I came from a 2004 Range Rover HSE. The God of luxury SUV's with a good deal of off-road capability. However, who wants to tear up a ridiculously expensive pretty suv like that. I started having electrical problems with the Rover and decided to downsize and get something more practical and less expensive. I looked into the Jeep Grand Cherokee. After about an hour test drive I realized it wasn't for me. Stiff ride, not much interior room, and leather that looked like vinyl didn't start the drive off well to say the least. After looking at a few more, I realized rugged, with a little touch of luxury is what I wanted. Started looking at H3's and fell in love. The first one I drove was a bone stock H3 with no extra options besides a moonroof and I loved it. Unfortunately, it sold before I could move in on it so I found an 06 with the Luxury package. The interior was a happy medium between the Range Rover and the Jeep GC. I liked the comfort and class of the interior and the aggressive look of the exterior.

Since then, I've cranked the torsion bars, put on new wheels and 33" tires and enjoy the hell out of driving it! I'm sure you will make the correct choice for your taste. It's all about personal preference.

One of the guys I work with had an H3 and said "Just make sure you test drive one before you start looking because they are slow." I said dude it's a Hummer, not a sports car! lol I mean, you don't buy a Corvette because you like to go off-road do you?

T

 

I had a similar decision to make back in early 07 when I was deciding what to buy for my next four wheel drive vehicle.
I drove the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the H3 (I-5) and to me there was no comparison.
The H3 had a much nicer interior and better mileage. The Cherokee I drove had a sticker saying 14 - 16 MPG. That was a big turn off right there.
I even looked at the Land Rover LR3, but buying British was too scary for me
So, I have driving my H3 off road and lots of highway miles and I never feel I have made a bad decision

 

I traded a GC in on my H3. I can assure you I never felt as good going out to drive the GC as I do the H3 I only had the 6 in the GC so I dont notice much of a difference in power or mpg's. I do feel more confident in the H3 when the roads are wet/slick as the GC I had was not Awd and in 2wd the GC definitely had some grip issues.
Some here may disagree, but it has been my experience with the H3 that it costs more to operate. There are some components that are poorly designed, i.e. crossmember bushing, that have a higher chance of needing replacement. Next week mine will go in for new crossmember and leaky front axle seal at 62K miles. I also had a speed sensor that failed which required the replacement of the accelerator pedal assembly.
I still love the H3 as it gives me driving satisfaction that other vehicles do not. My work commute is around 500 miles per week and I am happy to spend them in the Hummer. I would encourage anyone to buy one if they are interested but if it is going to be a DD i would STRONGLY recommend getting an extended warranty of some sort.
Cheers and good luck.

 

i have had my H3 since june. i love it and cannot say enough about it. like people on here have said before, it is both luxury and offroad in one. it can pretty much tackle anything you throw at it with ease. i have owned a jeep before i purchased my hummer and didnt really like it. ya there are a ton of parts out there for them but they still require a lot of work to be put into them in order to make them capable offroad. for the H3, all i had to do to my H3 was throw 35s on it and go. I just came back from an offroad trip in New Hampshire with a friend. i was able do all of the trails that we did with no problem. like i said, i cannot say enough about it.

 

Thanks guys.. After seeing that most of you are happy with the H3 as a practical vehicle and not just a toy, I'm going to check out a low mile 07 with a blacked out "tactical" package. Not sure if that was actually a factory option though.

I also recommend shopping around , Detroit or Michigan in general. Our prices seem a good deal lower than anywhere. Our crap economy is why, I'm sure. A lot of the H3's I look at are ex-executive company cars right from gm.

 

Yeah, he does wear his boat shoes wheeling (east sider!). But I can't say much, I wear shorts in the snow plowing the driveway!

AutoRoc, sounds like you are in the SE MI area.When you get your HUMMER let us know so we can take you out and get your new rig dirty. Then you can be like Doc and I and spend hours cleaning it for the Monday morning commute! Sometimes I wait until Monday night to clean them. It's fun to get the comments "nice to see a HUMMER with mud on it".

 

wow what alot of good replies, I think that one of the biggest issues is getting the right tires, what I am doing is getting mudding tires on a different set of rims and have the stock tires, I am a part time off roader and don't mind doing the work to switch them out, but a car lift helps out also.
Good luck

 

I'm in SE MI, Jackson><Ypsi, can I come too? I dont know where to take it to get it dirty

 

Widespread Hummer, "NO DIRT FOR YOU!" said like the soup ****!

Sure, send me a PM with your "real Name" and email address and I'll add ya to our list. Things get pretty slow from Nov-March (1 trip) then pick backup again.

 

Bingo bango we have a winner!!! I landed a smokin' deal today on a black on black 2009 I-5/Auto H3 w/40k miles.. It gets leveled this week just in time before the 305/70/16 Duratracs get popped on and aligned next Friday.

Thanks again for the info.

The horn really does blow... haha