Take a $1 billion grant from the Pentagon and add an eager automaker’s creativity and the influence of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The result is the Hummer, a 33-year-old behemoth whose tumultuous tenure is as confounding as any vehicle in recent automotive history.

Slightly more than 40 years ago, AM General, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in Indiana, secured the funding and built the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee). It was the go-to cargo and troop transport vehicle in Middle Eastern military operations, and 72,000 were made in eight years.

Schwarzenegger was enamored with the Humvee used on the set of his 1990 movie Kindergarten Cop. He persuaded its maker to introduce a consumer version, which it did in 1992, renaming it Hummer.

EV options joined the Hummer lineup as a pickup in October 2020 and as a sport utility vehicle in April 2021. With its new status, everything the original Hummer (and its single-digit gas mileage and other extremes) represented is forgiven.

A precursor to the polarizing looks of the Tesla Cybertruck, the Hummer is about as far removed from the automotive norm as feasible, and a wondrous contradiction. Through name and ownership changes, bankruptcies, production hiatuses and auto industry upheaval, the 2025 GMC Hummer EV Pickup is here in its refreshingly bold ways.

It’s as overbearing as ever, a 9,000-pound, get-out-of-my-way beast with 22-inch wheels and an omnipresent menacing appearance — its name couldn’t be emblazoned across the formerly attractive grille any more boldly — and it has a commanding road presence at more than 18 feet long. Of course, that means it doesn’t fit in standard-sized parking spaces; it’s also difficult to enter and exit.

Payload capacity is 1,300 pounds and the towing limit 7,500 pounds. The pickup has an 11.3-cubic-foot front trunk standard on both models that also stores the four removable roof panels when needed. Standard also are front and rear pedestrian alerts, automatic braking and blind-spot warnings.

The pickup has two trim levels, the 2X and 3X. The 2X, not surprisingly, has two electric motors — one each on the front and rear axle. It has a combined 570 horsepower. The 3X has three electric motors — one on the front axle, two on the rear — combining for 1,000 horsepower. Home charging via a 240V system takes 10.5 hours.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are easy to connect and function well, but the Hummer doesn’t have an onboard navigation system. The 14-speaker Bose sound system is sometimes not the best since the Hummer has substantial wind noise issues. A hefty supply of USB outlets, 12-volt outlets and wireless charger are included. The rear row has a 120-volt outlet, and there’s also Google Assistant.

With its high perch seating and square windows, the Hummer has superior visibility, further assisted by a surround-view camera system harnessing nine cameras with 19 available views.

There are shortcomings: The four-door, five-passenger crew cab has a condensed, five-foot bed. It’s smaller than the bed of its Honda Ridgeline lookalike. The Hummer also has a tiny, hard-to-reach rear-view mirror, which is particularly odd considering the vehicle’s girth. Likewise, the side mirrors don’t correspond to the vehicle’s extra-large, rugged persona.

The 2025 GMC Hummer EV pickup, as reviewed, cost just under $120,000. The brand has never been inexpensive, but the 2025 edition is a value purchase for consumers who know what they want and buy it because they can.

Facts & figures

Acceleration: 0 to 60 mph, 3.3 seconds

Airbags: 4

Gas mileage: 381-mile range, 53 MPGe

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $104,650

Price as reviewed: $119,280

Manufacturer’s website: gmc.com/electric/hummer-ev/suv

Warranty:  Bumper-to-Bumper, 3 years/36,000 miles; Powertrain, 3 years/36,000 miles; 8 years/100,000 miles electric engine components; Corrosion, 3 years/36,000 miles; Roadside Assistance, 5 years/60,000 miles