So my H2 is at the dealer for an oil change today and I have an 2008 H3 as a Loaner. Keep in mind this is a BASE MODEL. I know this post is going to **** off some H3 Owners but keep in mind I am an H2 owner. I really should almost call this a rant. Anyway,Here we go......

Upon entry of my 2008 H3 the vehicle was dirty as the roads are salt covered from the 14 inches of snow we have recieved in the past four days. I that the door handels looked pretty nice In fact,I wish my H2 had thte same door handles. But it seems the way the fenders are shaped they tend to thow every bit of road grime in a fashon that keeps the handls completely filthy. I am not a big fan of road grime on my hands everytime I enter the vehicle. I think that maybe there has to be some kind of small mud flap that can be designed to take care of this problem???? When i sit in the drivers seat I notice that the dash is very well put together, KUDOS to GM for a step in the direction of many foreign auto makers with the much better quiality components. However I did find the center console to be undersized and pretty much usless. Cupholders where great much better design than the H2. Seating......TERRIBLE While the seats look great I find them to be lacking in comfort (Remember I drive and H2) They seem to be ok for short trips but they way you fit into the vehicle reminds me of driving an Chevy S10. The left armsupport is completely undersized and offers no support. I know understand why some of you guys are making your own elbow supports and the are no doubt needed. Now also I cannot believe that the seats are not fully power adjustable that I find to be terrible. Does the Luxery have fully power adjustable heated seats?? My demo did have a sunroof that was quiet nice. Very big for the size of vehicle and I especially like the auto open feature that my H2 does not have. I found the stereo to be completely sub par. The bass responce is to much and really makes the sound overall muddy. The HVAC controls look nice but why no Automatic Climate Controll????? Does the LUX have this???? Also Steering wheel mounted controlls? Does the LUX have this??? Onboard computer????

Driving Impressions:

Steering is awesome I absolutly love it. Wish my demo had a leather wrapped wheel though. Does LUX have it???? I gotta say I love how responsive the steering is. I found it to be heavy and give perfect feedback. Breaking the same way much more resonsive than my H2. As for acceleration goes I recend any of my previous statements that a 5 banger is underpowered. I found accleration to be much more lively than expected. I would not say it is impressive but more like adequite for the vehicle. However if I was planning on towing anything over 2 thousand pounds I would probubly have a much different opinion. I would say the ride is Sub-Par and very jarring. If ZYNE was to ride in this thing for any amount of time I think he would be permanetly be in wheel chair. It very much remind me of the ride of a Jeep Wrangler. In fact I test drove the FJ before purchasing my H2 and I would have to say no doubt that the FJ is a more pleasurable ride. However not a better drive than the H3. Visiblity is pretty good. On thing that I absolutly hate about the H3 is the engine sound. I dont know how to describe it. Its kida like a cross between a quiet Diesel Engine and a Toyota Corolla. Very dissapointing engine tone. Does an aftermarket exhause lower the notes? If so it should be a much considered option for any H3 owner. The wind noise is very minimal seems like the truck is pretty well insulated compaired to my h2 its quieter, However I have 37/mt's and my demo was runnign Goodyear ATs tha

 

Lux Pkg. has heated power seats.
They do make mud flaps, but I never had dirt on my door handles even after off roading.
No Onboard computer or steering wheel controls on any H3 model.
As for off road use, yes you should get the Adv. Pkg. with that this vehicle will kick butt on any trail, plus it can go into 24" of water your H2 can only do 20" of water(On stock tires).
The steering is great, engine is not under powerred at all, again with the rear locker and gear reduction you tons of torque. Remember the H3 DOES lead the league in off road capabilities. Plus it can fit better on the trails than the H2.
As for Head-turner I get looks in mine all the time.
Ok enough of my rant, I'll let another H3 owner rant somemore.

 

i pretty much agree with everything said, except i think the 5 is very underpowered......i was in the market for an H3 until they started blowing out the 07 H2's when the new 08 remodels came out....so i got my h2 for basically what the H3 costs.

Remember, its hard to compare these 2 vehicles since they are targeted to a different consumer...the H3 was created to give someone a chance to own a hummer who 1) didnt like the large size of the h2, and 2) couldnt afford the H2.....with that in mind things had to be sacrificed to keep price down

I think the H3 is a great auto for the target group, and one of the best in its class, but comparing the h2 to an h3 is like comparing a tahoe to a blazer, just not the same thing.

 

My first Hummer was an H2. I would agree that the H2 rides and handles onroad like no other 4x4 I have ever had. Nothing else compares to it for ride, handling, creature comforts, etc. Clearly to hit the price point the H3 is a different vehicle that can't have the same options and hit the price target. That said the H3 Alpha is an extremely fun car to drive. It has leather, heated seats, rides and drives very well ( has the Adventure package ), turns on a dime and will go places my H1s won't fit. ( of course they will do things the 3 can't do ) I would like to see GM offer some more off road options but I really like the truck. Understanding that they are different trucks I can't bang on the 3 too much.

 

Interesting thread as I am in the market for another Hummer (sold my H3 awhile ago), I been stuck between getting another H3 or an H3T or an H2.

A few days ago I went and test drove a 06 H2 and while it was nice I couldnt help but feel I liked the H3 more overall, perhaps it was to do with comparing a used H2 to my
brand new H3 I had, it just seemed like the H3 was more fun driving wise.

I do plan on testing out a few more H2's before I make a purchase but so far the H3 and the H3T are still the top two choices on my shopping list.

I guess its all just personal preference.

Cheers
Davyo

 

Let's not lose sight of what is important here. Both of these vehicles were purpose built. Even though the H3 is a GM product, it was tested and built to handle off road driving. Yes all the creature comforts would be nice to have in the H3 and with the H2 now being phased out, we can expect to see some of those features added to the H3.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: HumminNBoatin

So my H2 is at the dealer for an oil change today and I have an 2008 H3 as a Loaner. Keep in mind this is a BASE MODEL. I know this post is going to **** off some H3 Owners but keep in mind I am an H2 owner. I really should almost call this a rant. Anyway,Here we go......

Upon entry of my 2008 H3 the vehicle was dirty as the roads are salt covered from the 14 inches of snow we have recieved in the past four days. I that the door handels looked pretty nice In fact,I wish my H2 had thte same door handles. But it seems the way the fenders are shaped they tend to thow every bit of road grime in a fashon that keeps the handls completely filthy. I am not a big fan of road grime on my hands everytime I enter the vehicle. I think that maybe there has to be some kind of small mud flap that can be designed to take care of this problem???? When i sit in the drivers seat I notice that the dash is very well put together, KUDOS to GM for a step in the direction of many foreign auto makers with the much better quiality components. However I did find the center console to be undersized and pretty much usless. Cupholders where great much better design than the H2. Seating......TERRIBLE While the seats look great I find them to be lacking in comfort (Remember I drive and H2) They seem to be ok for short trips but they way you fit into the vehicle reminds me of driving an Chevy S10. The left armsupport is completely undersized and offers no support. I know understand why some of you guys are making your own elbow supports and the are no doubt needed. Now also I cannot believe that the seats are not fully power adjustable that I find to be terrible. Does the Luxery have fully power adjustable heated seats?? My demo did have a sunroof that was quiet nice. Very big for the size of vehicle and I especially like the auto open feature that my H2 does not have. I found the stereo to be completely sub par. The bass responce is to much and really makes the sound overall muddy. The HVAC controls look nice but why no Automatic Climate Controll????? Does the LUX have this???? Also Steering wheel mounted controlls? Does the LUX have this??? Onboard computer????

Driving Impressions:

Steering is awesome I absolutly love it. Wish my demo had a leather wrapped wheel though. Does LUX have it???? I gotta say I love how responsive the steering is. I found it to be heavy and give perfect feedback. Breaking the same way much more resonsive than my H2. As for acceleration goes I recend any of my previous statements that a 5 banger is underpowered. I found accleration to be much more lively than expected. I would not say it is impressive but more like adequite for the vehicle. However if I was planning on towing anything over 2 thousand pounds I would probubly have a much different opinion. I would say the ride is Sub-Par and very jarring. If ZYNE was to ride in this thing for any amount of time I think he would be permanetly be in wheel chair. It very much remind me of the ride of a Jeep Wrangler. In fact I test drove the FJ before purchasing my H2 and I would have to say no doubt that the FJ is a more pleasurable ride. However not a better drive than the H3. Visiblity is pretty good. On thing that I absolutly hate about the H3 is the engine sound. I dont know how to describe it. Its kida like a cross between a quiet Diesel Engine and a Toyota Corolla. Very dissapointing engine tone. Does an aftermarket exhause lower the notes? If so it should be a much considered option for any H3 owner. The wind noise is very minimal seems like the truck is pretty well insulated compaired to my h2 its quieter, However I have 37/mt's and

 

The Alpha has leather heated seats that I think are pretty nice. Not as good as the ones in the H2 but good. I don't think there will ever be another 4x4 that combines the offroad ability and onraod civility of the H2. Itdoes amazingly well at both ends of the spectrum.

 

Pretty good assesment. Only thing I would probably completely disagree with is the comfort of the seating. I think the H3 seats are very comfortable. They're probably second only to my '88 Monte Carlo which is is like cruising around on cushy comfortable giant marshmallows which somehow offer great support.

 

Since comfort is subjective it is highly likely that people willhave different opinions about it. I am 6' 210# and the seats are fine for me. I know others that don't like them. It is all personal preference.