The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 pickup appears tailor–made for those with a short attention span. Tired of the tri-motor powertrain that makes it the quickest pickup truck we’ve ever tested? Here’s a Crab Walk button! Is driving sideways losing its luster? Why not play with the locking front differential or specialized off-road trail cameras? But once the distractions grow old and the showroom sheen of the 1,000-hp, $112,000 electric Hummer wears off, what are you left with? What’s the interior like to live with? We spent some weeks with the new Hummer EV pickup, and these are the pros and cons of the electric GMC’s interior.
The GMC Hummer EV pickup may be terrestrial, but its interior is out of this world. GM viewed the Hummer EV program as its “moonshot” because of the accelerated pace of the development program. (The electric pickup was reportedly developed in just over two years, something like half the time of typical GM new vehicle programs.) As such, GM’s interior designers took some inspiration from NASA’s Apollo program, in which the United States became the first and to date only nation to put astronauts on the moon.
The lunar influence is most apparent in the Hummer’s speaker grilles, which are etched with a replica of the moon’s Sea of Tranquility and feature a bootprint like the one left behind by the Apollo astronauts. But there are more subtle lunar touches, too. The floors, for instance, are textured to resemble the moon, and drive mode graphic displays feature the GMC sitting on the lunar surface.
The Hummer’s interior color schemes might be mistaken for drawing inspiration from modern Apple products, but the black and white vegan “leather” and bronze metallic accents are actually an homage to the original lunar rover, which GM had a hand in building back in the 1960s. Just about the only design traits that read “Hummer” are the big, meaty grab handles and blocky, oversized HVAC vents—the center one is even subtly shaped like an “H.” That might be disappointing for some, but it’s probably for the best—neither the original Hummer H1 nor the GM-developed H2 and H3 were renowned for their interior designs or quality.
In case mashing the Hummer’s accelerator and watching its stubby, Halo Warthog-like nose point skyward ever gets old (it didn’t for us), there’s plenty to distract you inside the cabin once Super Cruise is safely engaged. Right in front of the driver is a large, high-resolution 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, while an even bigger 13.4-inch screen sits perched over the center console. The digital instrument cluster features a lunar-inspired background, and it’s reconfigurable, making it easy to add gauges for roll, pitch, tire pressure, or the Super Cruise system as you see fit.
The center display is for main infotainment functions and drive mode screens. We particularly like the native integration of Google apps, including Maps. It makes route planning quick and painless. In a feature we hope other automakers copy, GMC took advantage of the Hummer’s touchscreen by integrating driver-configurable auxiliary switches directly into the Off-Road Pages menu of the system. This makes it easy to install and integrate aftermarket accessories, such as auxiliary lights or a winch.
Both screens feature crisp graphics powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine (a video game development tool) and designed by a media company known for working on Marvel Universe projects.
The lunar-inspired design, showy graphics, and large screens show that GMC paid a lot of attention to making a great first impression, but we wish it paid more attention to the Hummer EV Edition 1 pickup’s fundamentals. We can look past seats and a center console straight out of the GMC Sierra, but we can’t look past the iffy material choices for this $112,595 electric truck. The heavy-duty-looking switches and knobs are flimsy to touch, trim in our example was loose-fitting, and the Hummer features acres of shiny, rental-grade pebbled plastic on the doors and lower portions of the center console.
Outside of these disappointments, the Hummer’s cabin is fairly roomy and comfortable. The high floor (the big 200-kWh battery pack is located there) creates surprisingly tight headroom for those north of 6 feet tall, but the Hummer’s removable roof panels can provide all the headroom you need and then some.
You won’t necessarily need to find space in the garage for those roof panels, as GMC has cleverly outfitted the Hummer’s massive frunk to hold them. Pop open the power-operated frunk to find four black foam cartridges designed to hold your roof panels securely in place. If you do want to leave the panels behind, these pizza-box-size holders pop out fairly easily and can be stacked in a place of your choosing.
Elsewhere, the Hummer features a large storage cubby in the center console, and the rear seats feature two hidden storage cubbies built into the outboard backrests.
Walk around back (or drop down the back glass and climb through if you’re limber enough) to access the Hummer’s stubby 5-foot bed. It has ample tie-downs, and GM’s love-it-or-hate-it multiposition Multipro tailgate makes accessing them easy.
Although there’s definitely room for improvement when it comes to build quality, the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup’s interior is a well-thought-out package. We love the creative out-of-this-world design theme and the outside-the-box thinking when it comes to infotainment and storage. If GM can fix the shortcomings, the Hummer EV pickup—and the Edition 1 in particular—may just feel worth its hefty price tag.