The Hummer H3 - A Real Hummer Or Merely Another Off-Road Vehicle?

By: Donald Saunders

The Hummer is doubtless the most recognizable SUV in the world and it is astonishing to find that a vehicle produced for use by the military back in the 1980s now has a growing world-wide following in its 3 civilian versions. As a matter of fact, only this month, GM proclaimed a partnership with Avtotor for the production of the 2006 Hummer H3 in Russia, which GM sees as its largest potential market at this time.

Everyone will understandably recognize the original Hummer 1 and even the scaled-down Hummer 2, both of which kept the trademark box appearance of the original military vehicle. But is the Hummer 3, scaled-down even more and with much more of a shape of its own, a Real Hummer or is it quite simply joining the large number of other SUVs being sold today?

Virtually all Hummer 1 and 2 owners are not concerned about the fact that, Despite the fact that the off-road performance of the Hummer are unrivalled, its on-road performance is nothing to write home about. It takes up half the road, visibility is terrible, parking is next to impossible and they simply don't talk about its fuel consumption. Its appeal lies simply in its size and distinctive appearance.

Now the Hummer 3 clearly retains a large number of the trademark features of the H1 and H2, not least the tiny military style windows which afforded the occupants of the original military vehicle some protection but which give today's drivers appalling visibility. However its smaller size and more rounded appearance now put it up against such competitors as the Honda Pilot and Chevrolet Trailblazer and it is conceivable that a large number of potential Hummer owners will begin paying a little more attention to the competition when considering their purchase.

So has GM made a error with its design for the 2006 Hummer H3? Naturally, only time will provide the answer to this question but as we move away from the distinctive size and shape of what many would call the "True" Hummer, owners are going to look ever more at the performance of the vehicle in comparison to the competition and here the 2006 Hummer H3 is going to come up a little short I fear.

In spite of the fact that it will still win comfortably as an off-road vehicle, the Hummer 3 is woefully underpowered for on-road driving. Boasting a 3.5L 5-cylinder engine producing 220 hp, it would seem to be on a par with such vehicles as the Honda Pilot until you compare the weights of the two vehicles and learn that the H3 is some 900 lbs heavier. Acceleration is poor to say the least and you should not even think about trying to put your foot down if you're going uphill.

Naturally there are ways around this problem such as the tune-up kit manufactured by Geiger in Germany. This kit includes a supercharger that will boost the Hummer 3 up to roughly 325 hp and considerably improve its acceleration, but should it be necessary to go to the expense and time of having your new vehicle modified? Perhaps this is one difficulty that GM should have addressed from the beginning rather than leaving its potential customers to solve the problem themselves and at their own expense.

SUV's are becoming more and more popular around the world and this is obviously a growing and extremely lucrative market. The Hummer has clearly carved out a distinctive niche within this market and the success of the Hummer 1 and 2 is not disputed. The question today is whether the Hummer 3 will allow GM to continue to make inroads into this market or will begin to give ground to its competitors.

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