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If you’ve ever seen what looks like a GMC Hummer EV on stilts, then you might know about the truck’s Extract Mode. It’s an air suspension function that lifts the pickup by nearly six inches to help all 9,000 pounds of it get unstuck, or prevent it from getting stuck in the first place. It wasn’t available at launch, but in the next few weeks, GMC is adding it to First Edition models via a free software update.
That’s great news for all three or four Hummer EV owners who have actually taken their truck off-road. In all fairness, the battery-powered machine’s ground clearance is genuinely impressive with Extract Mode enabled at 15.9 inches. A Ford F-150 Raptor on 37-inch tires, for reference, tops out at 13.1 inches of clearance.
You can watch a Hummer EV stand on its tippy toes to clear the rocks in this quick clip:
Essentially, this helps prevent underbody damage on what’s admittedly an expensive toy. The reinforced battery enclosure is tough—you’d apparently need a hardened steel spike to pierce it—but it’s still a risk. Also, I don’t think General Motors has been able to make many spare parts for it yet.
Extract Mode increases the Hummer EV’s off-road angles to 49.7 degrees of approach, 32.2 degrees of breakover and 38.4 degrees of departure. It also ups the water-fording level to 32 inches versus Normal Mode’s 26 inches. Even though we haven’t seen a Hummer EV test the latter stat for ourselves, we’ve seen a Rivian R1T prove that electric trucks are more than capable of some deep stream crossings.
Soon enough, drivers of the six-figure super truck will have another party trick to go along with Crab Walk. And while they may seem gimmicky, they have the potential to be seriously useful off-road. It’s really a matter of whether or not anyone will make use of the truck’s rock-crawling capability.
Even if they don’t, I’m sure they’ll enjoy the 1,000-horsepower launches in Watts To Freedom Mode.
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