The H2 was not designed and manufactured by AM General, the manufacturers of the original Hummers, but by GM instead who bought the rights to the Hummer and built their own based from the Suburban frame. I was finally overcome by my own curiosity about the H2 and had to check it out. I had an opportunity to get to know it better while waiting at the service department at our local Chevy dealer. However, the sales representatives seemed reluctant to let a mid-twenties women to take it out, though according to one of the ads for the H2, I’m the marketing demographic they’re after. Maybe they knew I was not about to drop $50,000+ that day.

Performance, Power and Handling
I did not get a chance to take it off-road and even if I did, not sure I would be able to find a good place to test the 4WD capabilities because Florida seems to lack the rugged terrain something like this begs for. But, its off-road capabilities is the major strong point to the H2 with a much more sophisticated 4WD system than any other GM SUV. It has the ability to ford 20 inches of water (uh, in case it floods in your neighborhood?), take a 16” vertical wall, ascend a 60% incline and handle a 40% slope according to the web site. Seems pretty impressive and I doubt the dealer would let me test this in our closest rocky river bank even if I wanted to. I’ve read many argue that the H2 is not as capable as the H1 and with less of a ground clearance, I don’t doubt that. But, I suspect the H2 is still overkill for most adventure seekers. Though I don’t know many people who regularly go 4-wheel driving, the few I know only do it for fun and have an old beat up truck or something they don’t have to worry about much to do it in. For that class, I would think the H2 would not appeal that much because of its price and refinement might take the fun out of it.

The H2 has a 316HP V8 engine with automatic transmission only and the power felt appropriate for a vehicle its size. It can do 0 to 60 MPH in about 10 seconds, not great for passing on the highway, but still not shabby for a curb weight of 6,400 lbs. It also has a towing capacity of 6,500 lbs., certainly not the best in class for an SUV of it’s size and power.

While the H2 is large and handles really well over large bumps, it felt a little bumpy on rough pavement and seemed to vibrate on poor quality roads with independent front suspension 5-link variable coil rear suspension. I was actually impressed with how it handled on tight turns, much better than the Excursion, there was very little body roll and the back did not feel like it was swaying much. However, the braking seemed mushy, particularly on fast stops, I did not really notice this when coming to a slow stop say at a light. There also seemed to be a fair amount on wind noise and tire noise on rough pavement, but you could still hear a conversation at highway speeds.

One of my major complaints is the visibility, which I was not expecting to be good looking at it from the outside. Rear visibility is particularly hard through the small back window, but the large side view mirrors seemed to do a good job. Front visibility was not as bad as the rear, but still a challenge over the large hood and I can imagine that it would be much worse from someone shorter than me at 6 feet tall.

As you’ve probably figured, gas mileage is not going to be a strong point of the H2. It’s rated at 12 MPG city and 16 MPG highway and made the 2003 meanest for the environment list for it. But owners are reporting an average of 8 to 11 MPG with mixed driving. With a 32 gallon tank, it can only get about 256 to 352 miles per tank.

Interior Looks and Features
A good thing about the taller frame of the H2 is head room. The 1st and 2nd row seats are mounted high, giving plenty of leg room and seats the passengers in an upright position. At 6’ tall, I had no problems climbing into the H2, but shorter passengers might not appreciate the height.

Sitting in the front seat, the interior is very different from any SUV I’ve been in. While I faced a lot of plastic trim, I also saw sharp looking white-backed, round gauges and aggressive round air vents (these are taken from the GM Pontiac Aztek design) that looked more like those AC vents you see in the ceilings of old warehouses connected to exposed air ducts. The gear shifter is very different looking because it’s styled after an airplane throttle, like the one I saw on a Logitech joystick in Best Buy the other day. I think anyone who’s a pilot or has flying experience will appreciate this. Though I did find the steering wheel boring, not sure what it was styled after, but to me it looked like the boxy, thin plastic ones I remember from compact cars in the 80s. The controls on the steering wheel were just plain black buttons distributed in four sections.

There are also hints of metallic silver trim throughout the interior, but not as much as I’d like to see. It was on the center mounted gear shift, the speakers and door handles. Next to the gear shift on the passengers side are two cup holders that look like they could hold a broad spectrum of drink sizes with the internal rubber lining, but were plain in black plastic and symmetrical layout. I guess with the outside looking so extreme and unique, I was expecting the same on the inside.

As I figured looking at the outside, the windows are very high up and are near my shoulders while sitting inside. This did not bother me at 6 ft. tall, but may bother shorter people. Inside, I found controls for the Onstar system that seems to be standard with the H2. Other standard equipment includes AC, power steering, cloth seats, cruise control, power front seats, cup holders, heated power mirrors, power locks, remote keyless entry, Bose cassette/CD system, compass, universal garage door opener, automatic headlights. The model I had was pretty much the bas model with cloth seats. But, there are many options you can add on, however these tend to shoot up the price. Like a power sunroof can be added for $1,395, leather for $1,400 and off-road spot lamps for $450. The color options aren’t too exciting, but not bad at white, black, red, pewter, orange metallic, green and yellow.

Here’s one of my major problems with the H2, it can only sit a max of 6 passengers...1 more than a Toyota ECHO. And not even that if you want to use the cargo space. The H2 has an optional third row seat (yes, that’s seat, not seats or row of seats). There’s no room for more than that with the huge spare tire sitting in the back next to it and the seat and tire back up to the tailgate, so there’s really no room behind them. So, when you have all seats in, your cargo space goes down to next to nothing (hmmm, better get some containers for the top then, eh?). But the cargo space really isn’t much with the third row seat out and to get more out of it, you have to buy the optional spare tire holder that mounts the spare on the back of the H2, instead of inside. But then would the H2 look as cool with this mounted on the back? I didn’t think so, but others may disagree. Problem is, the tire is too big to mount under the H2 like many other SUVs.

Exterior Looks and Features
Not that long ago, I was driving with my mom going out to lunch and she notices a yellow H2 behind us at a light. So she says, ”Gee, that’s a funny looking school bus!” I played this on telling her it was the new style “short” school buses they were using now. Then I clarified that is was actually a new SUV by GM. So she says, “Why would anyone want to drive something that looks like a school bus?” Looking at the front in my rear view mirror, it did strike me as a school bus with the big shinny grill and boxy hood. Though smaller, it had striking similarities to the cheese wagons I remembered from my school years.

However, it’s a little harder to mistake it as a school bus from the side. No, the side definitely screams some sort of relation to the original AM General desert buggy. Like the original, the H2s wheels are very close to the edges of the body, unlike other SUVs where the front and rear hang out from the wheels. This is a definite off-road advantage because the H2 can pass over ruff terrain with less chances of the front or back scraping or bottoming out. But this is a disadvantage to those seeking interior space because the H2 is a bit shorter than a Suburban or Expedition.

In short, the looks aren’t my favorite part of this SUV, but they have a purpose and it seems people either really like the H2 or really dislike it. It looks like the H1, but with a lower ground clearance and a taller, narrower, misshapen H1 body. Misshapen because while it is very tall, it has tiny windows, giving it a cartoon-ish look. Remember Mimi from the Drew Carey show? Loud, large and obnoxious character who had a different color iMac on her desk every episode, littered with troll dolls. If she were to design an SUV, I think it would look something like the H2, but maybe with some hot pink flames added to the sides.

Last week, I was driving along a very narrow riverside two-lane road in my narrow Toyota to get to a family reunion. This road leads to a lot of the ritzy waterfront properties on a narrow island, but is the only way to reach them and can’t be widened because a body of water is in the way. Anyway, I saw an H2 coming in the opposite direction and it seemed that the H2 was as wide as both lanes. Because there was no shoulder on my side, I could not swerve if needed, the only thing I could do was slow down, get as far over as possible and pray it does not hit my car. Luckily the driver of the H2 did not hit me, he just ended up smacking all the tree branches of the overhanging trees on the other side and still road the yellow divider line. I’m assuming the owner lives along that road and might be regretting his purchase after a few incidents like that. The H2 is 81.2 inches wide, the Ford Excursion is less at 79.9 inches wide, the Ford Expedition is 78.7 inches wide and a Toyota Camry is 70.7 inches wide. So compared the other large SUVs, the H2 has the highest girth and could make for some sticky situations on narrow roads and parking, or even just trying to fit it into your garage.

Because the H2 is over the clearance height limit, by federal law, its required to have clearance lights along roof, adding to the school bus look in my opinion.

Safety
The H2 comes standard with dual front airbags and antilock brakes. Being new, I was not able to locate any specific safety ratings on this model. Like the Excursion and other large SUVs, its excessive weight may exclude it from mandatory safety tests as well as EPA ratings.

Parting Shots
What cracks me up about the H2 is I’ve seen quite a few in my flat beachside area, but only saw one while snowboarding in the Tahoe mountains. Not having any real mountains or what I would call off-road paradises here in Florida, it seems like a fish-out-of-water. But I got to figure that need has nothing to do with the H2, it’s all about the image. It’s just not my image. Snooping around some 4WD and other auto forums, I had a chance to talk to some H2 owners and ask them what they use it for. One guy also has a Porsche and a Ninja he used during the week for work and only used the H2 for weekend snowboarding trips. Another says they use it on their farm in California and as the family car, which I thought was interesting, it’s high price tag and weak seating capacity would make it my last choice for those uses.

I liked the character of the H2, but I can’t give it a glowing recommendation. Unlike the Porsche guy above, I’m not in an income bracket where I can have 3 vehicles for all my needs and wants, I got to try to cram them all into one reasonably priced vehicle. So when I look at utility vehicles, I really look for the multi-purpose utility and capabilities, oh and economy is also a plus for me. The things that really bother me about the H2 are the limited seating and cargo capacity and the visibility issues. At the current stage in my life, I expect more for the price and am not looking for an image like that. Now, the H2 does make a statement, but it takes an extremely rugged, uncomfortable, under powered military buggy and reduces the ruggedness, adds comfort and luxuries and changes the overall body shape. After all that, I’m not sure what’s left of the original statement, but the few military people I’ve talked to that actually had to drive the originals don’t seem to see the appeal of the H2. And, I’ve heard many describe the Honda Element as a mini Hummer based on looks, not something I would mistake the Element for, but it makes you wonder about the statement the H2 is making. But I’ll give GM credit, who is probably laughing all the way to the bank with this one.
Amount Paid (US$): 52,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: 2003 Base H2