bartboy9891
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I've heard the opposite, the H2 and H3 are said to be pretty good offroad. My friend's dad used to have an H3 and he took it on an offroad course and says it was amazing.
Buick lineup new, Cadillac lineup news, Hummer H4 news, etc
- Thread starter jetsetter
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I've heard the opposite, the H2 and H3 are said to be pretty good offroad. My friend's dad used to have an H3 and he took it on an offroad course and says it was amazing.
thedguy
rides with Rebecca Black.. in the back
I'm not a huge follower of the off-roading community but I've heard the H2 is pretty good once you take care of the ball joint issue. I've also heard the H3 was rather competent... but nothing more.
jetsetter
Forum Addict
In its class there is nothing better with the exception being the four door Wrangler.
Samir
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The new H4 looks great. It's a bare-bones truck with absolutely no frills. The masochist "I'm not offroading unless I'm destroying my vertebrae"crowd is bound to love it. Check out the demo of the new H4 prototype being used by military forces:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnJZvVgRFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnJZvVgRFg
That's more of an expression of how anything with 4 inches of clearance is being called an SUV. Underneath an H2 is just a Tahoe chassis and it doesn't have the suspension travel to be any good. Sure it has 4WD and a low range gear box, but while that's a requirement for a good fourwheeler, it does not necessarily make it so. The basic Wrangler Unlimited is fairly competent, but it is hindered by small tires and no locking or limited slip diff. Upgrade to the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and you have a serious trail machine on your hands - serious armoring under the vehicle, heavy duty suspension, wheels, tires, and axles. You get locking diffs, low range gear box, a thicker radiator (3 core), oil cooler, and other goodies.
The H2 was never designed to go offroad. If you look at it all they have done is make a body that looks higher off the road than it really is. The vehicle looks disproportionate in every respect and they are notorious for cracking the steering knuckle on something as minor as a drive thru curb! (It happened just 15 minutes from my house). I've seen them pop tie-rods faster than a Hollywood trophy wife does valium - and on stuff that would not even phase our 14 year old stock Land Cruiser. Trust me, the H2s are a joke in Moab - you never see them down there unless they are towing a dedicated trail buggy. I have never seen an H3 down there. From what I have seen of the Hummer line (with exception of the H1, which is more military than civilian) the platform does not have the flexibility in the suspension to be very capable offroad, their ground clearance is pathetic relative to their height, the interior volume is surprisingly cramped relative to their size and the visibility is about the same as being inside a concrete pill box at night with your helmet over your face.
They were designed to be looked at and that's it. The styling makes it difficult if not impossible to see obstacles anywhere close to the vehicle making critical wheel placement all but impossible without a spotter (assuming you can see the spotter).
I would put an H2 head to head with our Land Cruiser any day of the week - and Hummer has had 14 years more development than our Cruiser.
Fun Factoid: I have seen more Suzukis off road in Moab than I have H2s and H3s combined.
bartboy9891
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But it's garbage on the road, you might as well just go for the Wrangler and save a lot of money. Plus I've heard that the Xterra is a way better all-rounder though not as competent as the H3 is offroad.
Wizegui
Well-Known Member
The H3 is a pathetic joke. They could put that engine in a Cavalier and it still would be gutless. Its all show and no go.
bartboy9891
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Oh I know, what I am saying is that there is no reason to pay all that extra money to get an H3. You are getting virtually the same amount of comfort (or lack of) in the Wrangler for much less.
TC
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The problem is anything you put on a car to made it's offroad performance better, will be making the onroad performance worse.
The Hummer H3 is a very good SUV offroad. Better then anything in it's class. But when you get back on the paved roads, those 33" tires and reduced gears will only make it tiresome to drive. Same goes for the Wrangler. They're pretty weak off road in stock form with street tires. Moving up to the Rubicon makes it infinitely better offroad, but that much worse onroad.
The Hummer H3 using an IFS will make a much smoother ride on the streets, and with much more room inside, is far more comfortable then a Wrangler.
bartboy9891
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I agree with what you are saying, but the ride in the H3 is choppy as fuck. The ride is actually worse, in my opinion, than an '03 2-door Blazer. I find it to be uncomfortable as a daily driver and the low mpg doesn't help. What I am trying to say is, the extra money ($7K worth if you compare base 4-door 4x4 Jeep to base Hummer) doesn't get you much in terms of comfort.