Whether any Hummer needs real off-road prowess or merely the image of it, the H3 appears poised to deliver both. The numbers off-roaders quote aren't 0-to-60 mph and quarter-mile times, they're approach, breakover, and departure angles. Based on these stats, the H3 should be able to scale any obstacle an H2 can.
Inside, the un-GM-like clean and simple center stack and gauge layout are refreshing, especially for a Hummer. Although the hard plastics still aren't as high quality as they should be, surface textures may be the best in a GM midsize SUV to date. In terms of style, there's no argument about family resemblance: The familiar hood, flat windshield, and slab sides give it a direct connection to the original Hummer. Designers will say they worked long and hard to differentiate this new model, but it still has the same boxy lines, high sills, and shortened windows shared with the H2. The H3 is compact: three or four inches shorter than the Land Rover LR3 and Nissan Pathfinder SUVs. History
Although classified as a midsize SUV, the 2006 Hummer H3 cops a full-size attitude all the way. Looking somewhat like a caricature of its elder siblings, it is nonetheless successfully shrunken visually, making a less-jarring impression and at least acknowledging that the macho bearing of the first Hummers is less in demand than it was at the time of their debuts. Likewise, the H3's road manners and comfort levels show a significant improvement upon the original, military-derived models'. City driving is not the nerve-wracking squeeze play of piloting an H1, and GM has done well to improve around-town driveability without compromising the brand's proven off-road capabilities.
Headroom inside is generous, and five adults fit comfortably, although the rear bench seems low relative to the floor. Finding a comfortable driving position is aided by a tilt wheel, but the lack of a dead pedal makes the left foot hunt for a rest spot (while the parking brake pedal acquaints itself with your shin). Once underway, the H3 drives reasonably nimbly--its turning circle is in line with other midsize SUV offerings, at 37 feet--but you never forget you're driving a 4,700-pound truck with all of 220 horsepower to drag it around.
There's a tough welded steel frame, comprehensive underbody protection, standard full-time 4-wheel drive and a new-for-2007 242 hp Vortec 3.7L in-line 5-cylinder engine under the hood. Thanks to all this serious off-road tech, the H3 is capable of climbing a 406 mm (16 in.) vertical wall, scaling a 60% grade, traversing a 40% side slope and operating in up to 610 mm (24 in.) of water, all while fully loaded. But the H3 also has another side. It's the most accessible, most manoeuvrable, most fuel-efficient HUMMER ever built, so it's as comfortable in urban traffic on your way to the office as it is on rugged off-road terrain on the weekends. The H3. It's the HUMMER that's designed to fit in perfectly, everywhere you go.
The H3's standard two-speed, electronically controlled, full-time 4WD system is paired with a state-of-the-art traction control system (TCS) to take you places most SUV owners couldn't dream of going. An H3 with three spinning wheels can still move forward, even up a 10% incline.