• 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV might be an off-road hit, but it’s a suburban pain

• As tested, the GMC Hummer EV 3X SUV cost $118,205

• Rear-wheel steering makes U-turns simple, but fitting in is hard

I’ve marveled at the off-road majesty of the GMC Hummer EV SUV in Moab, and appreciated its conspicuous conscription in last year’s Napa Valley deluge. But I’ve never had to live with GM’s flagship EV, until last week. 

It was too big for my garage, too bloated for my driveway, and in its most conspicuous color of Afterburner Orange, this great pumpkin should’ve been anywhere else other than a suburban sidestreet.  

It’s hard to imagine owning this mechanical marvel and not off-roading it to enjoy what you’re paying for, yet if you’re shelling out $118,205 for a toy then you do whatever the hell you want with it. But consider the following limitations first. 

Pro: There’s nothing else like the GMC Hummer EV SUV

The arrival of the Hummer EV SUV in this boldly bold orange hue ($1,225 extra) prompted my teenagers to not only ask for rides, but for me to pick up their friends along the way. Highly uncanny for an 18- and 16-year-old. 

The lightshow at night announces the Hummer EV SUV like nothing else on the road. At 86.5 inches wide, it requires three amber lights on the roof front and back like heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles. The narrow greenhouse sits on muscular sides and bulging fenders, squat but massive, like some robot bulldog. The light bar spanning the squat face illuminates sequentially as you approach, and puddle lamps cast Hummer names and icons onto the ground. The H logo is repeated everywhere, and illuminated in the taillights. 

Inside, the graphics wowed Gen Zers in both the 12.3-inch instrument cluster and the 13.4-inch touchscreen. The various dynamic displays are powered by Unreal Engine, the 3D computer graphics system popularized by so many modern video games. It’s a cool place to be.

https://t.co/pwWiYks1h6

— Robert Duffer (@DufferRobert) June 21, 2024

Not everyone liked it. Most older adults looked at it on my street as if I had dug up my front yard and built a homemade swimming pool. A passerby asked if it was legal. It deepened nosy neighbors’ suspicions that I engage in criminal enterprises.

Con: Hard to see out and around the Hummer EV SUV

To be seen could be alluring, but to not see well out of such a vehicle is concerning. The front windshield is so stout and narrow that it requires three windshield wiper blades to cover the long width and narrow height. The rearview mirror goes down to the center of the windshield, and the glass is so compact that GMC couldn’t equip the Hummer EV with a head-up display, despite all this other technology. Thick A-pillars create rolling blindspots that require extra caution on side streets with pedestrians, cyclists, and all the rest. 

Con: The GMC Hummer EV SUV doesn’t fit

It didn’t fit in my middle class suburb, and its width and near 9,000-pound weight prohibited me from fitting it in my single-lane driveway. At 78 inches tall, it’s only 1.5 inches taller than a GMC Yukon full-size SUV so it could fit under the eave of my house, but no way it was making it in my detached garage. 

The air suspension has a delta of 9.7 inches, and it defaults to 10.1 inches of ground clearance most of the time. Even if I could have lowered it to “Kneel” or “WTF” modes, when it sits at about 6.5 inches of ground clearance, I wouldn’t have cleared the roof. Sure, most Hummer EV owners have statelier garages, but get out the tape measure before you buy.

It might be a reach for some people to get into, as well. At 5-foot-8, and with running boards, I still had to use the grab handle on the A-pillar to hoist my stumps into the driver’s seat. It’s a fun, authoritative way to get in a vehicle, but, like mounting a horse, it can get old after a while, Cowboy. 

Pro: Rear-wheel steering shrinks the turning radius

One thing the Hummer EV SUV could do on my suburban side street that other cars of any size can’t do is make a U-turn instead of a 3-point turn. The rear-wheel steering enables off-road tricks such as Crab Walking and it shrinks the SUV’s wheelbase down to size so you can make hairpin turns, but it also makes for easy parking and low-speed maneuvering. It’s so pronounced when parking, where the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels, that I often overshot heading into ubiquitous striped parking spots—leaving the rear wheel hanging over the far side of the parking spot. Normally, the opposite happens in pickup trucks and other cars with a long wheelbase. 

Con: GMC Hummer EV SUV Extreme Off-Road package

Absolutely get the $9,995 Extreme Off-Road package if you plan on going extreme off-roading in Moab. But if that is more of an idea than a reality, how would you use the rear recovery hooks, the two underbody cameras with washers, and the four additional skid plates covering the front motor, the rear motor, and the battery pack? The package deletes the rear stabilizer bar so you’ll have less on-road stability and a whole lot more body lean in turns, and the 18-inch wheels with mud-terrain tires drop the range from 314 to 298 miles. Just get the rock rails with assist steps as a standalone option. 

2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV

Pro: GMC Hummer EV’s removable roof

The main reason Jeep Wranglers are so popular with middle-aged moms and teenagers in these suburbs has nothing to do with off-roading: it’s the removable doors and roof panels. Only the Bronco and now the Hummer EV put such fun in functionality. While you can’t take off the Hummer EV’s doors, its Infinity Roof might be the easiest of the three models to remove and stow. It has four quarter panels, one over each main seat; all you have to do is flip a front and rear latch and pop a panel out, then stow it in the frunk. You can remove any number of the panels. There’s room for all four, and canvas-lined bags to protect the glass. The first time doing it, with my daughter’s help, it took less than five minutes to pop off all four and stow them in the bags, which took the most time by far. 

Driving the 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV around my suburban streets was…illuminating. https://t.co/MXcalIowOS

— Robert Duffer (@DufferRobert) June 21, 2024

Con: GMC Hummer’s highest destination fee in the industry

Destination fees, or the mandatory non-negotiable price that automakers add to new cars for shipping them to dealers, have risen across the board since the pandemic. Even after inflation and shipping surcharges cooled off last year, the new 2024 and 2025 models have higher destination fees than the preceding year. They’re usually in the $1,200 range. The heavy Hummer EV SUV has a destination fee of $2,295. That’s the highest for any passenger vehicle on sale now. 

The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV is truly one of a kind, which is why it earns a high TCC Rating of 7.8 out of 10. That doesn’t make it easy to live with, though it sure keeps the living fun. 

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2024 GMC Hummer EV 3X SUV

Base price: $106,945, including a whopping $2,295 destination fee

Price as tested: $118,205

Drivetrain: 170-kwh battery pack, three motors, four-wheel drive, 830 hp and 1,200 lb-ft of torque

EPA fuel economy: 298 miles on 18-inch wheels with mud-terrain tires (314 miles on models without the Off-Road package)

Pros: Unique looks, removable roof, rear-wheel steering, awesome graphics

The misses: Price, size, poor outward vision