2012 & 2013 Hummer SUV Reviews & Ratings

The Hummer first began commercial production in 1992 and was based on the military vehicle of the same name which is still used today as a scouting vehicle for American combat troops. The introduction of the Hummer into civilian use was quite controversial at the time with some concern over an overtly military vehicle being driven as a regular vehicle on the streets. Its popularity soon increased however as the incredible power and durability allowed the Hummer to clear most obstacles easil... (full review continues below)

The Hummer first began commercial production in 1992 and was based on the military vehicle of the same name which is still used today as a scouting vehicle for American combat troops. The introduction of the Hummer into civilian use was quite controversial at the time with some concern over an overtly military vehicle being driven as a regular vehicle on the streets. Its popularity soon increased however as the incredible power and durability allowed the Hummer to clear most obstacles easily and could tackle the most challenging of off road terrain making it a vehicle popular with the off road enthusiasts.

The first official SUV version of the Hummer was the Hummer H2 which was manufactured by General Motors and started production in 2003. The Hummer H2 can comfortable seat 6 people which almost technically makes it a people carrier although officially it sits in two different classes of vehicle, a general purpose vehicle and an off road vehicle. It is difficult to actually specify who the main competitors of the Hummer would be as it is such a unique vehicle although Jeep and the Hummer are often in direct competition for the same share of the market with some famous advertising stand offs and legal battles occurring after the launch of the Hummer 2 in 2003.

With the increase in gas prices the start of the demise of the Hummer began as the 14mpg or less fuel consumption which had already brought the Hummer under fire from the environmental lobby made the cost of operating a Hummer considerably more expensive. In 2010 General Motors announced it was discontinuing production of the Hummer although there are many brand new Hummers still available for purchase.

The Hummer 2 is officially classified as a mid size SUV with either a 4 speed automatic transmission or a 5 speed manual transmission. It comes with two different engine sizes with the smallest being a 3.7 liter engine producing 242 horsepower and 242 foot pound of torque with the manual transmission as standard. This smaller engine model managed to achieve a gas guzzling 14mpg in the city and 18mpg on the highway. All Hummer models include two speed electronically controlled four wheel drive. The larger engine version of the Hummer 2 included a 5.3 liter V8 engine producing 300 horsepower and 320 foot pound of torque which reduced the fuel economy even further to 13mpg in the city and 16mpg on the highway.

The Hummer H3 was a smaller version of the Hummer H2 and starts at around $50,000 with the same engine options as the larger Hummer H2 plus a smaller 3.5 liter engine producing 220 horsepower and 225 foot pound of torque with improved fuel consumption of 15mpg in the city and 19mpg on the highway. Interestingly but unfortunately never made commercially available, Raser Technologies built a prototype Hybrid Hummer using the H3 chassis which could actually manage 100mpg but required an enormous amount of electrical power too much to make it commercially viable.