The arrival of the Hummer H3 at the Car Showroom office was eagerly anticipated and when the big metallic orange SUV burbled into the carpark we weren’t disappointed.
If you want a European SUV go to BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne etc. The Japanese versions - Nissan Patrol, Toyota LandCruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero etc are all fine vehicles. And the local Ford Territory is a beauty.
But the fact is the Americans invented the SUV and heading down the Highway in our Hummer, we could almost hear ‘Get Your Kicks On Route 66’ playing on the audio system before we turned it on.
So if you want to buy into that whole American SUV ‘thing’, the Hummer (a company owned by General Motors) simply must be on your list.
What You Get
Inspired by the American Military Humvee, the Hummer H3 is a five-door 4WD wagon with useful interior space and off-road credentials that are second-to-none.
Car Showroom spent a week behind the wheel of our Hummer – the Luxury version (rrp $60,990) which is actually kitted with nice leather seats and a sunroof but doesn’t have a low-range transfer case for extreme off-road adventures.
With its heavy-duty styling, high ground clearance and high waistline/small windows, the Hummer has serious street-cred and the Car Showroom Juniors were delighted at the attention we received at school pickup and the shopping mall.
Under the Hood
General Motor’s 3.7-litre five-cylinder petrol engine delivers 180kW of power and a handy 328Nm of torque. Hauling more than 2.8 tonnes of SUV musn’t be easy, but with 90 per cent of that maximum torque available from 2,000rpm to 6,000rpm - and a well-matched four-speed automatic transmission - we actually found the Hummer nicely responsive. In fact it was noticeably more responsive in traffic than several rivals powered by petrol or turbo-diesel engines. We also enjoyed the exhaust note of the five-cylinder at work.
The Interior
Here’s the thing: the Hummer is styled to be butch and mucho and big, but it’s a clever optical illusion by the GM designers. The H3’s overall dimensions are about the same as a Toyota Prado.
Same with interior space – which is to say it doesn’t have the roominess of a LandCruiser. However with its very square dimensions, Hummer does deliver broad shoulder room which contributes to a feeling of spaciousness – this is a trait of many American vehicles.
Our Luxury model had nice beige leather seats and carpets, the instruments were a tad old-fashioned to look at but worked well and the steering wheel was larger than the current vogue
There is a six-CD, 7-speaker Monsoon sound system which is nice, but no auxiliary system plug or Bluetooth.
Even fully loaded with five adults, the Hummer is very comfortable.
It’s different to other SUVs because there are American touches wherever you look. For example the Electochromatic interior rearview mirror with LED displays for the compass and outside temperature – haven’t seen one of those since our last holiday in Hawaii (for the record, our rental car was a Pontiac Grand-Am).
The luggage area is accessed by a rear tailgate and the load lip is a bit high. Storage is not massive but the 60/40 split fold rear seat helps.
There are dual front SRS airbags and side curtain airbags.
Exterior & Styling
Buying a Hummer means you’re buying into the total Hummer ethos – and two major aspects of that are its looks and its on-road presence. Hummer is unique, it’s butch, it’s tough…and very, well done. That look, that mean on-road presence, that rubber-neck appeal sees many Hummers sign-written, accessorized and used as promotional vehicles for sports drink companies and radio stations.
Looking at Hummers we see on the road, many owners have truly captured the Hummer spirit by ordering the optional $1,600 chrome 16-inch alloy wheels and the optional $500 chrome bonnet louvers.
Adventure and Luxury models gain chrome exterior mirrors and door handles.
Handy standard features that add to the look are the recovery hooks in the front and rear bumpers. Humvees use these to attach cables so they can be carried across battlefields by Army helicopters.
The high-ride, high waistline and small windows look is also epitomized by the Humvee. And yes, when you climb into a Hummer it can feel claustrophobic – or secure and safe…whichever floats your boat.
On The Road
Serious mud-diggers marvel at Hummer’s old-fashioned ladder chassis, leaf spring rear-end and optional heavy-duty off-road pack (ultra-low range transfer and girder-like chassis protection).
On-road this mean American is surprisingly docile and mostly convenient.
It’s no Range Rover, but considering the so-called ‘old-fashioned’ chassis it is quite refined and competent around the city. For example, Melbourne’s horrendous tram and railway crossings were handled with aplomb.
Similar story on our ride and handling loop. Braking, steering response, turn-in and body roll felt about the same as rival Japanese and Korean SUVs and of course under your right foot was that wonderfully torquey and responsive five-cylinder engine. To be honest we genuinely enjoyed taking the Hummer through its paces on the twisty, diving Mountain roads that some people said would prove its Achilles heel.
Sure those quick trips up and down the mountain were reflected at the fuel bowser and if we kept it up, we’d finance private school education for the local service station owner. GM says the combined cycle fuel consumption for the Hummer H3 Luxury Auto is 13.5 l/100kms and for the manual it comes in at 13.2l/100kms.
Challenges
The Hummer did let us down once. Here’s the scenario:
Time: mid-morning, weekday.
Location: Back streets of Richmond, Melbourne (like Sydney’s Paddington, an old city-fringe suburb with ancient narrow, cobblestone-line streets)
The Situation: Running late for a meeting (co-incidentally with a mate from Chicago) and desperate to find a parking spot. Driving down one of those skinny streets we spotted one vacant space – but it was on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, hemmed-in by cars and with traffic behind us we simply could not do a three-point (six-point more likely) turn and by the time we got back out to Church Street, turned around and returned…well of course some guy in a Porsche had nabbed the spot!
Verdict
Without doubt the Hummer is a polarizing vehicle – you either love it or you hate it. We love the Hummer but concede it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
It’s a bit like many of the American tourists we have encountered in our international travels – big, bold and raucous…but very, very nice, good hearted, good spirited and great to be around.
The Competition
For looks, there isn’t really a rival for the Hummer. Toyota has the stunning MegaCruiser in Japan, but otherwise there’s nix to match the Hummer.
If you’re into mud-digging, utilitarian, heavy-duty off-road work, the LandCruiser Troop Carrier (the backbone of many outback cattle stations) is along similar lines.
