Friend of a mate, thru us the keys of his Hummer and shot thru for a holiday
with instructions that we check it out fully and in the bush.
Well, what can you say ! So we agreed to take time out of busy schedule
to test this car to its limits.
Never thought much about these things, just that they are an overpriced piece
of Amercian glitz designed for show , with probably some performance in a straight line but little else.
Note - Don't know much about Hummers so please correct any spec errors I may make.
There are 3 basic Hummers , Military super wide H1((CSI Miami) , the mid size H2 and smaller Cruiser sized H3.
This H2 model tours
well with not to much noise up to 130kph and returns about 19lt/100km at 110km pulled along by a huge pertol 6.2lt V8 of 293kw which drives thru an auto box to a constant 4wd system with a slide dash control which gives choices from 4wd high/ lock centre diff/low range &
low range with rear electric diff lock.
We compared it directly to our 4800 manual GU Patrol driving the same courses etc.
First in a short drag race it stayed ahead of the Patrol and looks like a sub 10sec to 100kmh car which is all you ever need in a 4wd.
Most tests were done on our property which allowed for accurate and repeatable results, but first we checked out what I thought was a major reason for owning such a car, Attention getting.
We pulled up outside the Ruffy upmarket cafe, where about 50 people where enjoying their cardonay and cappicino under leafy trees on a lazy sunny morning.
2 wives were appointed as judges, as I thought the decision might be close.
I took off first in my Patrol and 2 customers and 1 dog watched my Patrol leave.
I disputed the results as I was sure a 2nd dog saw me accelerate away.
Next the huge silver and chrome H2 Hummer brick switched on its ignition and the deep burble of the huge V8 drew an instant audience.
As it accelerated away, a little to fast, everyone was watching !
Ok , a qualified Hummer win for round 1 as my car was still covered in mud from escaping Peters Gorge.
Next was a general drive ability test around 50km of dirt back roads some almost 4wd.
The Hummer went and handled really
well was quite comfortable and also tracked
well easily dodging fallen scrub.
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Moved on to 4wd tracks from here which included many tight spots thru thick
forrest with bush that touched the car on both sides. The result here quite surprized me as the car followed the Patrol everywhere, helped by good control from its smooth auto and massive low down torque.
Now its a huge machine but when you start breaking down the figures
its not as bad as you would think , e.g. its 2100mm high and its wide but the sides are dead flat, so if you drive slowly and its mirrors don't touch then the car follows without damage.
Indeed its tall mirrors allowed for a full view of the sides and made positioning the car easier than expected.
Now I could have found spots only the Patrol would negotiate but we stuck to existing tracks and it simply drove them.
At times we had to slow right down but only once did we hit an overhead branch.
Well the Patrol wins this test.Image Could Not Be Found
Next, a favourite of
mine, side slope ability. Drove across the Dams wall and I couldn't shake the Hummer here and later research shows this car has a huge track width of over 1700mm and beats cruisers, and its 47 degrees tilt angle is almost as good as the Patrol.
General angles - We drove up a 40 degree dirt wall and the Hummer approach, departure and clearance angles all exceeded that of the GU despite its 3100mm wheelbase (Patrol 2940).
Its standard size 315/70/17
Wheels and BFG AT's helped here.
We then locked both cars rear
wheels and drove them nose to tail around in a circle which is a great manovourability test - here both cars turned at about the same rate so we called this even.
Image Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be Found
Articulation - this should hurt ,
well we first tried to drive this 3 ton monster onto my articulation ramp but it got up a foot and we heard cracking from the plywood and gave up before it destroyed my ramp.
Then we drove up a long 25 degree slope which intersects another track causing a diagonal hump across the track which twists the cars.
Every leaf sprung car we have tried has needed winching out of this one, and all IFS cars stop.
Well the Hummer is not leaf sprung but is IFS, the
Patrol drove thru this and the Hummer tried to follow but got opposing front/rear
wheels spinning and stopped.
Patrol was a clear winner here, but a touch on the electric diff lock and Hummer went thru nicely.Image Could Not Be Found
Above - both
wheels loose traction.
The Wall - this is a short nasty steep slope that really sorts cars out
and no car has yet driven it with normal diffs Patrols included.
The Hummer couldn't make it either, but again a touch on the slick electric locker saw it go up in a credible manner.
General Construction , these cars come to Australia and are converted to RHD at a huge $40k cost and part of our mission was to check this out.
We drove down a steep 30 degree
hill, and I got out to check a noise from the engine.
First surprize, the bonnet folds forward and is just a huge plastic moulding, the second surprise was that the long bolt that secures the alternator was floating completely freely and touching the fan intermittantly, so we spent 15 minutes locating an American size spanner and doing the bolt up.
The interior is full of bling and electric everthing, even the door handles and gearstick are wide full hand grip black plastic and chrome affairs.
There was a large amount of squeaking everywhere, you put your hand on an armrest and get a plastic squeak , the dash squeaks and it all seems like a poor quality conversion has been done, however I have to add that one of our RAV4 Toyotas had this plastic panel squeak as bad.
Inside its sort of like your in command of a starship but there is a huge transmission tunnel and the electric black leather seats just didn't provide the leg room of the Patrol.
Underneath the Hummer is a strong chassis with strong protection ladders built in and generally it looks pretty tough, however I wondered at the pressed steel channels that were used to locate the rear axle, these looked much weaker than the Patrols.
In Summary - A surprising package, if you can get over the "Bling" and fuel consumption and have a need for a heavy duty tow vehicle that won't disgrace you in the bush then maybe this is a product to consider, but I won't be rushing out to get one.