The H3 came in last, sadly. I always flip to the results first. Whenever I read something like this, I always think "magazine's bias, it's all bull**** and I'm not going to read into it." Then I read the technical specs. first of all, the H3's interior is wayyyy nicer and is a tremendous improvement on GM's part. However...

Torque:
Hummer: 225
Jeep: 235
Nissan: 284
Toyota: 278

1/4 mile
Hummer: 17.9@76.9
Jeep: 16.9@79.3
Nissan: 15.8@85.7
Toyota: 16.0@86.4

Ultimately, the H3 did the best offroad. And these things are probably insignificant to most people right? 18 in the 1/4 mile is pretty bad, though.

But people always talk about GM being the better bargain. Well...

Base/As tested price:
Hummer: 29,500/37,920
Jeep: 25,100/27,550
Nissan: 27,755/29,325
Toyota: 23,905/29,360

The Hummer is 8500+ dollars more than the next expensive competitor of SUVs in its class.
Obviously I prepare to get flamed for this, so it won't surprise me. But IMO they need to try a bit harder to achieve success. The CTS-V smoked the M3.
The Corvette owned the 911 and a bunch of 911 readers got all upset about it. GM obviously KNOWS HOW to make amazing vehicles with unrivaled power, at a bargain in comparison. So what gives?

 

The Hummer came in last, that doesn't surprise me.

 

The H3 is a sore spot with me. It has great looks & a decent size, but.....

.....it weighs 4,700 pounds
.....it's powered by a 4 cylinder.. plus 1 piston
.....it has less horsepower than a Rav4
.....it has less torque than avalable in a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Ranger
.....it costs $29K base, and runs up to nearly 40 large.

Another strike.

Next up, H4.

 

I agree, it needs more power. But really, the people who are gonna buy this are looking for more looks and status recognition than anything. JMHO.

 

Not surprising at all. I don't think that Comparo will hurt it though. Those things are "it" cars for trendy So CA families. 1/4 times, HP/TRQ, $$, mpg don't mean much to them. It won't break any sales records but I'd expect Hummer to sell a few thousand more than the H2.

What is the mpg for those things anyway?

 

So do you think anyone in GM's higher ups is wishing they'd listened to engineers who wanted a wider, better H3? Maybe they'll wish harder some time next year when sales take a dive and they're spending big on incentives to get them off the lots.

 

Give it a V8 and it'd probably be best in class. Possibility?

 

The SSr's old aluminum block 5.3L would be be nice for that. Or even better, a performance version with the 6.2L from the Escalade.

 

It doesn't need a V8 - that would just compromise its eco-friendly Hummer image. Instead, GM should give it a decent 6. The inline 6 from the Trailblazer might do the trick.

 

 

It came in 3rd place in the Car & Driver issue.

It is a lot more upscale when compared to a Liberty. I see the H3 as more of a Grand Cherokee type of vehicle. It just needs a V8 like the GC. They should keep the price the same too when they dump the I5.

The lbs. to torque ratio is almost the same as a Cadillac STS with an Ecotec

 

its number 1 problem is its weight. I am still trying to figure out how it got that heavy. Its #2 problem is the engine. it needs at least 260 ftlbs. when i drove it at ASIM it seemed very underpowered.

 

The powertrain in the H3 is inexcusable.

I really think it is the only significant problem with the vehicle.... but it's a huge problem.

 

Exactly how I felt last year when I drove in into the Hummer dealer to see if I would replace my '01 Grand Cherokee Limited with the H3. I walked away thinking that it wasn't worth ponying up the extra dough for the H3.

The GC has 295ftlbs of TQ, and it's what I like about the 4.7 V8 in the Jeep; I don't find the 235HP an issue since I don't wind out the Jeep in acceleration. The TQ sure is nice to get going and merge safely with traffic. The H3 was downright dangerous to me during the test drive I had in that respect.

The H3 certainly was a nice enough product that I actually considered trading in the Jeep for, but at the end of the day, the lack of a V8 was the only show-stopper for me.

 

I think the truck is the best looking, the Toyota's cool but sort of ugly. (why the f*cking hell does it need 3 windshield wipers?!)
IMO with the TB I6 like somebody said and shave some $$$ off the price, it would be a lot more competitive. Maybe put it on a diet, too. This Hummer has real potential for success.