Hummer H3 (2007) Review

By: Ken Gratton

Date: 30.08.2012

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

Hummer H3. Bush bashers and celebrity wannabes rejoice; the Hummer has arrived!

2007 Hummer H3

2007 Hummer H3

[Oct 2007] Let's get the hard part out of the way first. The Hummer H3 is not the worst thing you'll ever drive on-road. It has consistent and predictable handling and reasonable roadholding.

Ride is initially compliant, but religiously follows the undulations of typical Aussie country roads, and eventually gets worse over harsher bumps. It's certainly well damped, but the spring rates are surprisingly firm.

The 3.7-litre in-line five-cylinder engine, however, just doesn't have enough grunt for a vehicle weighing as much as this. With the right foot flat to the floor, an attempt to overtake a Commodore towing a trailer uphill - in an overtaking lane that was literally a couple of kilometres long - was like Waiting for Godot on bitumen. That was in fourth gear with the manual transmission from 80km/h.

Once the H3 turns off the bitumen, everything changes - for the better. There's more gear whine from the transfer case when low range is selected than any other 4WD in living memory, but it does the trick.

The seats lacked a bit of under-thigh support, but lateral grip was good during the rock-hopping and mud-plugging fun.

An old saying goes "you can haul a freight train with a washing machine motor with the right gearing". And so it proves with the H3, particularly the H3 Adventure. In low range, the Adventure was pretty much unstoppable during the drive programme.

It's no great surprise the H3 is so capable offroad. Approach, departure and breakover angles are comparable or better than the Jeep Wrangler's and superior to the Land Rover Discovery's.

All H3 variants are fitted with the two-speed transfer case and a lockable centre diff, but the H3 Adventure also gains a lockable rear diff for that extra traction.

As each section of track became steadily harder, so our confidence in the vehicles grew, until even the least experienced were tackling boggy, rutted sections that might have grounded a Prado.

In the last test for the day, we negotiated a 30-degree slope but with deep ruts and rocks that measured up to 30cm or more in diameter. The Hummers dragged themselves up over everything.

No one bogged a vehicle and no one stalled. Much like the H3 itself, the drive programme looked dramatic, but was actually confidence-inspiring.

SPECIFICATIONS

2007 Hummer H3

BODY:  five-door SUV

WEIGHT:  2178kg (base)

ENGINE:  3.7-litre five-cylinder

DRIVETRAIN:  front engine, 4WD

TRANSMISSION: five-speed manual, four-speed auto

POWER/TORQUE: 180kW/328Nm

PRICE:  $51,990 (base)

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