Summary
- Large EVs like the GMC Hummer EV take longer to charge due to their massive battery size and capacity.
- Charging the Hummer EV SUV at home took 20 hours to go from 10 to 100%, longer than most EVs.
- Fast charging the Hummer EV SUV was costly at $32.16 CAD for a 21-minute charge from 10 to 44%.
I just finished spending an entire week behind the wheel of the ostentatious but inherently cool GMC Hummer EV in SUV form. I’ll be back soon with a full review of this big, charming thing. But today I’d like to focus on home charging, since that’s where most electric vehicle (EV) owners charge their vehicle most of the time anyway.
Normally, when reviewing EVs, I almost only use my home, level 2 charging unit. I very seldom use public charging, except on the rare occasions when I need to venture out on a long roadtrip. And, each time, my humble 7.2-kWh Flo G5 unit gets most EVs up and going overnight. But not this time. Due to the Hummer EV’s cartoonish specifications, charging at home ended up being a lot more tedious than I expected.
Why The GMC Hummer EV Takes So Much Time To Charge
If you’re unfamiliar with EV charging, the first thing you need to understand is that battery size and capacity have a lot to do with it. Sure, the Hummer EV SUV is compatible with a 350 kW fast-charger, currently the most powerful metric for all electric vehicles currently on sale. But its battery is a whopping 170-kW unit. For reference, that’s the equivalent of two and half Chevrolet Bolt EVs.
This further proves my point that smaller EVs make a lot more sense for a myriad of reasons, a point of view I made sure to highlight in my op-ed on the matter.
As cool as they are, large EVs like the GMC Hummer end up being unpleasant to live with due to their lengthy charging times. For instance, on my level 2 home charger, it took the Hummer EV SUV a whopping 20 hours to go from 10 to 100%, costing me about $10.00 CAD. On average, the same charging cycle takes me anywhere between 8 and 12 hours on a conventional EV, or about $5.00 CAD.
Fast Charging Won’t Be Fast, And Will Cost You
Fast charging wasn’t all that pleasant either. After plugging this massive rig into a 180-kW fast-charging unit, it took the Hummer EV 21 minutes to get from 10 to 44%. It also cost me $32.16 CAD, or the equivalent of $24.00 USD. It cost me an extra $25.00 to get the darn thing up to an 80% charge. Compared to a gas-powered Hummer, that’s nothing. But compared to most EVs out there, that’s very expensive.
Now, I’m well aware that 180 kilowatts is only about half of what the Hummer EV can take in terms of fast charging capability. But if this were any other EV, I would have fully replenished the car during the same time frame or less.
So, what’s the point of this story? After all, anyone committing to purchasing a Hummer – whether it be gas-powered or electric – knows exactly what they’re getting into. At least, I hope so. But I felt it was important to remind everyone how something so opulent and – ahem – so useless impacts your energy bills and, in turn, your wallet.
One more thing: considering that the GMC Hummer EV consumes electricity at the rate of 53 MPGe due to its combined 800 horsepower and 1,200 lb-ft of torque from three electric motors, its 8,660-lb curb weight and non-aerodynamic styling, chances are you’ll be spending more time parked charging the darn thing than actually enjoying it out there in the open.
