The GMC Hummer SUV Is The First EV On This 'Meanest' Cars For The Environment List

The GMC Hummer EV SUV is as much of a four-wheeled statement as the original Hummer H1 was. It’s big, expensive, and packs a lot of off-road tech that will probably never be used.

It’s also quite an electron guzzler, just like its spiritual predecessor was a gas guzzler, requiring about 600-700 watt-hours of energy just to travel one mile, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s mainly due to its massive weight of around 10,000 pounds, 3,000 of which are represented by the battery alone.

Because of this, the Hummer EV SUV is the first battery-powered car to be featured on the 2024 American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) list of “meanest” vehicles, next to names of gas-burning models like the Ram 1500 TRX, Cadillac Escalade V, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and Dodge Durango SRT.

The ACEEE gave the GMC Hummer EV SUV a so-called Green Score of 29 (the pickup has a score of 30), with an estimated annual fuel cost of $1,746. To put that into perspective, the list of “greenest” cars is spearheaded by the plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius Prime SE with a Green Score of 71 and an estimated annual fuel cost of $529 (if the car is driven 15,000 miles per year).

The Green Score is based on a lifecycle assessment of the greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from the production, use, and disposal of each vehicle. the non-profit says it also assesses the upstream emissions generated by the electricity used by an EV, just like it assesses the emissions from fuel burned by an ICE vehicle.

The emissions produced when mining and processing minerals for batteries, as well as from the vehicle manufacturing process are taken into account, too, the ACEEE says.

With all this being said, even though the GMC Hummer EV SUV is on the naughty list, all the cars on the “Greenest” list are either EVs, PHEVs, or hybrids, so going down the battery-powered route is clearly an environmentally friendly way of getting around–if the car doesn’t weigh as much as an apartment building, that is.

According to the full list, the Lexus RZ 300e is the best choice when it comes to EVs, followed by the previous-generation Mini Cooper SE (which will be replaced by a new model) and the Nissan Leaf. 

Curiously, though, the highest-rated Tesla, the Model Y, only has a Green Score of 57, even though it consumes less energy per mile than the Mini Cooper SE which has a Green Score of 67. The Model Y AWD consumes 280 Wh/mile, while the Cooper SE needs 310 Wh/mile, according to the EPA. Then again, it’s not just the energy consumption that makes up the score.