2006 HUMMER H3

This ultimate SUV has a clean clear accident free history. It is a two owner truck that has been very well maintained. "You never forget the first time you hear granite biting into sheetmetal–the hairs on your neck stand up. No doubt that’s what our trail boss heard as we traversed our first nasty off-road obstacle. The spotter yelled, “Whoa! Whoa! The other left! This time, watch me!” as he guided our 2006 Hummer H3 up a rock climb most people couldn’t navigate on foot. On this winding desert trail, one of the five most difficult in Arizona, all we could do was wait and listen to the granite-versus-metal torture going on around the bend. It was like sitting in a dentist’s waiting room, hearing someone getting a cavity drilled. But, unlike what was happening to that poor fellow, our H3’s four-wheel-drive system crawled over the nastiness with impressive ease. Hummer is eager to emphasize that the H3’s performance capabilities, in addition to its family design cues, are rooted in gearing rather than horsepower. To be specific, gearing for slow motion. The H3’s standard–and at this point, only–engine is the same Vortec 3500 used in the GM midsize pickups, which weigh more than 1000 pounds less than the H3. On the trail, the various gearing combinations boost the crawl ratio from a sufficient 33:1 to an impressive drive-like-a-snail 69:1 (the crawl ratio is the combined gear ratio obtained by multiplying first gear by low range gear by axle gears). With a 4.56:1 axle gear option, a heavy-duty transfer case 4.03:1 low-range ratio, and a locking rear differential option, the H3 is just about the most formidable climbing beast since the creation of the Peruvian mountain yak–and that’s before you consider the 33-inch tires (the largest on any SUV in the segment) and the sophisticated traction-control system. The four-wheel-drive system itself is full-time, splitting engine torque 60/40 (back to front) during normal pavement conditions, but is able to send as much as 100 percent of available torque to the front or rear wheels when needed. Four buttons control the system: 4 Hi, 4 Hi Lock, 4 Low Lock, and Rear Locker. We found ourselves in low range much of the time on our desert trail ride, but hit the rear-locker button for the worst terrain. Some called the selectable rear locker the “escape switch.”