Questions from a potential buyer..

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by phantom2

If your looking for a comfortable "everday" driver, you should definitely try a different vehicle.I myself would not recommend an H3 for long trips.I recently took mine on a 2600 mile trip and I found the seats to be very uncomfortable and the engine lacking in power for safe highway driving.Acceleration on highway on ramps and passing another vehicle is a true adventure and requires planning in advance.As far as luggage space is concerned,there is very little for the size of this vehicle.The H3 is an "outstanding" off road vehicle and that is it's strength.I can also say that the H3 has been absolutely trouble free from the day I bought it,it's just not the vehicle for me.

You're obviously entitled to your opinion, but I'm gonna have to disagree with almost everything you said.

My H3 is my DD (17K+ miles) and it is great on the highway, in traffic, and around town. I've also done some 1000+ mile trips and have been quite comfortable. And I don't even have the leather seats. I wouldn't mind having more cargo space but I've been able to use what is available quite effectively.

Not trying to bash you, but it sounds like you should have been in the market for a different type of vehicle. Everything you complained about should have been evident on the first test drive.

[nafs]

i'll chime in on the car seat.

i have a britax marathon, which is huge and you can place it at any of the three positions. currently I have it in the middle. The britax will not fit side by side with another britax (will fit on both ends) but i have fitted a britax with a booster seat side by side.

The H3 is definately not a minivan, thankfully.

[NM H3]

Originally Posted by nafs

i'll chime in on the car seat.

i have a britax marathon, which is huge and you can place it at any of the three positions. currently I have it in the middle. The britax will not fit side by side with another britax (will fit on both ends) but i have fitted a britax with a booster seat side by side.

The H3 is definately not a minivan, thankfully.

Are you using the LATCH hooks in the center? My marathon should be here Wednesday, and was wondering about this too.
Is yours rear facing?

[evldave]

My 2 cents:

Now at 12k miles, it's my DD. Coming from a 325i and before that a Cherokee (plus I have a suburban for extended expeditions). I've had it on 4 long weekends (~1000k miles). , It's an auto and cloth seats. I live in the NW, which means anywhere you go, you are climbing a mountain.

That said, it's easily the best balance between being able to drive there in comfort and drive offroad in security in stock form (and it's not hard to make it even better on the cheap). My whole family is GM now (after being Ford for a few decades) and it's much better build quality than either a Tahoe or 1500/2500 pickup. It suffers on the interior storage, but get a roof rack and you've got enough space for 4 people, 2 dogs, and all the camping equipment you need.

As far as power, I don't think it's even underpowered on the freeway. Sure, compared to a vette or a BMW it's a dog, but I cruise @ 80 on the freeway and have no problem with power. It will downshift to speed up, and the cruise control sucks (it appears to be an on-off, instead of incremental, which means when you go up a hill, it floors the throttle and drops down a gear every time).

You can crank the torsion bars to get more clearance. Add 35's (they will fit in stock trim) and you'll get another 1". On road manners won't be an issue, and it's better offroad.

And one thing you didn't ask about. You'll likely get exceptional service. Hummer dealers bend over backwards for their customers, and the brand prides itself on setting a higher standard (regular hummer happenings, etc). Get it through a 5 star dealer and you'll have the best customer service you can get anywhere (including German or Japanese brands). The build quality on a 1st year vehicle seems great, so that's another benefit.

[deserth3]

My previous vehicle was a 2 door Chevy Blazer (I've owned 3 over the years). I find after driving the H3 I don't miss the Blazer.

When I went to test drive one I was leary because of all the negative comments. Personally I find them not true. You are pushing almost 5000 lb down the road and the 3.5 liter does it's job well. I can get up to 75 by the end of the on ramp if no one is in front of me. So far that's the only drawback I've had. Other drivers. Nothing like merging with traffic going 75 when doing 45.

The H3 excells in parking lots. Turn the wheel and it goes straight in.

I haven't had a chance to take a long road trip but I would not hesitate to do so. I've done 5 to 6 hour offroad trips and findit very comfortable.

Drive one yourself.

[CLAYDOG]

Originally Posted by evldave

My 2 cents:

Now at 12k miles, it's my DD. Coming from a 325i and before that a Cherokee (plus I have a suburban for extended expeditions). I've had it on 4 long weekends (~1000k miles). , It's an auto and cloth seats. I live in the NW, which means anywhere you go, you are climbing a mountain.

That said, it's easily the best balance between being able to drive there in comfort and drive offroad in security in stock form (and it's not hard to make it even better on the cheap). My whole family is GM now (after being Ford for a few decades) and it's much better build quality than either a Tahoe or 1500/2500 pickup. It suffers on the interior storage, but get a roof rack and you've got enough space for 4 people, 2 dogs, and all the camping equipment you need.

As far as power, I don't think it's even underpowered on the freeway. Sure, compared to a vette or a BMW it's a dog, but I cruise @ 80 on the freeway and have no problem with power. It will downshift to speed up, and the cruise control sucks (it appears to be an on-off, instead of incremental, which means when you go up a hill, it floors the throttle and drops down a gear every time).

You can crank the torsion bars to get more clearance. Add 35's (they will fit in stock trim) and you'll get another 1". On road manners won't be an issue, and it's better offroad.

And one thing you didn't ask about. You'll likely get exceptional service. Hummer dealers bend over backwards for their customers, and the brand prides itself on setting a higher standard (regular hummer happenings, etc). Get it through a 5 star dealer and you'll have the best customer service you can get anywhere (including German or Japanese brands). The build quality on a 1st year vehicle seems great, so that's another benefit.

Not sure if this is what your talking about, but the cruise is incremental. A single tap on the set button slows 1mph, a tap on the on/off/resume switch 1mph faster.

[Scouts Out]

I have no trouble and consistantly turn over 2000 miles a month on my H3. My biggest complaint remains the seat kill my back. Last trip I had company and I deliberately asked them and they loved the seats. I guess I am just broken

[thedieter]

I wonder why a manual trany for the use you described.

The auto runs at 2500-2700 RPM at 70-75 MPH which is near the sweet spot on the torque curve.

On a manual trany, cruise control would just lug down from 80 MPH to a lower speed and drop out, wouldn't it? Auto tranys do rev up excessively when they downshift (trying to get back to 80 MPH) and that is why CC should not be used in mountains.

Space is at a premium on the H3 as it is 11" shorter than the Taurus that we had before.

Best regards, Happy Jack

[BEST 4x4xFAR]

Well, I want to start off by saying thank you for everyone’s responses. I can’t remember who said what, but wanted to ask some additional questions about responses. I’ll start with the manual transmission. Apparently an Aisin AR5 (I see through further research that GM also calls it an MA5 and uses it in the Solstice, Sky, Colorado (suprise, lol) etc.), with an input torque rating of 225 lb/ft. GM didn’t exactly over engineer this, given the engine’s 225 lb/ft of stock output. Makes me wonder what changes were made for ’07, since the ’07 engine now exceeds this input specification, and would make me worry about the idea of forced induction as well. Oh, and we want a manual transmission because both my wife and I hate driving automatics.

I’d like some additional input on the center differential if anyone has any more information. I saw some exploded views of the t-case (I assume it is a New Venture, anyone have the model number?) in another thread, and those with the poster’s explanation didn’t lead me to believe it was a limited slip differential of any kind. If someone could confirm or deny and share what type of differential it is, that would be helpful.

On the Car seat, a couple have noted that car seats fit, but they seam to be forward facing. I refuse to turn our daughter around until she reaches the Britax Boulevard’s weight limit (33 lbs), and the Boulevard is even larger than the Marathon, so I am still concerned about it fitting. On that note, can anyone confirm how many LATCH anchors there are in the back seat, and in what positions? The Seat will most likely fit in the center, and it is my preferred location anyway, if LATCH anchors are provided for the center (Many cars only provide them for the outboard positions it seems). Can anyone confirm with a large car seat in the center if passengers (not necessarily other car seats) can still use the outboard seating positions?

I am trying really hard to reserve judgment until I can spend some time with it, and drive it, but I have to tell you, I’m more than a bit disappointed to find out that the cargo area dimensions, square footage and capacity numbers I had previously found are correct. Seems hard to phantom that my wife’s Subaru Outback has more cargo capacity, a longer cargo area, and identical width cargo area and can carry all but 25 lbs of what an H3 is rated to. Kind of kills the “tough, heavy duty truck” image Hummer portrays, and it is making it harder to justify to my wife…