curving roads, hard stops, and congested urban arteries pose problems that cost it a point. Once free of the confines of roads, it’s an off-road showcase worthy of another point on our scale. It’s a 7 total, with the EV SUV a bit more balanced than the truck, even if it’s a tad slower.
The Hummer EV Edition 1 and EV3X utilize three permanent magnet synchronous motors for full-time all-wheel drive. A single motor up front and twin rear motors apportion up to 1,200 lb-ft of torque based on individual wheel speed, so it’s much more precise and reactive than the low gear of a 2-speed transfer case. An electronic locker up front and a virtual locker at the rear can lock across each axle, and the front and rear can be locked together.
Five drive modes affect the steering, alter the damping, tweak the traction control settings, and adjust drive noises in the cabin. That last bit can be shut off.
Terrain mode raises the air suspension from a standard ground clearance 10.1 inches up to 11.9 inches. An Extract mode maxes the four-corner air suspension out at 15.9 inches. The Extreme Off-Road package comes with five steel skid plates running from the front bumper to the rear axle for a flat, protected floor. The package includes rock rails and a 17-view camera system with two cameras with built-in washers mounted in the middle of each axle.
In our testing it got out of deep mud without much problem, but even a vehicle as capable as this couldn’t overcome the most sodden conditions on a steep hillside on terrain that was described as mashed potatoes. Still, the SUV climbs off-road better than the truck, thanks in part to a greater breakover angle of 34.4 degrees (32.2 in the truck) and a friendlier departure angle of 49 degrees (38.4 in truck).
An Off-Road mode acts like a Baja mode, dropping the suspension to normal and limiting traction control enough to approximate a Drift mode.
The standard rear-axle steering of up to 10 degrees helps it clear tight corners but also demonstrates the Hummer EVs biggest show-off feature: Crab Walk. Moving in phase with the front wheels, the Hummer EV can scrabble diagonally up and down the banks of a mud pit, a hillside, or a parking lot. At about 180 degrees of steering wheel input, it surpassed the 10-degree threshold of rear-axle steering, so if you keep turning the steering wheel it will actually turn, but not with the same tight turning circle of 35.4 feet if it were in Normal mode.
How fast is the GMC Hummer EV?
The three motors conspire to make 1,000 hp (830 hp in the SUV) and 1,200 lb-ft of torque; employing the Watts to Freedom mode, which lowers the suspension to a ground clearance of about 6.5 inches, the bulldog lifts from 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds (3.5 in the SUV).
In both cases, the nose lifts, it pins in your seat, and the high seating position and large proportions of the Hummer EV cause a feeling unlike any other vehicle.
Beyond the straights, the rocking turns to rolling. It’s just too tall and heavy.
One pedal drive and regen braking in the Hummer EV
Pending brake size and type disclosure from GMC, the Hummer does as good a job of braking as accelerating, thankfully. The truck pitches forward a bit more than the SUV, but in either case the grab is good.
There are three different ways to engage regenerative braking, which might be two too many. An L setting in the console shifter is the most consistent, but settings in the touchscreen can suit the driver’s taste. The one-pedal paddle on the steering wheel is more difficult to modulate into a stop; it’s best used for those last few feet of travel.
Hummer EV Tow/Haul mode
The Tow/Haul mode monitors lateral G forces, and if it detects a sway event, it adjusts rear axle steering and could apply the brakes to increase the amplitude of yaw, according to GMC. We haven’t towed with either vehicle, but GMC rates the truck with a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds, and a payload of 1,300 pounds. Specs for the SUV were not ready at press time.
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