28 Jul 05
'Oversized and over here'. That's the title I had fixed in my head during the flight across the Channel to drive Hummer's new H3. Over here because the brand is about to officially launch a car in the UK for the first time in its ten-year history. And oversized because, well, it's a Hummer. This, after all, is a US military supplier renowned for making all-terrain vehicles whose wheels reside in different Zip Codes.
The H3, though, is Hummer's attempt to get all warm and cuddly. It wants us to think of its new offering as a Hummer Lite; a kind of compact, Europe-friendly SUV built for carrying the kids to school rather than rampaging through war zones. It even told me it expects the H3 to be "very popular with women."
To prove the point, Hummer chose one of the most congested cities in the world in which to stage the launch: Paris. Sandwiched between ubiquitous Peugeot 206 diesels and white Citroen C3s with plastic wheel covers - Parisians don't tend to go overboard when speccing their cars - the H3 cuts a pretty imposing figure. A glance at the spec sheet reveals that it's actually a touch smaller than the Land Rover Discovery in every dimension except one: height. The box-like structure planted on top of the main body makes it look very tall - an impression that's only exacerbated by the high, shallow windowline. At 6ft 3inches, I still have to get up on tiptoes to see into the cabin from the outside. Kind of makes privacy glass redundant.
Hummer is at great pains to point out the quantum leap in interior quality over the H2, bandying phrases like 'world-class craftsmanship' around during the press conference. It has a point - but only up to point. The heavily grained dashboard looks nice enough, but proves as hard and brittle to the touch as the top layer of a crème caramel. Ditto the chrome-look door pulls, instrument surround and centre console. Beneath the rugged surfacing treatment and man-sized controls is an interior that's been built entirely around the American maxim of 'if it looks okay from a distance, it'll do'.
