SAN JOSE, Calif. – The newest Hummer might be a 7/8-size replica of the brawny H2, but one thing hasn’t changed as the brand gets smaller. It remains a favorite vehicle of 12-year-old boys.
That’s whose heads turned during my week behind the wheel of a gray metallic 2006 Hummer H3 sport-utility. They pointed at it and, at times, ran over to get closer and even touch it.
It looks like a big Tonka truck, and that toys-for-boys appeal remains one of the true strengths of General Motors’ Hummer brand.
What’s different this time around is that this Hummer will appeal to the dads and the moms of those 12-year-old boys, many of whom never thought about buying a Hummer before.
That’s because the H3 is close to affordable (with a starting price under $30,000), seems neatly practical as it seats five and has a huge cargo space, fits into parking spaces and traffic lanes, and offers nearly acceptable fuel economy.
It retains Hummer’s signature exterior – think of one of those decorative bricks you might buy at Home Depot and add wheels. The grille is vintage Hummer, although it’s plastic that’s painted to look like real chrome. The rear passenger doors carry huge hunks of molding that help give the wheel wells such an exaggerated look.
The shiny door handles and mirrors are very nice, but they’ll cost you $850 as part of the chrome appearance package.
The only real problem here is that the rear cargo door is big and very, very heavy since it also carries the huge spare tire and its alloy wheel. I opened it in a friend’s sloped driveway and I had to push it closed, with both hands, uphill, and that was quite a chore.
For the record, the H2 is 16.9 inches longer, 6.5 inches wider and 6 inches taller than the new H3. Think of the H2 as wearing an XXL and the H3 as an XL wearer who still keeps a few size L sweaters in the closet.
The vehicle’s interior is well done, too. On the test model, it came across as very simple with black cloth seats and brushed metallic trim. The steering wheel felt thick and sturdy, matching the character of the entire vehicle.
Buttons are few, well-placed and appropriately big. Air vents can be fully closed, and that gives the dashboard a clean look, but the plastic here looks a little cheap to me.
On the road, the new H3 is probably most enjoyable for what it’s not. It’s not a 4-ton Hummer H1 Alpha with its $140,000 price tag and its 86.5 inches of road-swallowing width. It’s not a $53,000 H2, either, with a gas-slurping 6.0-liter V-8 and its dislike of parking garages.
What it is is a midsize SUV that will be shopped against the Toyota 4Runner, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer and Nissan Xterra and Pathfinder.
For buyers who are attracted by Hummer’s larger-than-life image – Tested in War! Driven by Arnold! – the H3 will prove an appealing proposition.
But just as the H2 isn’t an H1, the original Hummer, the H3 is neither the H2 nor the H1.
It is, in fact, built at GM’s factory in Shreveport, La. It shares its chassis and engine with GM’s two almost-midsize pickups, the Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon.
Those are both fine trucks. They’re not recommended by Consumer Reports, but both have better-than-average reliability, according to the magazine.
The drawback is that the 3.5-liter in-line five-cylinder engine and optional four-speed automatic (a five-speed manual is standard) is merely adequate here. The H3’s curb weight, 4,700 pounds, doesn’t help.
Stomp on the gas pedal and you get a loud roar as the engine tries to get going and the transmission tries to catch up. Horsepower is rated at 220 and torque tops out at 225 pound-feet. The Jeep Grand Cherokee offers two V-8 engine choices, including a Hemi, that easily top that performance. Its 3.7-liter V-6 gives a bit less horsepower (210) and a bit more torque (235).
The new 2006 Ford Explorer can be had with a V-8, too. Its 4.0-liter V-6 makes 210 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque. A third row of seats is offered in the Explorer. The Hummer H3 seats five, but the middle of the second row is an uncomfortable place with no specific seat bottom and no headrest.
This is a vehicle best suited for four adults, or two adults and three 12-year-old boys.
There are two more important things to mention: off-road capability and gas mileage. I didn’t get to take the H3 into the woods, and most of its owners won’t.
Still, GM describes the H3 as fully capable. Its electronic four-wheel-drive system is standard on all H3 models. It will ford 16 inches of water at 20 mph or 2-foot-deep streams at 5 mph. It comes with either 32- or 33-inch all-terrain tires, has 9.1 inches of ground clearance and approach and departure angles of 40 and 37 degrees.
Options include a rear-locking differential and the ZM6 Off-Road Adventure package.
Fuel economy is rated at 16 mpg (city) and 20 mpg (highway) with the manual and 1 mile a gallon less on the highway with the automatic. Hummer executives describe this as comparable with others in its class.
The 4WD Grand Cherokee with the V-6 gets 17/21. The 4WD Toyota 4Runner V-6 gets the same. The 2005 4WD Explorer V-6 got 14/20, but Ford said it expects the numbers for the 2006 version to be improved.
Earlier this year, Hummer General Manager Susan Docherty said dealers would sell more than 30,000 H3s the rest of this year and perhaps 50,000 in calendar 2006.
The H3 easily outsold the H2 in July, 4,664 to 2,783. Dealers sold only 29 Hummer H1s in July.
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