The bulky 6.0-litre H2 engine has three times the power of the 1.5-litre Jimny, but seems to take three times as long to stop.
12 hours ago
- In the Carwow David vs. Goliath drag race video, the modern Suzuki Jimny goes up against the early 21st century Hummer H2.
- Suzuki’s 1.5-liter four-cylinder is rated at 101 horsepower (102 PS), while GM says the 6.0 V8 in early H2 models is rated at 325 horsepower (330 PS).
- Both cars won in the acceleration test, but the H2’s brakes performed extremely poorly in the braking test.
Suzuki’s versatile Jimny has a lot of things going for it, but quick acceleration isn’t one of them. So you might think it’s unlikely to beat an equally boxy, ladder-framed SUV with a big V8 engine. But Carwow’s latest drag racing showdown has some surprises.
The Jimny, which is the personal property of host Mat Watson, is a 2020 model and is powered by a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four with 101 horsepower (102 PS). Its competition today is the 20-year-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 fierce Hummer H1
Watson’s team claims the H2 is one of the later 6.2 models with just under 400 hp (406 PS), but while we’re no H2 experts, based on the engine photos and instrument panel we think it looks like one of the early 6.0 trucks, rated at just 325 hp (330 PS). That still makes it more than three times as powerful as the Suzuki, though. While the Hummer weighs the same as the 2.5 Jimny, it still has a slightly better power-to-weight ratio.
The Jimny was quicker off the line, though that advantage was due in part to the manual transmission and, we suspect, in part to the slow driver reactions of the automatic H2. Watson has had plenty of practice in this drag race. But once it focused, the Hummer easily outpaced, completing the quarter-mile in a paltry 18.8 seconds to the Jimny’s even paler 19.1.
There’s an interesting twist at highway speeds that we won’t spoil but you’ll want to watch the video anyway to see just how bad the Hummer’s brakes are. Of course, you’d expect a lightweight like the Jimny to stop quicker than the hulking H2, but this Hummer clearly has some serious braking issues, and its wheels aren’t even trying to lock up with the ABS.
Watson’s back-of-the-envelope calculations show that the H2 takes 80 meters (263 feet) longer to stop from 60 mph (98 km/h) than the Jimny. If you see this H2 in your rearview mirror, our advice is to pull over quickly.
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