When first we reviewed the Hummer H2, the country was about to embark upon the Iraq war. Now the military-style geschäftwagen reports back, front and center.

We’re not talking about the humvee-derived Hummer H1, but rather the H2, which looks military, but only as a display of homefront bravado. And while the world has added a couple of democracies since the time we first reviewed this truck, the new H2 SUT has only the addition of a tiny 3-by-5-foot pickup style cargo bed at which to point. Think of it as the five-seat H2 wagon that’s exchanged its inside storage bay for one potentially exposed to enemy fire.

Built for General Motors by AM General (itself a surviving arm of American Motors, the company that once built Jeeps), the SUT stands on the latter company’s large-SUV platform with all the angularity of a 3-ton Tonka toy designed to look like it’ll bust up terrorists and then refuel on whatever’s coming out of the ground where they stood. Of course, for it to do so would be unwise – as the Hummer’s four-speed automatic transmission is attached to a big 6.0-liter V8 that thrives on refinery-produced regular that it consumes at a war-wagon rate of just more than 10 miles a gallon.

And while this might appear an unseemly waste of fuel considering the larger costs involved – it’s the point of the H2 to proclaim that neither it nor, by implication, its owner, cares. As such, the SUT is a vehicle built less for real military action than a kind of megalopolitan megalomania – although in wilder realms, you can’t beat it as an off-roader with low-range gearing and a locking rear differential.

Approaching the nuclear-yellow tester in the driveway by night is to participate in an eye-widening spectacle. Here, a click of a key-fob causes the Hummer to flash its lights (including a set of cool, interstate-hauler-like roof mounted ones) like an awakening wargod ready to engage in a contest of wills.

The contest begins as you clamber up the side-pipe style running boards and into command position. “Rommel,” you’re tempted to proclaim, “you magnificent bastard, I read your book!” You then read the dash, which has the right idea with its simple, white-on-black gauges; although the bug-eye vents that surmount the tester’s navigation-system-containing center console carried the H2’s big-ugly theme to yet a new level. Other than that, the SUT’s leather seats (heated both front and rear) are comfortable, and its high-mounted gunslit windows offer a fine view of any surrounding traffic – provided, that is, said traffic doesn’t happen to include nearby cars. There’s a specific point at the front of each Hummer where its front fenders end and the world traversable by its four-wheel-driven set of 17-inch tires begins. Regrettably, this point is invisible to the driver.

Aft of the SUT’s rear seats is GM’s midgate wall. Once you lower its power retractable window, this will then fold down along with the rear seat to extend the length of the cargo bed to 6 feet, al beit not without incurring a step of several inches. With its midgate wall raised and its back light remaining down, the Hummer attains a refreshingly airy feel. Lower the rear seats, and open up some 30 square feet of cargo room. Standing behind the vehicle, you must undertake a major effort to swing the SUT’s massive spare tire out of the way before accessing its heavy and high-set tailgate. Close all that back up and you can enjoy an impressive towing capacity of close to 7,000 pounds.

The $59,000 tester came with Hummer’s standard antilock brakes and On-Star assistance. It also had the optional Adventure grouping with a self-leveling rear air suspension, and a combined radio and navigation unit wherein the navigation screen appears on the radio’s center-dash faceplate.

At first, we were going to drive the H2 to the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds, but with the Iraqi election just concluded, we headed for the Jefferson Memorial instead. The Hummer accelerated on the highway from zero to-60 in about 10 seconds. The ensuing ride was understandably jittery, as we felt the truck’s massive bulk in its proclivity to lean in tight curves, and only maneuver in close quarters with difficulty. Also, owing to a combination of its all-terrain tires, drive train, and boxy configuration – the Hummer hummed as we drove it and generated enough wind noise to recall the sound made by a tree-topping flight of Hueys. But once free of civilization (or at least surrounding traffic) the H2 handled with remarkable agility for so heavy a truck, with shifting that took place smoothly and that would kick down fast when we needed additional power. As we reached our exit, we found the SUT’s brakes up to the task of making most any stop seem routine.

Like the recently reviewed Chevrolet SSR, the Hummer H2 SUT’s utility seems to reside in the way it exaggerates a quirky sub cultural style. We wondered what the Jefferson would have thought of the thing. After all, he shied away from neither war nor the exploration of rugged off-road real estate. At the memorial, we looked to him for an answer – but he seemed focused on the distant horizon.