Rent 2009 HUMMER H2

Like Michael Jackson, the Hummer brand was once popular and considered cool, but lately, the maker of adult Tonka trucks garners about as much public admiration as Wacko Jacko himself. With a slap to their noggins in the form of high gas prices, those poseurs who previously bought Hummers as 6,600-pound, 10-mpg fashion accessories are thankfully a nearly extinct breed. Though there is now the smaller, somewhat more sensible H3 for those tenderfoots, nothing less than a 2009 Hummer H2 SUT will do for those who engage in "National Geographic"-caliber off-road adventures and who tow big-boys' toys.

While the regular H2 utilizes typical SUV design, the H2 SUT (Sport Utility Truck) is more like a crew-cab pickup truck. Both H2 variants are identical from the nose to the rear doors, after which the SUT has a small pickup-style bed in place of the covered cargo compartment. The H2 SUT also features GM's innovative Midgate design (as seen on the Chevy Avalanche). The Midgate in the H2 SUT has a power rear window that descends into a folding panel that in turn can flip down (after the rear seats are folded down) to extend the bed into the cabin.

Thanks to recent refinements, the 2009 Hummer H2 SUT is the best one yet, though there's still no getting around its XXL size and heavy thirst. If you don't have a hankering for a small pickup bed and can instead live with a conventional SUV, other choices such as the Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX56 and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class offer more on-road refinement, more accommodating cabins and not-as-horrible fuel consumption.