The 2025 GMC Hummer EV SUV: Our Guilty Automotive Pleasure
5 min read
When 8,673 pounds of electric excess becomes irresistibly fun
Some cars make you feel good about yourself. They’re efficient, practical, and responsible. Then there’s the 2025 GMC Hummer EV SUV – a vehicle that makes you question your life choices while grinning from ear to ear. After Motor Trend’s comprehensive SUV of the Year testing, one thing is crystal clear: this electric behemoth is the automotive equivalent of that friend who’s a terrible influence but makes everything more fun.
The Ultimate Contradiction
Let’s be honest upfront – the Hummer EV SUV is a walking contradiction. It’s an electric vehicle that’s less efficient than some gas cars. It’s a family SUV that weighs as much as three regular SUVs. It’s a $100,000+ luxury vehicle with manual windows. And yet, somehow, it all works in the most gloriously ridiculous way possible.
Motor Trend’s judges found themselves in the peculiar position of privately praising the Hummer while publicly wringing their hands about its existence. As technical director Frank Markus put it bluntly: “An egregious waste of precious resources, not to be encouraged.” But then those same judges would sneak back for another drive, because despite everything logical, this thing is absolutely intoxicating.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (Unfortunately)
Let’s address the elephant in the room – or should we say, the 8,673-pound electric mammoth. This SUV is comically heavy, making it the second least efficient EV on the planet (losing only to its pickup truck sibling). To put this in perspective, you could buy three Honda CR-Vs and still not match the Hummer’s curb weight.
But here’s the twist that’ll make your brain hurt: despite being an efficiency disaster by EV standards, it’s still more efficient than a Toyota Prius hybrid. Welcome to the wonderful world of automotive contradictions.
When Physics Becomes Fun
Here’s where things get interesting. You’d expect something weighing nearly 4.5 tons to drive like a beached whale, but the Hummer EV SUV is genuinely fun to pilot. The instant torque from its electric motors makes it rear back on its haunches like an angry stallion when you mash the throttle. And then there’s “WTF mode” – yes, that’s the actual name – which unleashes the full fury of this electric beast.
Off-road is where the Hummer truly shines. It’s essentially unstoppable, with features like crab walk mode that let you slide sideways down proving ground roads while blasting Def Leppard (yes, that’s a real quote from Motor Trend’s testing). It turns grown adults into giggling children, and sometimes that’s exactly what we need from our cars.
Design That Screams “Mars Rover”
Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore the Hummer’s presence. Motor Trend describes it as “a fantastic Mars rover of bold design,” and they’re not wrong. This thing looks like it rolled off the set of a sci-fi movie – in the best possible way.
The interior continues the futuristic theme with a lovely two-tone black and white design and unique door patterns that actually make you stop and appreciate the effort. The graphics package is equally impressive, creating an atmosphere that feels properly special and different from the sea of anonymous luxury SUVs out there.
The Reality Check
But then reality comes crashing back. For a vehicle costing well over $100,000, some details are shockingly cheap. No auto-up windows? Really? The removable roof panels feel like they belong on a much cheaper vehicle, and they’re not even tinted. It’s like ordering a $200 steak and getting plastic utensils.
The size becomes a real problem in the real world too. Good luck finding parking spaces that can accommodate this land yacht. And while the power is intoxicating, the braking performance doesn’t quite match the acceleration capability – a concerning mismatch for something this heavy and powerful.
The Efficiency Elephant
We can’t dance around this forever. The Hummer EV SUV is an environmental contradiction wrapped in sustainable packaging. It’s electric, which should make us feel good, but it’s so inefficient that it almost defeats the purpose. It’s like eating a salad covered in ranch dressing and bacon bits – technically healthier, but missing the point entirely.
For buyers, this means shorter range than lighter EVs and higher electricity costs. For the planet, it means we’re using precious battery materials and electricity less efficiently than we could be. It’s the kind of vehicle that makes environmentalists weep into their organic fair-trade coffee.
The Guilty Pleasure Verdict
So where does this leave us? The 2025 GMC Hummer EV SUV is fundamentally flawed in several important ways. It’s inefficient, impractical, and arguably irresponsible. It struggles with value, efficiency, and some aspects of safety and build quality.
And yet… damn if it isn’t one of the most entertaining vehicles on the road today.
This is a vehicle that appeals to your baser instincts while being completely inappropriate for polite company. It’s the automotive equivalent of staying up too late, eating pizza for breakfast, or buying that ridiculous shirt you saw online at 2 AM. You know you shouldn’t, but life’s too short not to have a little fun.
The Bottom Line
The Hummer EV SUV made it through as a finalist in Motor Trend’s SUV of the Year competition not because it’s perfect, but because it’s perfectly itself. In a world of increasingly sensible, efficient, and sanitized vehicles, sometimes we need something that’s just plain rad.
Is it the right choice for most people? Absolutely not. Is it a responsible use of resources? Definitely not. Will it make you smile every time you drive it? Without question.
GMC has created something genuinely special here – a guilty pleasure that’s impossible to ignore and surprisingly difficult to dislike once you spend time with it. It’s imperfect, excessive, and completely unnecessary. In other words, it’s wonderfully, unapologetically American.
Sometimes the heart wants what the brain knows it shouldn’t have. The 2025 GMC Hummer EV SUV is automotive proof that our guilty pleasures often make the best stories.
The 2025 GMC Hummer EV SUV 3X starts at around $110,000 and is available at GMC dealers nationwide. Parking spaces sold separately.
About The Author
