Boating World

King Of The Road

Get noticed on the road and always be first in line at the launch ramp with the new 2000 Hummer.

July 1, 2000

It's Saturday morning at the local launch ramp. You're number 530 in line. At the rate the line's moving, you'll be able to launch sometime Thursday. Wouldn't it be great if you could just launch wherever and whenever you felt like it? Just back the ol' trailer down the muddy bank, leave the truck right there while you go have your fun, then reload at sunset and drive out of the muck like nobody's business. You could, if you owned a Hummer.

Not that you'd ever do such a thing. But wouldn't it be nice if you could? That sums up the appeal of the Hummer - the things you could do with it if you wanted to. Things like ford a 30-inch-deep stream or climb over a 22-inch vertical rock ledge. Or even back a boat trailer down a muddy slope and then pull it back up without breaking a sweat.

When you consider that the Hummer's origins date to 1979, when the U.S. Army asked the company AM General to design a High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or "Humvee") that could go just about anywhere on earth, withstand stray machine-gun fire and last for a minimum of 12 years in wartime conditions, you start to get a feel for just how hardcore this machine is. After the Humvee's stellar performance in the 1991 Gulf War, AM General decided the time was right to offer a civilian model, the Hummer. (Supposedly, this decision came after Arnold Schwarzenegger told AM General he'd pay any price for a Humvee of his own after seeing them in action on CNN.) Since then, the Hummer's become the ride of choice for manly men, famous action heroes and anybody who wants to be sure he never goes unnoticed anywhere he goes.

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Of course, driving the Hummer also means going anywhere you want, towing just about anything you want. The Hummer's towing capacity is rated at an eye-popping 8,050 pounds (equipped with optional weight-distributing hitch and spring bars), the legal limit on the highway. With the standard weight-carrying hitch, or for off-road towing (regardless of hitch), you're limited to 5,000 pounds on the trailer, which is really only a problem if you plan on towing a cruise ship or a house. Okay, maybe not that much, but that's plenty of towing power.

The rest of the Hummer's capabilities are equally amazing. Think you have a steep launch ramp? The Hummer can handle a 60-percent grade. With its hydraulic-actuated, four-wheeled inboard-mounted Meritor-WABCO ABS power disc brakes with 10.5-inch rotors, the Hummer can brake as effectively as you back down that 60-percent grade as it would if you were going forward.

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For sheer showing off, it can handle a 40-percent side slope, which means you can find the steepest ramp in the country and the Hummer can drive across it sideways. And if somebody shoots out all four of your huge (37-inch Goodyear Wrangler MT radial) tires, you can drive 20 miles at 30 mph thanks to the optional "run flat" system.

Reading all the specifications, though, still doesn't really prepare you for actu-ally getting behind the wheel and taking the Hummer out on - or off - the road. First, it's a lot more comfortable than you might expect, with seats that feel almost identical to those in a Jeep Wrangler. There's more legroom in the front seats than first meets the eye, so even 6-footers fit in the front buckets comfortably.

The Hummer's huge drive train runs between the bucket seats, forcing you and your passenger to sit at arm's length from each other. The drive train's odd position gives the Hummer a full 16 inches of ground clearance, and there is a nice table top between the seats that you can use as a dinner table. There's also a Monsoon audio system with CD player and a seven-channel weatherband radio, so you can monitor conditions right up to the launch ramp. As an added bonus, the Monsoon system is designed so that rear-seat passengers can plug in headphones (there's a dual jack on the rear drive train console) and can listen to a CD on their headphones while the guys in front listen to the radio.

If you're in the back, you'll really appreciate the headphones, because there's barely enough legroom for an adult. Oddly enough, though, it doesn't seem to matter. In our week-long test, we found that even huge guys, more than 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, would gladly wedge themselves into the back seat just for the opportunity to ride in the Hummer. Just like they'd offer to help with the somewhat awkward chore of removing and replacing the soft top (a 10-minute job) in exchange for a ride.

The ride is smoother than you might think even at highway speeds. Powered by a 6.5L turbo-diesel (195 hp), the Hummer may not be the quickest vehicle off the line, but it'll go for about 200,000 miles at 70 mph before you need to service it. In tricky conditions, such as slippery launch ramps or 100-foot-tall sand dunes, the Hummer's TorqTrac 4 (TT4) traction control system utilizes an electronic sensor on each wheel to determine if the wheel's spinning. If so, the control unit automatically applies the brake to that wheel while shifting torque to the wheels with traction. Slippage? What slippage? You can practically drive up the face of a glacier.

As impressive as the Hummer's capabilities are, and as surprisingly smooth and comfortable as the ride is, what really amazes us during our test is the reaction the Hummer gets when it's cruising down the street. Maybe it's the fact that the Hummer looks like the world's biggest Tonka toy. Whatever the reason, everyone - without exception - that sees us smiles, waves, cheers or comes up to admire and talk about the vehicle. Teenage skateboarders love it. Grandmothers love it. People on bicycles covered with pro-environment bumper stickers love it. The Hummer, believe it or not, has a cross-cultural, cross-gender, cross-generational appeal that's unmatched. And that's the best thing of all, because it means that it's that much easier to convince the family that taking out that home equity loan to buy a $75,000 tow vehicle was a good idea.

And the next time you head down to the launch ramp, even if you're number 538 in line, it'll be okay, because you'll know that if you really wanted to, you could pull out of line and launch right there from the muddy bank. Because you're in a Hummer.

The Verdict

Heavyweight champion of off-road vehicles, yet surprisingly comfortable and maneuverable. Removing or installing the convertible top is tough, but worth it. With a list price of more than $75,000, you just about have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to afford one.

Engine: 195-hp, 6.5L Turbo-diesel V8
Max Tow Rating: 8,050 lbs.
Wheelbase: 130"
Width: 86.5" (w/o mirrors)
Height: 77"
Ground Clearance: 16"
Fuel Capacity: 25 gal., plus 17-gal. reserve tank
Passenger Seating: 4
Base Price: $75,702
Price As Tested: $89,936

AM General Corp.
One Michiana Square
100 East Wayne St. Suite 300
South Bend, Indiana 46601
(800) 732-5493
http://www.hummer.com