[Noob] Buying Advice on H3's Needed
 

Looking to replace my 2001 Nissan Frontier CrewCab 4x4.

Looking at H3, FJ Cruiser and Nissan Xterra.

Must Haves: Rear locker, 32-33" tires, off road pkg.

With the H3, I really would want a 2009 for the front locker option. The nearest one is 320 miles away :(


How reliable is the 3.7l I5 and 4 speed automatic? To me, that combo seems to be the achilles heel. Is it really that under powered? The Nissan and Toyota V6's seem to be plenty powerful.

Are there any weak components for off-roading? I am not going to hard core rock crawl, more mild stuff.


Thanks!

There are a some 2007-2008 models near me that have the Adventure pkg with only a rear locker.

Try to find a Championship Edition. This was the best factory standard equiped model. It has front and rear lockers and the V8. I have had mine since 2009 and they will have to bury me in it as I will never sell it easily the best car on the road.

That one will be out of my price range which is under $23k. I can find good deals on Adventure pkg 2007+ for 18-22K. There is a 2009 about 320 miles away that fits my budget.

I have the I5 in my H3T and we are about 2 feet longer then the H3's and she's not a race truck but when I have to get somewhere or pass someone, I'm always surprise about the power that I get. Granted I've done a lot to help with power but it not a bad engine. If you can't find the H3 your looking for there are 2 types of locked you can get, air or electric and all you would need if the 4:1 transfer case. I have the base model with 4.10 gears and I feel I get around pretty well and haven't needed lockers yet but it's on the to do list.

I had an '07 H3, the power was fine. No race truck, but with stock 33s it was quite a bit better than my I6 Cherokee on 32s. MyH3t on 33s felt a bit slower than the H3, but no real complaints. Now that I have 35s it's still ok, but with the easy power related upgrades out there I'll be looking to improve. Basically, if I had to do it over I'd have held out and paid a little more for the V8, but even a truck version with 35s isn't too bad with an I5. Forget about it being an I5, just look at HP/TQ numbers. 239hp/242ft-lbs (IIRC) isn't a bad starting point.

Here's pretty much the list I have for upgrades, last thing I'm getting ready to do a is ported and polish throttle body. With MPG on 285/75/16 I'm getting 14-15 in the city and 18-20 on the highway, sure wish I was better but it could always be worst.

-PCM E-fan Kit
-PCM Tune
-K&N Intake System
-Jet High Flow Mass Air Flow Sensor
-Flowmaster 40 Series
-Ac Delco Iridium Spark Plugs
-SuperSparkz Ignition Coil Spark Plug Spring Delete

I would be happy with 18-20mpg hwy. My 4x4 CrewCab Nissan Frontier gets about 20-21mpg on hwy @ 70-75mph with 4.90 gears, 265/70R16's with 4 speed automatic. Revs are pretty high at 75mph. 3.3l V6 @ 160hp

anyone compare the H3 to an FJ or Xterra?

In what way? I can tell you when I was looking to replace my Cherokee, both FJ and Xterra were on the list. I doubt you can find an unbiased review that doesn't state the H3 is better offroad than the other two - I read a lot of reviews on this as offroad ability was high on my priority list. Other items I cared about were a full time 4wd/awd option for UT winters, 4 real doors, room in the back seat for my growing boys, biggest tires I could fit without a lift, on road comfort... In my case it turned out to be a process of elimination, not a comparison. As curious as I was about the the FJ, and as much as I wanted an Xterra (my first choice when I started looking), the H3 was the only mid sized SUV that fit my requirements.

Your requirements and priorities are almost certainly different than mine - post up exactly what you want and what you need. I can't speak for everyone, but personally I'm not a Hummer fanboi so I'll try to give you as honest an answer as I can. Heck, I'll even start by saying you should include Jeep in any offroad SUV comparison. They have a wide range of options that shouldn't be ignored.