2006 HUMMER H2 SUT
Not Much Truck But Still A Lot Of Fun
After spending a few days in a very nice H2 SUT we know one thing for sure: Buyers aren’t purchasing these things for their utility. The “midsize” member of the Hummer lineup has never been particularly useful for moving stuff from point A to B (not counting those rare instances when point B is in uncharted territory) because there really isn’t much interior cargo space. In the SUT that minimal interior cargo space has been replaced with minimal exterior cargo space in the form of a pickup bed with a four-hay bale capacity—maybe less! But we’re not dumb (Actually, test results are still pending—Ed). People buy Hummers because they look cool. The fact that they are comfortable, ride well, can drive through almost anything, and make you feel invincible are simply nice bonuses.
Frequent readers will recall that we reviewed the traditional H2 SUV last year and because all of the mechanicals are shared between the two, we’ll refer you to that article for specifics. With the rest of our space we’ll bring you up to speed on what makes this vehicle unique.
With the SUT Hummer stole a page from the Avalanche playbook and borrowed the Midgate concept for themselves. In our tester the window in the Midgate is power operated and when lowered causes very little wind buffeting, so we found ourselves lowering it to allow some fresh air circulation even though we had the vehicle in late January. As we’ve already established, the bed on this vehicle is itty-bitty and lowering the Midgate doesn’t exactly provide acres of additional room. To put it bluntly, the utility of this vehicle is exceptionally limited. Many people will even have trouble putting things over the side of the bed because the Hummer is so high and the box is deep with wide sills. But the pickup bed does differential the SUT from the thousands of other H2s already on the road and we like the dune-buggy look.
Besides being an SUT variant our H2 was also noteworthy for its Pacific Blue Limited Edition package. This pricey $7,425 option nets you an exclusive blue hue, polished wheels, brush guard, tail lamp guards, heated wiper system, body colored rocker panels and fender molding, a cool light bar with spot lights and carbon fiber interior trim. The carbon fiber trim really helps distract from the montage of cheap black plastic and we suggest adding some brushed aluminum to further dress up the otherwise plasticy interior. After seeing the new GMT900 SUVs I’m looking forward to the next-generation H2 interior. There is certainly room for improvement. The package also includes a DVD player with two headrest-mounted screens for the back seat. The touch screen navigation system continues to be one of the easiest to use in the industry and the BOSE stereo gets plenty loud.
Despite its limited utility, scary soft brake pedal, and an interior that—although getting better—is not $66k material, the H2 SUT still comes off as desirable. I guess that’s the strength of the Hummer brand.
