Hummer H2

Hummer H2 at a glance

From concept to the Mishawaka plant

General Motors bought the Hummer brand from AM General in 1999, and the H2 was announced as its first new model. Instead of building it in its own factory, GM contracted AM General, which opened a new 62,500 m² plant in 2002 in Mishawaka, the town where the H1 and the military Humvee were built. The H2 went on sale as a 2003 model.

Where the H1 was a converted military vehicle, the H2 was a GM truck dressed as one. The front of the frame came from GM's heavy-duty GMT820 pickups and the rear from the half-ton 1500 range, the family that also produced the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Cadillac Escalade. As a result, much of the mechanical hardware is shared with common GM trucks, and the cabin could offer the equipment of a large American SUV.

Design: a Hummer for the suburbs

The H2 copied the upright, slab-sided proportions of the H1 and carried its spare wheel outside at the rear. German Wikipedia notes that it resembled the H1 far more than its mechanical relatives. With a width of 2,065 mm it gave up 132 mm to the original, which helped in car parks, although it is still very large by European standards. The upright shape is reflected in a drag coefficient of 0.53, according to German Wikipedia.

Inside, standard equipment included leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, eight-way power front seats, three-zone climate control and a Bose sound system. For 2008 the dashboard was redesigned, Bluetooth and new OnStar hardware arrived, and German Wikipedia records a removable third row for seven seats, or six with individual second-row chairs.

Engines, performance and fuel consumption

MotorWeek tested a 2003 H2 at 9.7 seconds to 60 mph and 17.3 seconds over the quarter mile at 81 mph, with a stop from 60 mph in 46 m. German Wikipedia lists 0–100 km/h in 11.0 seconds for the 6.0 and 7.8 seconds for the 6.2, and an electronically limited top speed of 160 km/h. In normal four-wheel drive, MotorWeek lists a torque split of 40 % front and 60 % rear.

Fuel use was the H2's weak point. Because its gross vehicle weight rating exceeded 8,500 lb (3,856 kg), US law did not require official EPA figures, and the H2 did not count towards GM's fleet average. Test results ranged from 9 to 11.5 mpg: MotorWeek recorded 11.5 mpg (about 20.5 l/100 km by our conversion) in 2003, and German Wikipedia gives an average of 23 l/100 km for the 6.0 and 19.7 l/100 km for the 6.2. By our calculation, a full 121-litre tank lasts about 525–615 km at those rates. Annual running costs for your own mileage can be estimated in the 1cars fuel cost calculator.

Off-road ability

The H2 is a capable off-roader, though not in the H1's class. John Heilig's 2008 road test of the 6.2-litre model lists these figures:

An adjustable rear suspension was part of the optional Adventure package. Towing capacity was 3,175 kg (7,000 lb) for the 2003 model in MotorWeek's test and 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) for the 2008 model in Heilig's review. Compared with the H1, the H2 gave up portal hubs, central tyre inflation and about 160 mm of ground clearance in exchange for road manners closer to a normal SUV.

H2 SUT: the pickup version

For the 2005 model year Hummer added the H2 SUT, short for Sport Utility Truck. It kept the four-door cabin but replaced the rear cargo area with a short open bed. A folding midgate between the cabin and the bed allowed long loads to reach into the cabin. German Wikipedia lists the SUT at 242 kW (330 PS) for 2005.

Prices and US sales

MotorWeek quoted a base price of US$48,800 for the 2003 H2, and its test car with the chrome appearance package cost US$52,870. The 2008 car tested by Heilig came to US$63,640, including US$8,130 of options. The H2 was never officially offered in Germany, yet the Federal Motor Transport Authority registered 595 new examples there between 2006 and 2010, with a peak of 254 in 2008.

Sales peaked in 2003, its first full year. By our calculation, 2009 sales were 96 % below that peak. A Black Chrome Limited Edition planned for 2009 with 1,000–1,300 cars ended after only six, none of which reached customers, when production stopped in mid-year. GM closed the Hummer brand in 2010 after a planned sale fell through; the story is told in our Hummer history.

Image, criticism and reputation

The H2 became a symbol of excess. Wikipedia cites a one-year study in which H2 and H3 drivers received about five times the national average number of traffic tickets, and the absence of official fuel figures made it a target in debates about fuel economy. Even so, 34,529 Americans bought one in 2003 alone, and the H2, more than the H1 or the smaller Hummer H3 of 2005, shaped the public image of the brand.

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