If we were very PC, we would have rejected it out of hand. But at General Motors' global product seminar in California the other week, it begged to be driven and we couldn't resist the temptation to drive it for half a morning, doing just 10 miles per gallon, writes Andrew Hamilton
Our steed was GM's new Hummer H2, little brother to the original H1. It's the civilian version of the US army's fighting vehicle that gained prominence racing through Kuwait's oilfields during the Desert Storm campaign back in the first George Bush's time in office.
H2, like H1, is still an exercise in automotive excess and there's no good reason to purchase it.
That alone probably ensures hit status in the land of automotive excess.
The H2 retains most of the larger sibling's militaristic styling. It's a big muscular brute and we weren't really surprised to hear from American confreres that it will spend more time hauling suburban mums and their offspring to school events than ploughing over sand dunes and through rugged canyons.
The 316 horsepower V8 gasoline engine ensures that H2 is no friend of the planet. Conspiracy theorists might even think the gas-guzzling H2 was one of the reasons Americans were over protecting Kuwait's oil in the first place.
GM expects to sell all the H2s it can make. There are plans to build 20,000 of the inaugural 2003 model that went on US sale last month, but GM thinks 40,000 is probably a better estimate of annual demand.
It seems a snip at $50,000, which is more or less €50,000 given the rate of exchange these days. The bigger H1 is more than twice as much at $112,000. Arnold Schwarzenegger was so influenced by the military H1 in Desert Storm that he demanded a civilian version.
Now his stable includes not just H1 but five H2s, presumably toys for his guests. GM, thanks to Arnold, has discovered that Hummer is the business: a smaller, less expensive H3 is planned.
GM doesn't actually make the Hummer: that's done by AM General at South Bend, Indiana. It does own the Hummer brand. The two companies split a profit of around $8,000 for each H2 sold.
GENERAL Motors is now asking Hummer dealers to build dedicated showrooms, that pay homage to the vehicle's rugged military background.
But brand identification is going even further. There are plans for Hummer caps, Hummer shirts and lots of other Hummer paraphernalia.
GM told us that H2 will do 80 per cent of what the H1 will do. The beauty of the H2 is that it can take you anywhere, but will do so in far more comfort while carrying more people and more cargo and towing much larger boats or trailers.
We didn't roll over the rocks with it, but in spite of its massive bulk, it maintained an easy presence on dusty Californian B roads.
The base model, at $48,800 is well-equipped - 6.0 litre V8, four-speed automatic, full-time four-wheel-drive with a really low-geared low range, and nine inches of ground clearance for rock-crawling, four-wheel anti-lock brakes; and creature comforts such as air conditioning, CD player, on-board electronic compass, tinted windows and power mirrors.
The higher spec model with leather upholstery, a sunroof, air suspension, heated seats and other goodies, tops out at about $55,000.
H2 will be coming to Europe in limited numbers. First though, it has to be more eco-friendly for European tastes and that means fitting it with a suitable and more fuel efficient diesel engine.