Hummer H3T

Nice, but could there be a worse time to launch a Hummer pickup?
That’s right. In spite of skyrocketing oil prices having an inversely proportional effect on Hummer sales in the United States, the brand’s global sales are at an all-time high. This can be attributable to Hummer’s newfound market penetration and accompanying sales growth in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Africa, and—surprise!—the Middle East, each a being place where gas remains cheap or Hummers are still novelties. Or both.
Leading the sales charge is the H3, which shrink-wraps the big H2’s manly form into a package that’s more suitable in size and efficiency for these new markets (heck, all markets). Initially a five-cylinder dog, the H3 has always had much more potential, which began to be realized in the form of the V-8–powered H3 Alpha, and that continues with its new pickup variants, the H3T and the H3T Alpha.
A Hummer Pickup: Bringing Actual Utility to a Sport-Utility Brand
The H3T is little more than an H3 with a 22.3-inch wheelbase stretch to accommodate a separate, composite pickup bed. From the B-pillar forward, the H3 and the H3T are identical. From the B-pillar back, the H3T features longer doors, a 60/40 flat-folding rear bench seat with more legroom, and, of course, the pickup bed.
It’s a natural fit—the H3’s boxy fuselage is, by design, rather well suited to a boxy bed. Besides featuring visually correct proportions, the H3T offers versatility on par with its mid-size crew-cab competitors, and much more versatility than the small-on-the-inside H3 SUV. At 19.4 inches deep, 44.2 inches wide, and 59.3 inches long, the H3T’s bed is about 10 inches longer than that of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac and roughly the same length as the Honda Ridgeline’s, but it isn’t as wide or deep as either. Neither competitor, however, can touch the H3T’s ground clearance (up to 10.2 inches) and approach or departure angles (as great as 38.7 and 30.9 degrees, respectively), which are as much a measure of versatility as any in the off-road world.

A Kazillion Accessories
Hummer claims the H3T can carry two dirt bikes, a snowmobile, an ATV, or several (tilted) sheets of plywood—all of which, we imagine, will require the tailgate to be left open or removed altogether (Hummer says this is easy to do). The full-size spare is tucked away under the bed, in contrast to that of the silly, pointless H2 SUT, which is mounted on a swing-out rack behind the tailgate. Also unlike the H2 SUT, there is no Midgate that opens the bed into the cabin, but there are smaller compartments in the bed walls for small tools, ropes, and other detritus.
As any pickup owner knows, cargo space is pointless if what you put back there slides around, falls over, or—worse—flies out. So Hummer fits every H3T with bed rails and cargo tie-downs, and a huge array of accessories will allow lots of different drawers, cages, and enclosures to be attached to the bed or the roof.
Locking Front Diff + Locking Rear Diff = Take Your Crap Pretty Much Anywhere
On our preview drive, we put several of those bits—and the rest of the H3T, for that matter—to the test, lugging kayaks, huge coolers, fishing gear, and roughly three people per truck from Fresno up into the high Sierras for a long day of rock crawling and environmental exposure in places that only Jeep Wranglers, other Hummers, and the occasional antiquated Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser can reach. The route bypassed the pretty, manicured trails that any Toyota Highlander could conquer in favor of sooty, craggy nastiness that had most of us spending more time walking around outside the trucks to scope the obstacles than behind the wheel; even when we were driving, it was sloooooow going. Adding a measure of difficulty was some serious altitude. The trailhead started near the 9000-foot elevation mark and ended at a desolate lake much higher than that.
As it turned out, the adventure proved harder on our lungs and legs than on the trucks. In addition to full-time, two-range four-wheel drive and functional skid shields, both standard, the H3Ts we drove were equipped with the $2570 Off-Road Adventure package, which includes 33-inch tires (up from the standard 32s), a cast-iron front differential case, bespoke shocks, locking front and rear differentials, and 4.03:1 low-range gearing that enabled crawl ratios (allowing for extremely slow—and controlled—off-road ascents and descents) of 69:1 for the base H3T’s 239-hp, 3.7-liter inline five-cylinder engine and 50.6:1 for the H3T Alpha’s 300-hp, 5.3-liter V-8.

Once we aired-down the tires, allowing more of the blocky tire treads to grasp the tops of the rocks, each truck seemed to just walk up dusty, stony staircases like a massive metal mountain lion, wheels disappearing into the bodywork under compression and then extending far beneath the truck to grab the ground below. Numerous occasions called for front and rear differentials to be locked, reminding us that few vehicles at any price could traverse this kind of landscape (no pickup since the discontinued Dodge Ram–based Power Wagon has been thus equipped).
Less Scraping—and Stalling—Than Expected
Given the two extra feet between the axles and the subsequent reduction in minimum break-over angle from 22 to 19 degrees, we expected to hear a lot more scraping over the sharp rocks. But during each pass, we heard them only about as often as when the shorter, lighter H3 SUVs that Hummer brought traversed the same spots. At times, we appreciated the 320 pound-feet of torque of the H3T Alpha’s V-8 but found the 241 pound-feet of the base five-cylinder to be enough, at least at those speeds. Besides, the five-pot is the only one to be offered with a five-speed manual transmission (a four-speed automatic is optional; it’s standard on the Alpha), and we know many a die-hard off-roader who considers a manual transmission the only worthwhile solution. Thus equipped, the H3Tis actually pretty fun, since the unbelievable crawl ratio provided by the manual makes it remarkably tough to stall, even when traveling less than half-a-mile per hour. Furthermore, hill-start assist, which holds the brakes for two seconds after pedal release, comes standard on every H3T, and even off-road novices can appreciate how handy that feature is over this kind of terrain.
Meanwhile, Back on the Road
Back on the open road (with tires properly inflated, of course), the H3T behaves much like the H3—not a huge surprise—which means the five-cylinder version is slow and ponderous and makes quite a fuss getting up to speed. The Alpha version’s extra grunt brings acceleration into the acceptable realm, but even with the extra torque, the 5069-pound hulk is far from quick. Neither will earn points with green groups, either; the H3T achieves just 14 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway, which are 1 and 2 mpg more in each respective cycle than the H3T Alpha’s.
Both, however, offer a measurable improvement in ride quality, thanks to the stretched wheelbase and a surprisingly low amount of wind noise. Indeed, the H3T is quite comfortable inside, its well-equipped interior being as nicely hewn as other recent products to come out of GM, which is a compliment. That same wheelbase stretch, however, bloats the turning circle to a massive 43.8 feet versus 37.0 feet for the H3 SUV.

H3T: The Cheapest and Most Appealing Hummer Ever. But Is It Too Little, Too Late?
At a base price of $31,495, the H3T undercuts the price of the sport-utility by a not-insignificant $1595. Step up to the better-equipped, $36,760 H3T Alpha, and the saving compared with the sport-ute grows to a huge $4645 in favor of the pickup. (Both versions of the H3T are spec’d identically to the SUVs, save a couple of minor details.)
Why the big difference in price? Hummer claims that SUV buyers tend to be more spendy than pickup buyers, who are more value conscious. In any case, there’s no denying that the H3T represents a comparatively good value. And although there are far cheaper mid-size four-wheel-drive pickups out there, it would take a lot of aftermarket money (and likely a nullified warranty) to render any one of them capable of keeping up with the H3T when the road goes away.
Likable as it is, however, the H3T is still a niche product from a niche brand, and the era of Hummers as fashion accessories is over. This renders the H3T a truck built by off-roaders for off-roaders, and we don’t expect the H3T’s sales to reach far beyond the brand’s current core following.
It’s a pity, really. The Hummer brand has soul that transcends its brief history and its questionable current relevance. To survive, Hummer needs a massive evolutionary leap in the near future (H4, where are you?). The H3T is the first significant step we’ve seen in that evolution, but it might be a case of too little, too late.