2025 Hummer EV SUV 3X SUVOTY Review: Imperfect but Badass as Hell
The monster electric Hummer EV SUV might be the definition of "pros and cons."
Pros
- A simply rad creation
- Looks Great
- As fun on-road as off
Cons
- Why so heavy?
- Why so inefficient?
- Feels too flimsy for six figures
The GMC Hummer EV SUV is the vehicle we hate to love. Corner almost any SUV of the Year judge, and alone they’ll whisper the praises of this bonko-ridiculo Hummer SUV. Put us all in a room together, however, and the hand wringing begins.
“An egregious waste of precious resources, not to be encouraged,” technical director Frank Markus bellowed. Features editor Scott Evans observed, “It’s gigantic and hard to find parking for, it’s grossly inefficient, and it’s all power and no brakes, which just feels like a recipe for disaster.”
So yes, at 8,673 pounds the Hummer is hugely fat, helping to make it the least efficient EV on earth. Well, second least, seeing as the even heavier Hummer EV pickup truck is more inefficient. However, it is a Hummer, so that might be the point.
All that aside, the Hummer is still more efficient than a Prius hybrid, and we love driving the thing. The latter point is the reason the Hummer SUV made it through as a finalist. Let’s look at it against our six key criteria.
As far as advancement in design goes, oh absolutely. The Hummer is a fantastic Mars rover of bold design in either truck or SUV form. It’s just plain rad. We dig most of the interior, too, as Detroit editor Alisa Priddle pointed out: “Lovely two-tone black and white interior. Cool pattern on the doors; it’s nice to see something so different.” Much praise was also heaped on the Hummer’s graphics. However, no one could excuse the fact that at more than $100K, there are no auto-up windows.
Engineering excellence is another of our criteria where the big Hummer (mostly) scores big. That goes double for performance of intended function. We love this thing’s power, and the way it rears back on its haunches when you boot the throttle. And WTF mode is just … hysterical. We were also surprised by, well, how the XXL machine drives. Four tons of fun, almost quite literally. Also, off-road it’s essentially unstoppable. “There’s a reasonable argument to be made that it’s the best Ultium vehicle yet, really showcasing that platform’s potential with its battery arrangement, charging capability, and good range despite its horrible efficiency,” associate editor Alex Leanse said. However, the removable roof panels feel like they’re from a much cheaper vehicle. And why on earth aren’t they tinted?
Efficiency, safety, and value are where the Hummer really struggles. It would be easy to just say a Hummer buyer doesn’t care about those things. Even if that’s true, this is our award to give, and while a winner might struggle against one category, it can’t have issues in three of them. We don’t give out honorable mentions, but GMC really has built something we love, even if we sometimes feel guilty about doing so. Digital director Erik Johnson explained why: “I used it the way it was intended: being dumb. Slid around the powersports course. Crab walked a good way down a proving ground road and back, blasting Def Leppard. It’s the dirty pleasure of cars—deeply appealing to your baser instincts but completely inappropriate for polite company.” Hummer, we hate to love it.
This review was conducted as part of our 2025 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.
