2006 HUMMER H3

A rock climber with the right genes

GM's HUMMER division is at its tipping point. Will it be sidelined into history because of its in-your-face military connotations? Or will the addition of a smaller, kinder, and somewhat gentler HUMMER give it the legs to become a permanent member of the General Motors hierarchy?

What, you thought we'd answer all those questions in 1000 words or less?

What we can tell you is that the new H3, regardless of how well it sells, is authentically a HUMMER. It can go to places off-road that only endangered species occupy. It can weave its way through city traffic more deftly than anything this capable has a right to. And with a base price of less than $30,000, it's strikingly affordable for the image it brings with it. After all, when was the last time you saw an Explorer or a Grand Cherokee delivering supplies to Tikrit?

Politically incorrect

The H3's been born into a world where, surreally, the way you vote dictates your affection for its brutish shape and globe-trotting toughness. But there's no debating that the H3 looks every bit the HUMMER, despite the fact that the H3 is derived from GM's compact pickups. In fact, it's only six and a half inches narrower than the bigger H2, though it's nearly 17 inches shorter. The sidecars that envelope the wide-track wheels are entirely appropriate, and don't look tacked-on as they easily could. HUMMER designers got the core elements right: the windows are short, squared-off, and flush and the corners are brusque and unapologetic.

There's also little to challenge the H3 on when it comes to off-road hardware. Since it's based on the GM global compact truck platform that spawned the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon (and is built alongside those vehicles in Shreveport, Louisiana), the H3 sports a ladder frame with boxed members, which means it's no unibody wuss like a RAV4. The front suspension may be independent as God meant it to be, but the Hotchkiss rear is what gives the H3 its goat-like endurance on rocky non-roads. And to make sure the H3's more delicate innards survive the clamber to the top of some yet-unnamed pile of boulders, it wears a front skid plate, a steel plate over its oil pan, and shields over the transfer case and the fuel tank.

The H3 clambers around on standard four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case and a low-range gear for the trickiest off-road obstacles; the standard low-range ratio is 2.64:1, but a 4.03:1 ratio is available for the nutso off-roaders who will actually spend the cash on the H3 and risk denting its military-chic metal. All H3s sport a locking center differential and a locking rear differential can be had too, giving more options than the casual user will comprehend and less of the electronic decision-making that vehicles like the Land Rover LR3 offer up.

All this, plus the 9.1-inch ground clearance and available 33-inch knobbier tires give the H3 truly awesome off-roadability. HUMMER promises the H3 can ford two-foot-deep stream and climb a 16-inch vertical barrier, and it's tempting to test the H3's limits because it's so tractable off-road. Once you get used to the scraping noises generated as middle-sized rocks pass beneath, or as you slide from one boulder face to the next, it's easy to wonder why anyone truly interested in SUVs would choose anything less capable than this, or a Rubicon Jeep.

We strode large rocks through Arizona 's Woodpecker Trail with barely a groan from the skid plates. And with the standard five-speed manual transmission, the H3 trundled over the boulders at idle like a tractor.

Power bulge

The tantalizing trail-riding talent built into the H3 makes its lackluster powertrain more tolerable. Under the hood, GM's in-line five-cylinder engine churns out 220 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. The flaw here isn't smoothness, it's power. Hauling around the 4700-lb H3 is more than the 3.5-liter engine can hustle with authority. HUMMER says it takes 10.3 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph, about the equivalent of a Honda Element or Scion xB. However the H3 should be capable of 20 mpg, a huge leap forward from the H2's 11 mpg.

Still, it's surprising how usable the H3 feels in urban settings.