New Hummer EV pick-up ready for electric ute war

It was once considered a four-wheeled environmental vandal but GM’s muscular ex-military four-wheel-drive has turned over a new leaf.

The Hummer EV will be joined by a range of high-performance electric utes.

Bigger is better in the world of Hummer.

And few utes are bigger than America’s enormous new Hummer EV, a pick-up with staggering numbers. Its 200kWh battery pack is double the size of the largest Tesla models, giving the ute more than 560 kilometres of claimed electric range.

The Hummer EV has a removable roof.

Three electric motors offer more than 745kW — an old-fashioned 1000 horsepower — or enough for the big unit to reach 100km/h in about three seconds.

Fast-charging technology similar to that of the Porsche Taycan is compatible with 350kW, 800-volt infrastructure allowing the truck to take on 160 kilometres of range in just 10 minutes.

Like the original Hummer models, the new EV has a wide cabin layout.

The plus-sized approach continues in a spacious cabin, where a huge 13.4-inch infotainment screen joins a 12-inch digital dashboard. Hummer says customers will be able to relax behind the wheel with an updated Super Cruise system “offering hands-free driving”.

The Hummer’s other party trick is a sophisticated four-wheel-steering system that allows drivers to move diagonally at low speed with a clever “crab walk” function steering the front and rear wheels in the same direction.

A ute layout makes the Hummer EV a practical pick.

That feature, coupled with variable-height air suspension and clever traction control, makes the Hummer EV “an absolute off-road beast”, according to the brand.

Set to go on sale in the US in late 2021, the left-hand-drive Hummer is unlikely to come to Australia any time soon. But it does paint a picture for the future of electric utes, taking on rivals such as Rivian, Tesla and Ford with enormously powerful motors and impressive off-road ability.

General Motors’ Ultium Drive electric architecture could come to other models such as the Chevrolet Silverado which is converted to right-hand-drive in Victoria and sold through local dealerships.