« Home | Mercedes E-Class: Harnessing The Wow Factor » | Saab 9-2x: Sporty and Dynamic and Targeted Towards... » | Pontiac G6: The Sedan, the Coupe, the Convertible » | Mazda 323: More Than One Name » | The Features and Options of the Mazda RX 8 » | Ferrari F430 - The Latest Super Car World Challeng... » | Knowing the Volkswagen Golf » | Chrysler 300: Exceptionally Awarded » | Ford Focus, Packed with Features » | 2007 Dodge Caliber: A Lean and Mean Machine » 

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 

The 2006 Hummer H3 - A Real Hummer Or merely Another SUV?

Author: Donald Saunders

The Hummer is doubtless the world's most distinctive SUV and
it's astonishing to see that a vehicle manufactured for use by
the military back in the 1980s now has an increasing world-wide
following in its 3 civilian versions. In fact, only this month,
GM gave notice of a partnership with Avtotor for the manufacture
of the Hummer 3 in Russia, which GM sees as its largest
potential market at this time.




Everyone will obviously recognize the original Hummer 1 together
with the scaled-down Hummer 2, both of which retained the
trademark box appearance of the original military vehicle. But
is the Hummer 3, scaled-down yet further and with much more of a
shape of its own, a True Hummer or is it quite simply joining
the pack of other SUVs being offered today?

Many Hummer 1 and 2 owners are not concerned about the fact
that, While the off-road capabilities of the Hummer are
unrivalled, its on-road performance is nothing to brag about. It
takes up half the road, visibility is terrible, parking is a
nightmare and they simply don't talk about its fuel consumption.
The appeal of the Hummer lies simply in its size and unique
appearance.

Now the Hummer 3 naturally retains several of the trademark
features of earlier models, not least the small military style
windows which offered the occupants of the original military
vehicle some protection but which give today's drivers appalling
visibility. But its smaller size and more rounded appearance now
put it up against such competitors as the Jeep Grand Cherokee
and Toyota 4Runner and it is conceivable that a large number of
potential Hummer owners will begin paying a bit more attention
to the competition when making their purchase.

So has GM made a miscalculation with its design for the Hummer
3? Well, only time will answer this question but as we veer away
from the distinctive size and shape of what many people would
call the "true" Hummer, owners are going to look increasingly at
the performance of the hummer 3 in comparison to the competition
and here the Hummer 3 is going to come up a little short I fear.

Despite the fact that it will still win hands down as an
off-road vehicle, the Hummer 3 is woefully underpowered for
on-road driving. Boasting a 3.5L 5-cylinder engine developing
220 hp, it would look to be on a par with such vehicles as the
Dodge Durango until you compare the weights of the two vehicles
and discover that the H3 is some 900 lbs heavier. Acceleration
is very poor to say the least and you should not even flirt with
trying to put your foot down if you're going uphill.

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

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

About the author:
For more information on the 2006 Hummer 3 and for details
on Hummer prices visit HummerOnline.info today.