Take a $1 billion grant from the Pentagon and add an eager automaker’s creativity and the influence of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The result is the Hummer, a 33-year-old behemoth whose tumultuous tenure is as confounding as any vehicle in recent automotive history.
Slightly more than 40 years ago, AM General, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in Indiana, secured the funding and built the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee). It was the go-to cargo and troop transport vehicle in Middle Eastern military operations and 72,000 were made in eight years.
Schwarzenegger was enamored with the Humvee used on the set of his 1990 movie Kindergarten Cop. He persuaded its maker to introduce a consumer version, which it did in 1992 and renamed it Hummer.
The EV options joined the Hummer lineup as a pickup in October 2020 and as a sport utility vehicle in April 2021. With its new status, everything the original Hummer and the single-digit gas mileage and other extremes it represented are forgiven.
A precursor to Tesla Cybertruck and its polarizing looks, the Hummer is about as far removed from the automotive norm as feasible and a wondrous contradiction.
Through name and ownership changes, bankruptcies, production hiatuses and auto industry upheaval, the 2025 GMC Hummer EV Pickup is here in its refreshingly bold ways.
It’s as overbearing as ever, a 9,000-pound, get-out-my-way beast with 22-inch wheels and its omnipresent menacing appearance.
Payload capacity is 1,300 pounds and the towing limit 7,500 pounds. The pickup has an 11.3-cubic-foot front trunk standard on both models. It also stores the four removable roof panels when needed. Standard also are front and rear pedestrian alerts, automatic braking and blind-spot warnings.
The Hummer is difficult to enter and exit. It doesn’t fit in standard-sized parking spaces. Its name couldn’t be emblazoned across the formerly attractive grille any more boldly.
The Hummer has a commanding road presence and it’s more than 18 feet long. It has three windshield wipers. Masculinity is further showcased via the pickup’s two trim levels, the 2X and 3X. The 2X, not surprisingly, has two electric motors — one on each front and rear axle. It has a combined 570 horsepower. The 3X has three electric motors — one on the front axle, two on the rear — combining for 1,000 horsepower.
The result: the Hummer’s appeal can persuade a non-pickup-truck consumer to join the buying majority. It has a 0-to-60 acceleration in 3.3 seconds, an electric range of 381 miles and a combined 53 MPGe rating. Home charging via a 240V system takes 10.5 hours.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are easy to connect and function well, but the Hummer doesn’t have an onboard navigation system. The 14-speaker Bose sound system is sometimes not the best since the Hummer has substantial wind rush issues.
A hefty supply of USB outlets, 12-volt outlets and wireless charger are included. The rear row has a 120-volt outlet and there’s also Google Assistant.
With its high perch seating and square windows, the Hummer has superior visibility, further assisted by a surround-view camera system with nine cameras with 19 available views.
There are shortcomings: The four-door, five-passenger crew cab has a condensed, five-foot bed. It’s smaller than the bed of its Honda Ridgeline lookalike. The Hummer also has a tiny, hard-to-reach rear-view mirror. It’s particularly odd considering the vehicle’s girth. Likewise, the side mirrors don’t correspond to the vehicle’s extra large, rugged persona.
The 2025 GMC Hummer EV pickup, as reviewed, cost just under $120,000. The brand has never been a bargain, but the 2025 edition is a value purchase for consumers who know what they want and buy it because they can.
James Raia, a syndicated automotive columnist in Sacramento, also contributes sports, lifestyle, travel and business articles to several print and online publications. E-mail: james@jamesraia.com.
