There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2022 GMC Hummer EV already. For example, it has a four-digit horsepower figure, it looks ridiculous, and it can crab-walk through traffic. That’s all nice, but the real test of it as an off-roader means getting away from the pedestrian and taking on some really big rocks in the middle of nowhere, so it’s good news that GMC is taking the electric behemoth through its paces in the Moab.
New footage shows several Hummers testing their adaptive air suspension hardware, terrain mode, e4WD and torque distribution, eLockers, stability control, and rear steering through some respectable trails and steep obstacles. One-pedal driving might be more associated with the cheerful but not-exactly-rugged Nissan Leaf than a giant off-road truck, but GMC says it’s actually a really cool driving tool at low speeds.
GM has made the whole one-pedal thing work in other electric vehicles but the Hummer EV will be the first one to use a few of its other nifty features. Terrain Mode is the EV’s off-road setting, which takes one-pedal driving (whereby you can accelerate and decelerate with a single pedal) and turns it into a fine control for climbing and angling the car, without having to switch pedals.
“One-Pedal Driving offers a great feeling of control by optimizing the regenerative braking, friction braking and drive motor torque all through the accelerator pedal,” said Hummer EV lead development engineer Aaron Pfau. “Drivers will quickly realize the benefits once they try it off-road.”
If you’ve ever used one-pedal, it is pretty intuitive and with all the off-roading tech you’d expect in a truck like this, should be pretty darned maneuverable.
Fortunately, you don’t have to just imagine it, since there’s some cool footage of the cars taking on rocks in convoy:
Happy off-roading.
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