It is a "mountain" bike, suppose to go up and down hills.
Replace the nobby tires with a touring style tires [Conti Contacts or Schwalbe Marathon] - you will be fine.
My teenage son had an older Trek 6500, put Schwalbe Big Apple tires on it and replaced the front shock [after it blew] with a rigid fork. It was a great commuter for him, plus he did a couple of sagged tours with it.