The SUV offers little cargo space due to its low roofline and the huge spare tire and wheel bolted into the back seat area. Maximum cargo space is listed as 86.6 cubic feet with all the rear seats folded down, short of some of its competitors, such as the new Range Rover, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes-Benz G500, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX 470.
The SUT features a folding midgate and folding rear seat that yield a 4x6-foot cargo space offering 52.7 cubic feet of space. The box measures 34.7 inches (2.9 feet) in length with the Midgate up, 72.8 inches (6 feet) with the Midgate folded down. The cargo box isn't very tall (51.4 inches).
Seats are thick, comfortable and supportive and keep you centered when driving off-road at odd angles. The shifter is a bit of design overkill, with a big, round, shiny handle that's meant to bring macho indoors but takes up space doing it.
The newly available touch-screen navigation system maps routes in 2-D or 3-D color maps on a 5.8-inch display. Enter an address and a route map is generated with turn-by-turn instructions and audio guidance in English or French. Drivers can instruct the navigation system to plan a route using the shortest path or major roads.
We were astonished at the high level of speech articulation across the truck from left to right and front to back. It was easy to have a relatively long-distance conversation from the back seat of the Hummer at 75 miles an hour, and there was enough seat adjustment and rear-seat leg room that I could have sat behind myself, which is terrific since I'm almost 6-foot, 4-inches tall. Compared to this, the big Hummer is both short-coupled and loud inside.
It takes a healthy step up to get into the Hummer unless you use one of the two available step-plate options. And there is an unusually high liftover height at the rear floor. You don't get 10 inches of ground clearance without paying for it, and the truck ends up not very friendly to those of moderate stature. But you do get six 12-volt power points, fore (3), aft (2), and in the rear bumper (1). The rear-view mirror self-dims automatically. Glass is all Solar Ray glass, which cuts heat and UV transmission.
