After more than three decades of largely reliable service, the era of the “Humvee” or HMMWV is coming to a close. Designed for rugged military service in the 70s and in service since 1984, the “trucks” (at least as we called them in the Corps” have certainly shown their age. While many have been produced in the last 10 years, they suffer from a distinct lack of upgrades and capabilities, which in turn are byproducts of the technology incorporated. Upgrading the HMMWV is difficult and its actually easier to design a whole new vehicle.

Which is what the US Army did.

The new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is, by almost any standard, a far superior vehicle. But, the question is just how superior is the JLTV? Motor Trend took some time and went on a deep dive into their capabilities.

Perhaps most obvious and important is the upgrade of the engine. The Humvee’s were woefully underpowered by almost any standard for modern mobile battlefields. While capable under the original designed loadout (which there was none), the sub 200 horses under the hood couldn’t keep up with the modern electronics, armor, and weight needed to keep men fighting on unfair grounds.

Secondly, the new JLTV is designed to handle modern symmetric and asymmetric threats by the nature of its design with a V-bottom hull and base built-in armor package. Combined with greater electrical generation, better integration with weapons platforms, and better A/C, I think most Soldiers and Marines will enjoy the new truck.

For the full details and run-down on the future gun trucks, check out Motor Trend here.