Edmunds.com 2007 H2 SUT Long Term Test

[BlueHUMMERH2]

Edmunds.com 2007 H2 SUT Long Term Test

What Works:
Easy-to-operate removable midgate, impressive off-roading skills.

What Needs Work:
Too pricey to take off-roading, single-digit mpg numbers, no standard tonneau cover.

Bottom Line:
Would you want to tackle the rough stuff in the wilderness at the risk of banging up your luxury H2 SUT?

Conspicuous consumption
By Caroline Pardilla Email | Blog
Date posted: 09-28-2006

If Paris Hilton married Paul Bunyan, the 2007 Hummer H2 SUT would be the perfect conveyance for the happy couple. Paris could still roll up to every Hollywood hotspot with her It Girl image preserved by the paparazzi-magnetic luxury truck. Paul could borrow the Hummer on the weekends, pack his pet blue ox Babe in the pickup bed and motor off to the wilderness for some off-roading and tree-chopping. And they would live happily ever after; that is, until the divorce a month later.

But who should get custody of the truck in divorce court? Is the Hummer more suited to a life of leisure or the Great Outdoors? We figured a week in the H2's higher-than-thou driver seat would tell us which lifestyle it suited best.

You can't haul it all
From the A-pillar to the C-pillar, the Hummer H2 SUT (which debuted in 2005) is exactly the same as the H2 SUV. But instead of a covered cargo area, you get a 4-by-6 pickup bed à la the Avalanche, with a folding rear midgate for more utility and an open-air driving experience.

Sounds like a great idea in theory: the cabin space of an SUV with the extra pickup bed of a truck. But in practice, there's not enough room to transport a backseat full of passengers and loads of Fred Segal shopping bags at the same time.

And forget about hauling your Louis Vuitton luggage in that open bed, where it would be exposed to the hands of thieves and the movements of birds. With a base price of $53,035, a locking hard tonneau cover should be included considering it's standard equipment on the comparably priced Escalade EXT.

The bling is the thing
The 2007 Hummer H2 SUT, like the previous models, can be had with the Adventure Series and/or Lux Series packages, but only 1,000 will come pimped up with the limited-edition Fusion Orange package for $8,320.

Consisting of purely cosmetic upgrades plus popular options, the Fusion Orange package includes the audacious paint scheme with body-color brush guard and wheelwell flares/rocker moldings; carbon-fiber interior accents; and polished aluminum wheels. Frills like a heated wiper system and a rear-seat entertainment system make life lux while a lower-profile roof-mounted light bar and taillamp protectors contribute to its off-road attitude.

But the favorite feature from the package is the rear-vision system with its power-sliding screen that emerges from the rearview mirror when the truck is shifted into reverse. Even though the tiny screen affords a dark, fuzzy picture, it gives you a good view of everything you're backing over.

In addition to the Fusion Orange limited-edition package, our test truck arrived decked out in the $2,295 1SC Lux Series Chrome Appearance Package. The upgraded seats, interior trim and floor mats made for a surprisingly sumptuous cabin in a heavy-duty off-roading machine. Chromed exterior door handles and a brushed aluminum crossbar rack spiff up the exterior and an in-dash six-disc CD changer with AM/FM/XM Satellite Radio rounds out the package.

Haute in the city
Around L.A., the Hummer H2 SUT is a lot of truck to handle. With a 6,752-pound curb weight and a height of 6 feet 7 inches, it has a hard time wedging itself in the city. Huge blind spots created by short windows and a high-riding cabin further contributed to our super-sensitivity while piloting the vehicle around town. After carefully driving down side streets hunting for a big enough parking space or gauging whether the roof rack could clear the ceiling of certain parking garages, we gave up and made parking the 203.6-inch-long H2 the valet guy's problem.

However, sitting in traffic on swanky Rodeo Drive, we couldn't help but feel superior to the luxocar masses as we stared down at their roofs from atop our eight-way power-adjustable ebony leather-trimmed perch. Triple-sealed doors and enhanced acoustical insulation do an effective job of blocking out all those honking horns and screaming environmentalists.

Even when taking care around right-turn corners, the SUT has as much body roll as expected for a plush, high-riding vehicle. Sidekicks and grande vanilla lattes have to be secured so they won't fly all over the place. On the test track, the Hummer cranked out just 52 mph through our slalom test, one of the lowest speeds we've ever recorded.

Moving mountains
Although motivated by GM's 6.0-liter V8, which generates 325 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque, the truck's obesity and fat tires prevent it from being anything even close to spry. The engine is slow to initiate, recording a 0-60 time of 10.2 seconds, a mere jog compared to a Escalade EXT's 7 seconds.

Its heavy-duty four-speed automatic transmission is responsive enough, but flooring the accelerator causes the large V8 to protest with a loud thwrawr at 2000 rpm as if angered that you made its lazy butt get off the couch. All that tonnage also interferes with the SUT's braking ability, creating a lot of front-end dive. Even with its sizable four-wheel discs and standard ABS, the Hummer earned a "Very Poor" braking rating as it dragged out a 163-foot stopping distance from 60 mph.

And the main reason people love to hate it: its insatiable thirst. Driving the Hummer around the city, on the highway and off-road, the observed fuel economy was 9.3 mpg. With the needle pushing "Low Fuel," we filled the 32-gallon tank up with regular for about $84, a mere blip on Ms. Hilton's credit card.

Fear nothing...but mind the paint
Equipped with a full-time four-wheel-drive system with low range and standard electronically locking center and rear differentials, the Hummer carved paths through the Santa Monica Mountains where there virtually were none. Big rocks, random chunks of concrete and abrupt potholes in the dirt road were gentled down by the independent torsion bar front and coil spring rear suspension.

With underbody protection and 315/70R17 all-terrain tires, the truck felt damn near invincible in the rough stuff. And the fact that it sits so high off the ground with 40.8-inch/39.6-inch approach/departure angles made no pile of rocks off-limits. Our only worry was the 2007 Hummer H2 SUT's paint job. Looking down trails crowded with thick brush and rocks, we envisioned metallic orange paint transfer on everything. Despite the SUT's unquestionable off-road prowess, we can't help but feel there's something nonsensical about releasing a $66,615 vehicle to the wild.

Leaving Green Acres
Luxury and ruggedness are doled out in such equal measures of excess in the 2007 Hummer H2 SUT that it seems one can't go wrong when looking to it for validation of one's wealth and manhood. Although it can handle the Great Outdoors and packs more braggadocio than any other vehicle in its luxury sport truck category, we think Paris and Paul are better off selling the H2 and picking up a GL450 for her and a FJ Cruiser for him.