I agree with Huck, I am amazed by this little engine! I just took it on its first trip over the Sierras to the Bay Area. It quite comfortably cruised at 70-80 mph with no issues. In fact it was smooth and confident. I will admit that on the steepest of grades over the pass the engine required more incentive from the pedal to keep up the speed, but that was only on the steepest grades. I even found myself passing others on the climbs; something I thought I would never do in the H3. Unless you have to slow down before making the pass up a steep grade, the H3 just gets up and does its thing. On the way back over the pass I followed a team of cars traveling at 80-85 mph all the way back. No problem just had to manage the accelerator correctly. At these speeds and on the climbs, the H3 tacked between 2.5K - 3.5K. On smaller grades, and more or less flat roads, the tack was at about 2.2K at 75-85 mph. I was quite impressed. It took me exactly ¾ of a tank to get there and back; exactly what my Avalanche used when I would take her. Overall, I am pleased with the H3 and the power. The engine seems to get quicker and the H3 more agile and sporty as time goes by. Would I take an H3 with a V8? Of course. Would I pay $3K-$8K more for this option…no. I’d take the H3 with I5. I think in a year of so, I will add the Supercharger. But that is when they get tested, tried, and trued. Until then, I am quite happy with the delivery of the available power. You can have the Commander with its HEMI. After looking at the Commander, I wouldn’t take it if it had a Viper engine in it! It just seemed like a lot of plastic and a kluge of controls, buttons, and switches on a poorly laid out dash – not to mention the body design
. And it was $44K! Roughly $8K more than my H3.
Other notes. The ride on the highway was pretty smooth. I little more bumpy than the Avalanche with the Z71 package. It handled the corners and turns as if on rails. This, in comparison to the Avalanche. It made turns at higher speeds with complete confidence, and I could hold the turn longer than in the Avalanche. As crazy as it sounds, the H3 is like a sports car for me. I liken it to a BMW feel. I did get some noticeable windscreen noise at high speeds. Still, it was at least as quiet as my Avalanche, and perhaps quieter. My only change would be to be able to adjust the seat higher than I can.