- A modern Suzuki Jimny takes on an early ’00s Hummer H2 in a Carwow David and Goliath drag race video.
- The Suzuki’s 1.5-liter four is rated at 101 hp (102 PS), while GM quoted 325 hp (330 PS) for the 6.0 V8 in the early H2.
- Acceleration runs allow both cars to claim victory, but the H2’s stoppers perform shockingly bad in the braking test.
Suzuki’s versatile Jimny has many strengths, but accelerating quickly isn’t one of them. So you’d probably not give it great odds at beating an equally boxy, also ladder-frame SUV fitted with a big V8 engine. But Carwow’s latest drag race match-up throws up a couple of surprises.
The Jimny is host Mat Watson’s own, a 2020 model powered by a 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated inline four that develops 101 hp (102 PS). Its rival today is a two-decade-old Hummer H2, GM’s first attempt to cash in on the cult appeal of the H1 military truck.
Related: Two Conjoined Suzuki Jimnys Create A Slammed Hummer H1
Watson’s team claims the H2 is one of the later 6.2 models that makes just under 400 hp (406 PS) but while we’re no H2 experts, based on the engine shots and instrument cluster, it looks to us like one of the earlier 6.0 trucks that were only rated at 325 hp (330 PS). But that would still make it more than three times as powerful as the Suzuki. And though the Hummer weighs the same as 2.5 Jimnys, it still has a marginally better power-to-weight ratio.
The Jimny is quicker off the line, though some of that advantage comes down to its manual transmission, and we imagine some of it comes down to the auto H2’s driver’s slow reaction times. Watson has had a fair bit of practice at this drag race thing. But once it’s gathered its thoughts, the Hummer strolls by, completing the quarter mile in a feeble 18.8 seconds versus an even feebler 19.1 seconds for the Jimny.
There’s an interesting twist at high speeds that we won’t spoil, but you’ll want to watch the video anyway to see how terrible the Hummer’s brakes are. Sure, you’d expect a lightweight like the Jimny to stop faster than the bloated H2, but this particular Hummer clearly has some serious brake problems, it’s wheels not even troubling the ABS by attempting to lock up.
Watson’s very rough calculations suggest the H2 takes a terrifying 80 m (263 ft) longer than the Jimny to stop from 60 mph (98 kmh). If you ever see this H2 in your rear-view mirror our advice is to move aside sharpish.
