Kelley Blue Book: The 2022 GMC Hummer EV reviewed: The all-electric, full-size luxury pickup has real truck abilities, but a steep learning curve

The 2022 GMC Hummer EV is the new arrival from a brand that’s long been associated with rugged off-road capability. This time around, a lot has changed. The comically overdone styling of the H2 and H3 is gone in favor of a tough, modern look with lots of intricate details. This Hummer is an all-new, all-electric, full-size luxury pickup with real-truck abilities – like towing, off-road features and abilities, and a long driving range.

Technically, this is a GMC truck with the Hummer name being a sub-brand like “Denali” or “AT4.”

One huge highlight – the Hummer EV will have Super Cruise, which means true hands-free driving on mapped roads – of which there are currently 200,000 miles worth in the U.S. The Pickup Edition 1 will come with the first GMC implementation of Super Cruise with automatic lane-changing, an update allowing the system to switch lanes on its own without intervention or signaling from the driver.

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Range and charging capability will also be impressive. With the 24-module Ultium battery pack and 3-motor drive in the Pickup Edition 1, drivers can expect to drive up to 350 miles between charges. With 800-volt DC fast charging, you can get 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.

The first Hummer EV will be a showcase for off-road capability, with a long list of standard equipment engineered to make the pickup extremely nimble and rugged. With its sideward travel, Crab Walk is the showiest feature, but Extract Mode, using the air suspension system to raise the truck by up to 5.8 inches to clear extreme obstacles at low speed, might be the most useful.

2022 GMC Hummer EV pricing

$112,595 for the first to arrive Edition 1. Other versions will arrive later and will be priced between $80,000 and $100,000 depending on options and trim.

Here’s what we know so far:

Hummer EV2 will be just over $80,000 and features a 2-motor drive system along with all other standard features (available 2024).

Hummer EV2X will be just over $90,000 and adds adaptive air suspension, CrabWalk, and Extract mode (available 2023).

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Hummer EV3X will be just over $100,000 and adds the 3-motor drive system, torque vectoring, and Watts to Freedom – a sort of launch mode that allows maximum acceleration resulting in an estimated (by GM
GM,
-1.13%
) 0-60 time of three seconds (available 2022).

Hummer EV Pickup Edition 1 ($112,595) will be a loaded showcase for the Pickup’s off-road capability. It includes the 3-motor drive system, a 24-module Ultium battery pack, Super Cruise with automatic lane-change, Crab Walk, Extract Mode, adaptive air suspension, 35-inch tires, and more (beginning production in Q4 2021, all reservations full).

Driving the 2022 GMC Hummer EV

Our experience behind the wheel of the Pickup Edition 1 was brief, lasting less than one hour. We spent all that time on closed courses with a GM engineer in the passenger seat and another in the second row. The engineer directed us through several off-road obstacles, including a short rock crawl, a hill climb and descent, and some short slalom courses on a gravel trail, all while being reminded of the vehicle’s preproduction status.

The pickup didn’t need any apologies – it was very impressive. First of all, even though the pickup is big and heavy, the available power flows so freely the truck is ready to leap forward at any time. The pedal response is good, though, making it easy to modulate the speed without getting overwhelmed.

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The off-road pieces of the puzzle are complex and will take drivers a while to figure out and master. Without instruction and study, this pickup is not a truck you can jump into and get the most out of. There are so many options, from ride height to terrain selection, to regeneration settings, to differential locks, that even expert off-roaders will have to take some time to calibrate. Leaving everything on AUTO is an option, but what a waste of capability.

Our closed-course on-road time showed the pickup to be stable, comfortable, and reasonably agile. The suspension willingly swallows bumps and dips, and body roll is controlled and predictable.

We swapped seats with the GM engineer so he could demonstrate Watts to Freedom and enjoyed a thrill ride as the pickup leapt to speed like a supercar. The engineer showed off the pickup’s stability on a curving gravel road, using the throttle to slide and steer through turns – not driving behavior we felt empowered to attempt in a manufacturer’s preproduction model, but fun to experience.

Interior comfort

The pickup’s cabin impresses with its spaciousness and comfort, both in the front row and second row of seating. A 13.4-inch touchscreen is the window into infotainment, and a 12.3-inch digital dash adds more graphics and visual appeal. Bose audio with 14-speakers provides the soundtrack. The audio/visual component strives to enhance the driving experience in the pickup, with animations, motor sounds, and other cues building excitement and involvement.

The 2nd-row seats lift to reveal under-seat storage, but the seat backs do not fold flat.

Overhead, the Infinity Roof, a transparent panel system, makes the cabin feel light and airy. The system’s lightweight panels are removable without tools, though there’s no apparent dedicated storage location for them in the cabin or the pickup’s bed. The panels seem to be made of Lexan or similar material, not glass, and will need to be protected from knocks and bumps to keep looking good. If GMC’s accessories catalog doesn’t provide panel covers and garage racks, the aftermarket will undoubtedly take care of that.

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Exterior styling

Rugged but classy is the best way to describe the new Hummer. The exterior incorporates lots of interesting features. For example, the headlights double as charge indicators, and there’s a small American flag hidden near the midsection of the truck where the roof and body meet. The truck also uses GMC’s super-trick MultiPro tailgate. It folds all the way down as a whole or in sections with lots of built-in accessories.

The Hummer looks bigger than in photos and has a genuine presence evoking a memory of the military-inspired H2. It seems to sit very high off the ground, with a nearly flat abdomen emphasizing this height. The underbody is neatly buttoned up, with skid plates and protective shields concealing the usual jumble of pipes and rods under an ICE car.

A 5-foot bed balances the 4-door Crew Cab pickup. There’s an 11.3-cubic-foot trunk (GM calls it an “eTrunk”) under the hood of the truck where an engine might have been, easily big enough to swallow a week’s worth of groceries or a couple of roller-board suitcases.

Favorite features

Crab Walk

Thanks to 4-wheel steering, which can direct the rear wheels up to 10 degrees in either direction, the driver can engage a mode turning the front and rear wheels in the same direction in certain low-speed situations. The pickup follows the wheels – resulting in a crab walk. This ability can help the pickup avoid obstacles in very tight situations, mitigating the need to reverse, steer, go forward, reverse, etc. Once mastered, Crab Walk can also be engaged to slide into a parking space or to amaze your friends in the driveway

Watts to Freedom

“Watts to Freedom” is basically a launch control system for the EV. Once engaged, the system combines haptic feedback and sound enhancements with infotainment animations as the pickup adjusts its height and gives the go-ahead to launch. The EV makes the most of available traction and shoots forward with enough authority to throw passengers back in their seats. It’s a roller-coaster ride best reserved for drag strips and closed roads, and it’s a blast.

Infinity roof

This system’s lightweight, transparent panels are removable without tools and provide a great sense of open space for all seating positions.

Standard features

Standard equipment on all, including Edition 1, includes Super Cruise capability with three years of service, UltraVision with High Definition Surround Vision, Digital Key, 35-inch-OD tires, Infinity Roof (with removable panels), power rear drop glass, and a 6-function MultiPro Tailgate.

According to GMC, Edition 1 versions include:

• Independent front and rear suspension systems—Paired to the drive motors, these suspension setups are designed to optimize handling in off-road conditions. In addition, the on-road ride will be better than most typical pickups.

• Front e-Locker—An electronically controlled, driver-selectable locking differential improves traction capability by locking both front wheels so that they turn at the same speed.

• Rear virtual locker simulates a locking differential for the dual-motor rear-drive unit. It is capable of torque vectoring, which can vary the amount of torque sent to each wheel to optimize not only traction in off-road conditions, but enhance on-road driving dynamics. This is a feature often found in all-wheel-drive performance cars.

• Heavy-duty ball-spline half-shafts maximize axle articulation for ample maneuverability while also reducing feedback through the steering system in hard-cornering and other off-road driving conditions

• Standard 18-inch wheels with 35-inch—OD Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires help to maximize the Hummer’s off-road ability. In addition, the Hummer EV can accommodate up to 37-inch tires.

• Underbody armor includes five skid plates/rock sliders and two underbody shields to protect the battery pack and drive units

•  UltraVision—The Hummer EV includes an unprecedented number of cameras mounted outside the vehicle. This includes underbody cameras with live “virtual spotter”’ views to help drivers navigate obstacles and place wheels on and off the trail. The underbody cameras are specially packaged and protected. There are a total of 18 of these cameras.

Factory options

It’s not totally clear what all the options are, but many features show up as you move up in the trim levels.

Battery power, charge times, and range

The Hummer EV is fully electric and uses a 2-motor or a 3-motor setup. Edition 1 models, the first to arrive, have the 3-motor set up. The range is estimated at 350 miles. Included is 800-volt 350-kilowatt DC fast charging capability. It can add 100 miles worth of charging in 10 minutes.

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General Motors says, “Ultium batteries are unique in the industry because of their large-format, pouch-style cells, which can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. In the Edition 1 HUMMER EV, two layers of vertical cell modules will be used to produce a combined 24-module pack offering a GM-estimated range of 350+ miles.”

This story originally ran on KBB.com.