The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV features every electric rival should steal

GMC's new 2024 Hummer EV SUV may borrow the branding of a notorious gas-guzzler, but the automaker is taking full advantage of its electric architecture for some features other electric vehicles could do worse than borrow. Revealed over the weekend, the SUV version of the 2022 Hummer EV pickup keeps the bold styling but encloses the cargo area.

Underneath is GM's Ultium platform, with either two or three electric motors. The result is up to 830 horsepower, model-depending, and GMC quotes up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque. That, though, is torque at the wheel, so you can't really compare it to engine torque as quoted on most other vehicles.

Still, 0-60 mph in around 3.5 seconds – if you plump for the Watts To Freedom option – is not to be sniffed at, particularly considering we're talking about a vehicle almost 197 inches in length. It makes the Hummer EV SUV a little shorter than the pickup version, which is just shy of 217 inches, though there's less than 9 inches difference in wheelbase between the two.

You get 16 inches of ground clearance, and 32 inches of water fording depth. At 93.7 inches wide with the mirrors, this is no small EV, but GMC has some tricks to make it a little easier to handle. Particularly, we're thankful to see, when you're in tighter urban situations.

One of the most useful is going to be 4 Wheel Steer with CrabWalk. Standard on the Hummer EV SUV 2X, 3X, and Edition 1 trims, it basically means both the front and rear wheels can turn.

With the rear wheels turned in the opposite direction to those at the front, the Hummer EV SUV has a turning circle of 35.4 feet. That's less than a 2021 Corvette C8 Stingray, at 36.4 feet.

In CrabWalk mode, though, the rear wheels turn in tandem with those at the front. It means the Hummer EV SUV can track diagonally, whether that's for scooting in and out of parking spaces more easily, or for navigating around tighter off-road trails. They're features we'd love to see introduced on all vehicles, frankly.

Something else every EV really should offer at this point is mobile power. GMC's Power Station Generator allows the 20-module, double-stacked Ultium battery – which the automaker says will deliver more than 300 miles of EPA range, once finalized – to be used as a huge, portable battery for other devices, or even other EVs. An option, it'll be capable of delivering up to 6 kW of 240v/25A power to other EVs, or up to 3 kW of 120v/25A power to anything that plugs into a standard outlet.

The Power Station Generator option will be available on the 2024 model year Hummer EV SUV Edition 1, EV3X, and EV2X, GMC says, and with late availability beginning on the 2024 model year EV3X and EV2X Hummer EV Pickup. No word on pricing for the option at this stage.

Finally, there's no shortage of sensors. GMC has packed the Hummer EV SUV with up to 14 camera views in the HD Surround Vision package, and up to 17 views in the Extreme Off-Road Package when you add in the underbody cameras. It means a full perspective around and underneath the SUV from the 13.4-inch infotainment touchscreen, as useful in tight parking lots as it will be off-road.

For the highway, meanwhile, Enhanced Super Cruise will be available on all 2024 Hummer EV SUV trims.

If it's space, not speed, that you're concerned with, you'll be pleased to hear that there's up to 81.8 cu-ft of cargo space with the rear seats folded flat. More storage lives under the load floor, and in a compartment built into the side trim, and there's a 48-inch wide power swing-out tailgate to access it all. Deliveries are scheduled to begin from spring 2023.