2007 Hummer H2
Expert Review

As calendar 2004 entered its final months, auto analysts were debating whether Hummer was a fad whose time had passed.

The reason for the discussion: Hummer sales, which peaked at some 34,500 in calendar 2003, were down more than 20 percent the following year.

The timing for the sales decline wasn't the best. The formerly hot brand was introducing a new pickup truck molded in true Hummer style.

But it appeared that rather than building on the momentum of the H2 sport-utility vehicle on which it is based, the 2005 H2 SUT—for Sport-Utility Truck—would be needed to keep Hummer sales from dropping further.

Which leads me to the question: Is the SUT destined to become a respectable seller or an oddity?

Decent ride
I liked the ride in the SUT. The vehicle may look a bit strange—the small, 2.9-foot-long open-air bed at the back isn't exactly what you'd expect from such a burly vehicle. Indeed, a traditional full-size pickup truck's bed is typically at least 6 feet long or so.

Hummer officials said overall weight hadn't changed much vis-a-vis the H2 SUV. But the SUT seems to have a bit better weight balance because weight is more centralized in the vehicle where the rear roof over the cargo area is gone.

Anyway, I'd describe the ride in the SUT, overall, as compliant, on road and off.

Road bumps felt nicely cushioned in the test vehicle. In rugged off-road terrain, the H2 SUT bobbed up and down on occasion in truckish fashion but kept most roughness away from passengers. There is some body lean in this tall, heavy vehicle, however.

The H2 SUT has independent front suspension with torsion bars and a five-link rear suspension that uses coil springs or the uplevel air suspension system.

Good engine power
Another plus in the H2 SUT is the strong V8.

Both the H2 SUV and SUT use the same, 325-horsepower 6.0-liter Vortec 6000 overhead valve V8 mated to a 4-speed, heavy-duty transmission. Horsepower is up 9 from the 2004 H2 SUV's, and torque of 365 lb-ft at 4000 rpm is increased by 5 lb-ft. But most casual drivers aren't likely to notice big acceleration differences from the previous H2.

The test H2 SUT got up to highway speed steadily and merged into traffic without much fuss, though response to the accelerator was not instantaneous in this 6,400-pound vehicle.

The powerful-sounding engine made itself heard every time I pushed hard on the accelerator, and I noticed wind noise at highway speeds.

But the real benefit from this engine and the powertrain-integrated Borg-Warner, 2-speed, full-time four-wheel-system is the awesome off-road capability. The test vehicle was so unperturbed by steep climbs up and down rock faces, I felt mostly like I was out for a slow Sunday drive.

Easy-to-clean pickup bed
Of course, there's also that pickup bed, which can be washed out with a garden hose. You can't do that to the carpeted cargo area inside an H2 SUV.

Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if some H2 SUV owners have hesitated to put muddy, wet items inside their vehicle. They won't have this problem with an SUT, which comes complete with drain holes. There are cargo tie-downs, too.

Interior is familiar
Don't be surprised that the SUT interior looks familiar. It's virtually identical to the SUV's, with plenty of standard leather (in a tan color; black is optional) regardless of what the exterior paint color is.

Notice how large the gear shifter is, and the easy-to-grab vent adjusters.

The SUT interior seats five, and without everyone feeling squished. Everyone sits high up, which necessitates a big step up to get inside and out.

And a sunroof is standard, which means that with all four door windows down, the moonroof wide open and the back window behind the rear seats powered down, passengers can almost, almost feel like they're riding in a convertible—a big, burly convertible, that is. It's not quite as open-air feeling as a fabric-topped Jeep Wrangler provides, but it's certain to give you a lot windswept hair, nonetheless.

A new H2 feature for 2005 is XM satellite radio, which worked great on the test SUT, even when I was way out in the boonies.

About that cargo space
The SUT's pickup bed doesn't end with its 4-feet-wide-by-2.9-feet-long dimensions.

The vehicle includes a Midgate, a movable wall at the back of the passenger compartment that can be unlatched and folded down on top of the fold-down rear seats—after the Midgate's rear window is powered down to rest inside the gate.

This expands the bed area into the SUT for a more usable bed length of 6 feet.

Of course, some of the bed has no roof over it, as in any pickup bed, and some is located under the roof of the SUT.

There's also the problem of driving around with cargo in this elongated bed during wintry weather, when front-seat passengers can feel more than just a mild chill. This kind of travel can be noisy, too, as road noise from other vehicles, such as big trucks, readily filters in.

I also noticed a great deal of dust buildup in the rubber-lined crevice where the SUT's Midgate resides when it's in the "up" position, and I wonder whether squeaks might develop over time.

This isn't the first use of the Midgate. It's also on the Chevrolet Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT.

Note that the SUT's cargo space is "sort of" better than that of the H2 SUV and sort of not.

Let me explain. Since its introduction in 2002, the H2 sport utility has had storage space at the rear that has been compromised because the sizable spare tire is carried inside the vehicle back there. There's also an optional single seat back there.

But once you remove the spare and that third-row seat, the SUV provides more cargo space behind the rear, three-person back seat than the SUT does.

Now, of course, if you have a tall item, you will still likely get it into the SUT—riding upright. But it may not fit in the SUV. See why I say "sort of" when I describe the cargo space?

This and that
The H2 SUT has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of more than $52,200, which is high for a pickup truck, especially one with such a small bed. The price also is some $1,000 more than the H2 SUV, which has all that carpet and roof over the back.

The H2 SUT's large turning circle of 43.5 feet and the vehicle's 81.2-inch width made it less nimble to maneuver in tight situations. I found myself needing to back up, pull forward, and repeat, in order to get maneuvered out of a tight turn off-road.

As you might expect, fuel economy is poor, at an estimated 10 miles a gallon in city driving and 13 mpg on the highway. Note that because the H2s are above the federal government's gross vehicle weight rating cutoff, they aren't listed in the government's fuel economy reports.

But in contrast, the 2005 Cadillac Escalade EXT—another five-passenger SUV with a pickup bed at the back, a 345-horsepower, high-output version of the Vortec 6000 V8 under the hood and which weighs some 500 less than the heavy-duty H2 SUT—is rated at 13 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway.

You'll see that the H2 SUT's spare tire is located on a swing-out tire carrier that attaches to the tailgate.

Looking through the rearview mirror, a driver sees the top quarter of the spare tire in back, but it's not enough to block views behind the vehicle. Officials made sure they didn't block the view but they also didn't want to put the tire so low it would reduce the SUT's departure angle for off-roading.

I just wish reverse park assist was a factory option on the H2 SUT, because it's difficult to see low-positioned obstacles behind the vehicle.

Lastly, you won't find the label "SUT" anywhere on this Hummer. Company officials said they didn't need to put it on, because it's obvious what this vehicle is. But I wonder if they just didn't want someone calling this thing a SUT, rather than an S-U-T.

This won't be the last expansion of the Hummer line. The company plans to introduce a smaller model, the five-cylinder-powered H3, in calendar 2005.