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By
EWAN KENNEDY
8 October 2007
From the good-old US of A comes one of the most iconic of all vehicles
– the Hummer. Big, bold, brash, even outlandish, this is one of these
vehicles that people love or hate, but you will struggle to find anyone
without an opinion.
Now it’s in Australia for the first time on an
official basis, backed by General Motors Holden, GM having owned
the Hummer brand since 1999. There have been previous imports of
the Hummer by private individuals.
This Hummer isn’t quite what it seems. Though it
may look like the original military vehicle, the famed HMMWV (Humvee),
this new model, tagged Hummer H3, is actually a completely
different vehicle. It’s aimed purely at the civilian market and
is smaller, more refined and far more useable on a day-to-day
basis than the H1 Humvee.
However, it’s still a relatively large vehicle
and is deliberately styled to look bigger than it really is. The
H3 is similar in size to SUVs such as the Ford Territory,
Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Prado. None of these are particularly
svelte, or kind to the environment, then again they aren't so
blatant in their attitude as this new kid from the US of A.
This could be a handicap to the Hummer if an
incident during the official public release at Federation Square
in Melbourne is anything to go by. I heard several bystanders
calling out, "What about the environment?" They didn’t
appear to be an official protest group, simply concerned citizens
who happened to be passing at the time.
On the other hand, Hummer’s H3 will certainly
appeal to those who like to stand out from the crowd and make
their own very definite statements on life.
Even more importantly, the H3 will be loved by
those who are looking for a genuine 4WD. Because this is very much
the real thing. It has a strong ladder-frame chassis and uses a
two-speed transfer case to give lots of torque multiplication for
serious off-road work. The big approach, departure and ramp-over
angles are all aimed at serious use in harsh areas.
If the standard model, which is already
exceptional off the beaten track, isn’t tough enough for you
Hummer can supply an Adventure variant. With even lower gearing in
low range and additional underbody protection.
If that’s still not enough, there's an optional
underbody kit that reminds us of the girders on the Sydney Harbour
Bridge!
Off-road this Hummer is stunning. We tested it
through deeply rutted muddy tracks, up and down steep slopes with
a lot of loose, slippery rocks, and simply on the sort of forest
trails that will be explored by the typical family driver. It
performed all the harsh tasks we threw at it with ease and gave
the impression it could have done a lot more.
On-road, H3 is good in a slightly old-fashioned
manner. Its suspension is on the crude side and the tail tends to
jiggle about at times. It’s on the soft side in the steering in
the manner demanded by the Americans for their home market.
On-road the Hummer has decent road grip and safety, but no-one is
going to buy a Hummer because they have fallen in love with its
on-road dynamics.
The Hummer's interior has good space for four
adults, with plenty of width thanks to the overtly square shape.
There's quite a climb up to the seats, but that’s to be expected
in any fair-dinkum 4WD with proper ground clearance. The view out
could verge on the claustrophobic for some occupants thanks to the
small windows and high waistline.
Boot space is good, but the rear tailgate is
hinged on the wrong side for Australia so it’s necessary to walk
out to the ‘traffic’ side of the car to load it. Again, the
height of the vehicle means it can be awkward to load.
The rear seats fold down to give added space, but
don’t go completely flat, nor do they give a straight-through
boot floor.
Power for the Hummer H3 comes from an inline
five-cylinder petrol engine displacing 3.7 litres. It produces 180
kW of power and 328 Nm of torque, with 90 per cent of maximum
torque being available from 2000 to 6000 rpm. The result is
performance that’s better described as adequate rather than
good. Fuel consumption has been measured at 13.8 litres per
hundred kilometres with the manual gearbox and 14.5 with the
automatic.
A turbo-diesel is in the pipeline but isn’t
likely to be introduced until 2009. A vehicle of this type is
really crying out for a diesel. It will make it even better in
off-road driving and also bring the fuel consumption down to
levels that should be acceptable to the critics.
The complete Hummer H3 range, with prices
(excluding on-road costs) is:
H3: $51,990 (manual) $53,990 (automatic)
H3 Luxury: $59,990 (automatic)
H3 Adventure: $57,990 (manual), $59,990 (automatic)
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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