Whenever I get asked what my favorite vehicles are that I have driven, I am initially torn -- perhaps because there are so many reasons certain vehicles become memorable for me. While some favorites are sleek sports cars, others ultra-luxury sedans and then others simply unique designs. There, I often hold a place in my heart for vehicles such as the Hummer H2, which simply steals the show no matter where it goes.
While I appreciate a fun extravagance just like anyone else, I am a fan of functionality and therefore could only smirk at the H1 each time I test drove it. Knowing GM at some point was going to have to make the amazingly recognizable brand into a more reasonable SUV for the common man, I can only smile these days when I slip behind the wheel of the new H2. This is a functional SUV. It just happens to be -- a bit bigger than the others.
The "big" aspect of the Hummer is really its bread and butter. There's no sleek, sloping aerodynamic profile, no secrets hidden below the skin of an H2. Nothing is subtle. What you see is pretty much what you get: a huge grille, monster bumpers and 17-inch cast aluminum wheels. Given the uniqueness of its design, what you get is likely exactly what you were looking for. Like so many other SUVs, Hummer H2 is touted for its off-road capabilities, but most will never get off the pavement. Doesn't matter to H2 owners, they just like to know if they want to -- they can employ four-wheel drive and head off-road.
Completely redesigned for 2008, the H2's interior is more refined, combining luxury with rugged good looks. The new H2 offers enhanced safety features and a more powerful engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. That's the functional aspect big brother never really had -- plus you can park this one in a regular garage or parking spot at the mall.
Hummer still has its signature bold exterior styling, so the real news is what's inside the cabin and what's under the hood. The 6.2-liter all-aluminum small-block V-8 (393 horsepower) with 415 pound-feet of torque is a 20 percent upgrade over last year's model. For me, maybe more important (remember that functionality thing?) is the addition of the six-speed transmission. My tester last year had a four-speed, and it struggled at times to deliver acceleration when I needed it. Of special note: Maximum towing weight is 8,000 pounds.
As far as getting into the mud, we did it and embarrassingly almost needed to get yanked out of a permafrost-laden bog; probably more about wrong tires and wrong state-of-mind for the driver, but clearly H2 cannot get out of everything it may get into. Good thing that most drivers will never get into more than a few inches of snow or a rocky rural road. I liked the tap-up-tap-down feature, which delivered great versatility and control on some test grades while offering automatic grade braking. If you need it -- it's there.
Inside the cabin of the H2 is where you feel like the king of the road. The huge leather captain's chairs put you in a commanding view of the road. The massive center console is extremely deep with additional storage underneath the console. The dash cluster is easily visible and the center stack is within easy arm's length. Large buttons and knobs stick with the theme of "big" while the premium nine-speaker Bose system, featuring surround sound, delivered even bigger audio quality. Another H2 pleasure: Get a grip of the gigantic gearshift and you will know you are about to engage something very powerful.
Whether or not you have the optional step-plates installed to help you get up into the H2, the grip bar in front of the front passenger is not just window dressing -- it is highly functional. Also functional is the 86.6 cubic-feet of cargo space. A really cool "functional" feature is the rear camera that quietly slides out of the side of the rear view mirror when you shift into reverse. Shift into drive and it quickly slides out of sight.
The H2 has three rows of seating. The first two will seat five adults pretty comfortably. The third row, while larger than most third rows, will be uncomfortable for anyone taller than 5-8. It is nice to have, and the younger passengers will get a kick out of sitting back there. I found the cargo capacity to be excellent when the second and third rows were leveled.
The Hummer H2 features good safety: roof-rail head-curtain side airbags for first-, second- and third-row passengers with rollover sensing system, new traction control system, tire pressure monitoring system, panic brake assist feature which detects emergency braking situations and maintains maximum brake pressure to help stop the vehicle faster and under control, electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation technology is new for 2008.
The 2008 Hummer H2 is based at $55,510. Add in the $900 destination charge as well as the $6,410 for the Luxury Package, and that all-things-big Hummer comes to a big $63,115.
Like I said, I have to put it on my all-time list of fun vehicles, and when you add in all the looks and comments this SUV demands, it certainly tries to make the hefty price tag feel worth every penny. |