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2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV First Drive Review: Still impressive, even out of its element

SAN FRANCISCO – Our first experience with the GMC Hummer EV in any form was spent in an environment clearly ideal for such a vehicle. That first drive of the production-ready truck was in Arizona, a place with large, open freeways and rocky, desert terrain. Notably, they were areas that could showcase the Hummer's strengths: enormous power and acceleration, a lack of trees or narrow lanes to hinder its size, and sufficiently rocky terrain to demonstrate its remarkable off-road abilities. So it was particularly strange that the media's first experience with the Hummer EV SUV would involve the tight streets and twisty mountain passes of San Francisco and Napa Valley, locations that certainly would seem to put the Hummer on the back tire. In some ways they certainly did, but at the same time, they revealed the Hummer is surprisingly capable out of its element, and maybe even a good fit for the area. The start of our driving time involved leaving downtown San Francisco and heading up Highway 29 to Napa where GM had set up a number of demonstrations like those at the truck first drive, and where our winery hotel was. In the birthplace of Tesla, where Models of all letters and number are ubiquitous, the monster black Hummer definitely stood out. And not just for its sheer size: it is the technological flagship of General Motors, perhaps the most traditional of American car manufacturers. On the other hand, the locale also felt appropriate given that flagship status, from its flashy instrument and infotainment displays, to its acrobatic suspension and steering systems. This is as good a time as any to go over what makes the Hummer EV SUV different from the truck. Obviously it has a solid roof over a cargo area instead of an open bed. It's also the smaller of the two giants: total length is 20 inches shorter (excluding the spare tire) and the wheelbase is 8 inches shorter. That pays a few dividends in maneuverability both on and off road. The turning circle of the SUV is 1.7 feet smaller, at 35.4 feet, which is almost 3 feet tighter than that of the Chevy Bolt EUV. The breakover angle is also improved by 10.6 degrees (49 at max ride height) and the departure angled by 2.2 degrees (34.4 at max ride height). Though the bed is gone, the interior cargo space is certainly spacious, with maximum capacity of 81.8 cubic feet with the rear seats folded perfectly flat into the admittedly high load floor.

2018 GMC Sierra Denali can help you tow without breaking a sweat

Towing a trailer once meant that only those who possessed certain knowledge would be able to go fishing, tow a race car or pull a camper safely. For me, it took four long years of practice working a job behind the wheel of a jacked-up Ford F-250, hauling tons upon tons of mowing equipment for my local parks department, to become proficient. Just how far things have come since then became evident after a recent trip to Utah with GMC, in which we used the half-ton Sierra Denali to tow a set of Polaris side-by-sides through the state. Modern safety technology and a suite of electronic aids make towing simple enough that anyone with a driver's license and something to haul can do it. This revelation came behind the leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel of GMC's outgoing 2018 Sierra Denali. Sitting in the plush, heated and cooled captain's chair, I could barely feel the 6,000 pounds I was towing behind me. Even GMC's smallest full-size truck engine, a 5.3-liter V8 generating 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, felt like overkill for what used to amount to a heavy load. With Utah's pristine landscape, the plush confines of the cabin and the uneventful nature of modern towing, mile after mile just streamed by at highway speeds without incident (or excitement). When we finally reached our destination a few hours later, one of GMC's representatives who had chosen to sit in the rear of the cab asked me what I thought about the drive. I pondered for a few minutes and answered with this: "Modern pickup trucks have removed nearly every skill-based variable once associated with towing. I could drive this truck and trailer confidently with just one finger." Consider the near overabundance of towing-assistance systems in the GMC Sierra Denali that I piloted through Utah. Let's start with the most basic of towing skills — something that's now been relegated to the annals of history: reversing a pickup to meet the trailer's hitch. Once upon a time, this required knowing a truck's dimensions and understanding proximity, as well as having a keen eye, a steady foot for both the gas and the brake and the patience to get it right. Now, though, pickups such as the Sierra Denali offer customers a trailer reverse camera system that helps the driver align truck to hitch with pinpoint accuracy.

2020 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon all spied with production lights

One of our spy photographers just caught a smattering of full-size GM SUVs out testing, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon. Previous spy photos of the next-generation of these big GM SUVs have revealed that GM is going with an independent rear suspension design, and these shots confirm the news once again with our best look at the hardware yet. Check them out from the rear, lined up like ducks in a row to see the beefy control arms down there. This will undoubtedly give the big SUVs a more compliant ride, and should bring it back into touch with the refinement from the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The new bits we get to see with these shots are production headlights and taillights that are shaping up to look pretty neat. Most distinguishable are the GMC Yukon's LED DRLs. These look a lot like the C-shaped LEDs outlining the headlights on the Sierra, but they have an extra LED strip on top of the C. The parts of the taillights that we can see look significantly different than that found on the Sierra, showing GM is planning on having a great deal of differentiation there. We can sort of see through the mesh covering the grille to what appears to be a classic horizontal bar style front opening. Chevy is predictably dialing the crazy LED strip design back for the Tahoe and Suburban. The parts that are lit up look a whole lot like the headlight fixtures on the 2019 Silverado. That truck uses a stack of lights with the actual headlights separated from the DRLs. We can see the same thing going on here, with the headlight up top and curved LED DRL strip sitting below. It's tough to say if the designs are exactly alike, but we expect to see an extremely Silverado-esque look once all the camouflage comes off. Chevrolet's taillight design differs from its donor truck like the GMC, showing off a curved, vertical series of LEDs out back. Once production lights start popping up like this, we know the vehicle is moving closer to its end game. A reveal sometime later this year could be in the cards for GM's next batch of full-size SUVs. It certainly needs them quick, as Ford rockets ahead with increased Expedition production announced earlier this week.