Off roading can include trial riding I guess, but my wife' car can trail ride.

My I5 H3 will eat every stock GC alive, can hang with most every V8 pick up and full sized SUV for 0-60s all day long (and that ain't sayin much because Hummers are slow), and can actually off road. I can't say that for a 1/4 mile, and I'd be getting passed by some at the 1/8 mile.

Seriously, those that surmise the I5 H3 does not have power, do not understand how the entire package works. Mod that aluminum straight, and grow some *****!

Proof is in the pudding... er pic, er ..... thats me in the Black H3 doing 100 yard sand drags with some buds. Note the closer H3s w/35s, and note me buddy in the white Chevy Pick Up in disbelief as I splash water through the window on his wife.


We did this like 6 times, the black chevy could'nt do any better, and I could run with the White one every time.

 

I've dont LOTS of driving in deep water (water half way up the door on my Land Rover; as in, sitting seatbelted I could hang my hand out the window and splish-splash in the water), and the only time you take on water is if you aren't going fast enough, dont have a good bow going on, or you stop dead in the middle of the water. I didn't necessarily say the H3 takes water on easy, but not floating away when going thru a deep-a$$ stream is certainly a benefit.

Well whats your wife drive? Another HUMMER?

But I doubt your wifes car can hang in my idea of trail riding; traversing hills/ditches, deep mud, followed by a huge ditch to traverse, followed by going thru the woods over logs and rocks, in paths designed for 4wheelers and dirt bikes

 

Here here. I 2nd that.

Not sure about the 2011 GC but my cousins 07 GC can't touch my truck. H3 clearly has a tighter turning radius (than at least the 07) hell, the H3 has a tighter turning radius than a Honda Accord. And the H3 is body on frame. The 07 GC is unibody construction. Whenever you would do some drooping in trenches that body let out some pretty wretched sounds as if it might bend & break apart at any minute.. not to mention the independent suspension all around and the cheesy idiotbox computer controlled transfer case that won't allow the user to change settings. The computer will "sense" what kind of terrian you're on and switch it for you. I think maybe he had that option cause it was one of those lux. ones. Also wasn't a fan of them taking out the old AM General designed straight 6's in the Jeeps and substituting noisy, cheaper, Chrysler V-6's that wouldn't perform the same.
I think the "watertight" terminology is being used more for marketing than anything else. I don't think the new GC's have any new technology that is over anyones heads. Saying something like that makes people who aren't in the know (in terms of off-roading and capabilities) think safety and security which will help sell trucks but as someone very aptly put it above, the GC is rated for 20" while the H3 is rated for 24" of fording capability.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to speak disparaging on the Jeep brand. I used to be a Jeep guy until I got the H3. I'll take a Jeep over an import any day of the week and my '99 GC took a beating and never let me down... but that was when GC's were still built like trucks. I'm just not a fan how those trucks have been gradually devolving over the past decade. I'm sure the 2011 GC will perform great in some light snow on the way to the mall, but put it on a decent course with the H3 and the only time you'll see it is in the rearview mirror... if you see it at all.

 

I don't know where some of you H3 guys are taking your H3's but up here in Northeast PA there is no way my H3 can go the same places my Wrangler can go...

The wheelbase of the H3 (112") is too long to go over any of the 'dirtpiles' and small hills blocking the logging and coal roads and will hang up every time whereas the 2dr Wranger with the shorter wheelbase, (93"-95") depending on the year, can go right over the same 'dirtpiles' like an ATV.

Combine the shorter wheelbase with the shorter length of the 2dr Wrangler (155" - 163") vs the H3 (187.5") and you can definitely go places with the Wrangler you can't go with the H3!

LIft a Wrangler and put 35's on it and there's no comparison to the H3!

As for power... my wife's V6 Grand Cherokee can pass my H3 going up hill with ease without my H3 being able to keep up with her... the H3 5cyl power sucks because it's pushing a big square box.

I do think the H3 looks so much better than the Grand Cherokee or even the 4dr Wrangler... both being Soccer Mom/Grocery Getter vehicles to me and not something to take off-road!

 

I miss the power of our Grand Cherokee Limited with the V8. The GC was a great vehicle. The H3 is new to us but to compare the two....really comes down to reliability to us. The H3 is still too new to us but the GC was constantly needing work. Hopefully the H3 will NOT BE a maintenance horror story.

 

I understand your argument on the wrangler having a shorter wheelbase, because I feed that to my buddies with their long *** pickup trucks all the time. But with the tbars cranked and some 35's there really isnt' much a HUMMER cant get over, even with said wheelbase.

 

i was following one of the new GC and the back end and side view look too much like the newer saturn vues or traverse. to many SUVs nowadays are going to the same look. that is why i like hummer. nothing else looks the same or can compare to its capabilities.

 

I have to agree with you. i know we all love our H3's but there is no way my 09 with the 3.7 can out accelerate the GC with the 5.7 its just not going to happen!

 

Nobody here is comparing the i5 of the H3 to the v8 of the GC; but on that note, lets compare the alpha 5.3 to the GC; I'll bet the alpha has more power and acceleration.

 

Apples and Oranges guys.... Each has its own purpose and each are better at one thing or another. I have had three jeeps both lifted and big tires over the years and now have had my H3 for two years lifted and 35's. Each had its advantages. I use to think there was nothing better than my cj5, no where I couldn't go, got plenty stares and comments. Three years later went with CJ7 and thought man this is so much better than my old 5, then had a GC that I had bought my wife. After she had it about 3 1/2 years and it was paid for I took it and added some mod's to it, shocks, springs, tires and wheels and it held its own but was not a CJ by no means.... Now with my H3 I can deff tell you some things about all four. The H3 is tops on comfort, noise levels, stares and comments from people yes, hands down. I have not had my H3 stuck yet but had both my 5 and 7 stuck few times each. and the GC stuck even more. Yes I know I can't compare unless they were side by side at the time but the H3 deff seems to handle the same mud holes differently. I can tell you that I have pulled two jeeps out of a real rough area we have at the deer camp just last season. Both times I went around them and pulled them out from the front. Both were fully impressed and were hard core jeep fans. They go mudding together all the time. At my home town college homecoming last fall it had been raining for two weeks and you could barely get off the road anywhere with out being in trouble. We have a huge "MuleGate" BBQ and drunkfest before the games. After the game I pulled out 16 vehicles that were stuck. People had parked everywhere due to not enough parking. Most had just set there and bottomed out. I even pulled a cop out of the mud that had pulled off the road. The best one was a 4wd Ford long wheel base dulley diesel. He had tried to get out for several mins going back and forth and had really sunk it... I went out in the field and got in frt of him. All he had was a 10 foot strap. I put it in 4wd low and eased into him. all four corners lost traction pretty quick and I spun down quick. Stopped before I got stuck and got the strap off. As I was thinking I couldn't help this big guy a 20 ft strap showed up. I tried again and this time moved him a couple feet and got him moving, between the two of us I got him all the way through a huge low spot and back to the road. No way a lighter jeep would have been able to do anything. The weight of the H3 makes a huge difference in its pulling power.. I worked several years running three tractor dealerships and gained a ton of knowledge in pulling power. HP makes a difference on a lot of things lots of times but what I learned early on is never bet against the heavier vehicle. The US made ford tractors beat the foreign made John Deers and Kubotas on head to head pull off's ever time and it was nothing but who was heaviest. The H3 will out pull the jeep everytime because of weight. Chain a CJ back to back with an H3 with equaly equipped tires and the H3 will pull the CJ in circles everytime. So in just about every catagory the H3 is heads up to me and I have owned both. Short funny, at the homecoming one of my old roomies from college was helping me grill for my old frat house. He had a 4wd Ford pick up. The little one. He got stuck trying to cross the ditch to bring several ice chest over to our grill area. He came and got me to come pull him out. All of us were looped pretty good and working on a full loop. When he came over he ask. "ya think that purty peace of **** can pull a real mans truck out of the mud over here" I replied "not sure but I'll give it hell tryin". He hooked a chain to my hitch ball and around his frt axle. I put it in 4low and pulled him straight out. No Probs. He started waving at me to stop and don't know why I just punched it. My first thought was to just throw mud all over his hood and windshield but the higher ground wasn't flowing with that idea. I just kept going he was honking and waving and had his brakes locked and I just kept pulling him all around the whole cooking grounds. He was red as a beet and finally quit honking and waving and just put his head down on the steering wheel. After three loops around the cooking grounds I pulled him up at our grill. I got out and said "Oh ****" I forgot youze was back there!!!! Everybody there about 2500 were laughin there azz's off... He came up and hugged me and said thanks ole buddy, u ain't changed a bit..... If this one ever lays down and I can't find another Hummer to buy, I will go back to a Jeep. but only if I can't buy another hummer....