[SpeedyArizona]

I stopped by the Cadillac dealership this afternoon to get an interior light fixed in the Eldorado, and what did I see...a new Hummer H3! I, of course, was interested and finally talked one of the salesmen into letting me take a test-drive in that beauty. After I showed him my drivers licence, he flipped me the set of keys to it and just told me to be careful:lildevil: .

I checked out the exterior for a little while, and finally stepped up into the mini version of the wildly popular H2. The interior was suprisingly comfortable, and not as cheap as I thought it would be. I turned the key, and it started right up. I started to slowly accelerate to the exit, and whipped right out.

I found the 101, and wanted to open this up and see how the performance was, and I was sadly disappointed. The acceleration was sluggish, but I didn't expect much from that 5 cylinder engine. The top speed I went up to was 82, I'm sure it could go a wee bit faster, but I didn't want to push my luck.

After around 30 minutes of toying around Phoenix, I decided to take it back to the dealership and see how my Cadillac was doing. After around 40 minutes of sitting around, they finally fixed the light and I was on my merry way. Heres a rundown of the Pro's and Con's of the new H3 from my perspective:

PROS:

Great exterior styling
More refined interior from H2 and H1
Comfortable Seating for 4 adults, not 5
Great riding height, I love to sit up high
Affordable price
Very capable, although I couldn't check it
Suprisingly good gas mileage, around 18 on the highway
An attention grabber
HUMMER, need I say more?

CONS:

Sluggish acceleration
Rear visiblity is limited, especially with the tire on the back
Still has a large turning radius


It was great to drive this beast! I had many eyes staring at me from other cars, and two un-wanted gestures:tisk: from a Toyota and Nissan! Next vehicle on my wanted list!

 

[Playdrv4me]

The acceleration is a huge issue to me even though I sort of like the rest of the truck. I dont know what they were thinking using that anaemic 5 cyl jobber in there, BUT, as soon as they give it a turbo or move up to a larger engine I think it will be alright.

 

[SpeedyArizona]

You would think GM would have enough knowledge to know that a 4700 lb SUV would need at least a V6 to get fair horsepower and acceleration. I bet in the next year or so they will offen an optional V8 or at least a standard V6.

I don't think that I would want to merge into rush hour Phoenix traffic in the otherwise great H3.

 

[DDS rollin a CTS]

A few weeks ago I had my CTS in for waranty service so the dealer gave me a rental for the day. When I was talking to the girl at the rental counter, I asked her, "hey since you guys sell hummers, is there any chance I can drive an H2?" She told me they didnt rent the H2s but she could get me an H3. I was pretty stoked right up until I'd been driving it for about 2 seconds. By that time I had realized all the cons noted above (ie: total lack of accelleration, lousy visibilty, wide turning radius). Keep in mind I drove 15 passenger vans while in college (campus shuttle). I could see better and got more performance out of those vans fully loaded than with the empty (just me) H3. In my opinion, and no offense to you SpeedyArizona, but the H3 amounts to nothing more than an overpriced penis extension. (can I say penis in the forums???) As offroad-capable as the Hummers are supposed to be, I simply cant see many people taking a vehicle like this off road. That said, if I were ever to buy a Hummer, it would have to be a stipped-down H1 (stripped-down as in toss out the tv's, leather seats and plush carpets). If I'm going to own the most extreme offroad production vehicle available, I'm gonna ford some damn rivers with it! The one plus I'll give the H3 was when I was heading back to the dealer, I'd forgotten I'd parked in a spot with a curb in front of me. As I pulled forward out of the spot I felt a small bump; it wasnt until I looked in the rear-view mirror that I realized the thing had jumped a 6" curb without me hardly feeling a thing. I bet I'd feel even less if I ran over one of those hippy treehuggers in a Prius!!! Long story short, when I got back to the dealer and found out my car wasnt ready, I asked to trade the H3 for a Caddy. The girl at the counter told me, "no problem, we get that a lot with that thing" and gave me an SRX.

 

[SpeedyArizona]

No offense taken, everyone is entitled to an opinion and most points you make are correct. I could NEVER see anyone take the H3 offroad, or even on a freeway since the performance is horrible. I don't care for the interior, although it is an improvement over the H1 and H2.

I think that eventually they will have a standard V6 and possibly an optional V8 that puts out decent horsepower and acceleration out there. The people that own or buy Hummers don't base their desicion on gas mileage, but the ability to stand out from the crowd... literally !

I do think it is an affordable NEARLY full-size SUV (they say it's mid-size, and compared to the H1 and H2 it is, but I think it fits in the full-size catergory) that will become somewhat popular for people that always wanted a HUMMER, but couldn't afford the H2 and didn't want that much vehicle either.

HUMMER will probably sell many of these mini H2's, but they need to put at least a V6 in it!

 

[davesdeville]

How the hell does that thing weight 4700? It didn't look that big when I saw one.

 

[Jesda]

With the I5, imagine how bad towing will be. Attach a boat to the H3 and youre stuck in place.

 

[Randy_W]

You would think GM would have enough knowledge to know that a 4700 lb SUV would need at least a V6 to get fair horsepower and acceleration. I bet in the next year or so they will offen an optional V8 or at least a standard V6.

I don't think that I would want to merge into rush hour Phoenix traffic in the otherwise great H3.

There is no "V6" used in this platform. The twin OHC/I6 with 275 h.p. and 275 ft/lbs will be available by April or May The problem is the demand for these engines has the plant at capacity. With sales slowing a bit for TrailBlazer, Rainer, Envoy due to the overall slow down in auto sales and increased plant capacity, the bigger engine will start to be available.:thumbsup:

 

[JC316]

UGH! I sat in one at the State Fair of Texas and I have to say I was very dissapointed. My 96 S10 Blazer is MUCH more comfortable inside, probably has more power, and gets better milage.

 

[I Need DUBs]

Big Plus the H3 also comes in a 5 Speed manual. if Im correct?

 

[SpeedyArizona]

My 96 S10 Blazer is MUCH more comfortable inside

I was very comfortable in it.

Big Plus the H3 also comes in a 5 Speed manual. if Im correct?

You are correct sir, it accually comes standard. But I don't drive sticks, so I'd need the auto.