Yep, it's worth it! I've put 4,727 miles on my H3 with a trip to Colorado and trip to Texas in it. I love the highway ride as well as the offroad capability. I live in a forested area and I've owned many 4X4s. If you don't have a 4X4 you just can't get up to our house in mud or any kind of snow. My brush guard on the H3 already has scratches
The Jeep Wrangler did well, but would rattle your teeth out and was noisy, the F250 4X4 was good, but a little too big to take down some trails, lots of tire noise and a consistent 8 mpg, the Isuzu Vehicross was one of the best, but it REALLY had a firm ride and was short of headroom for my 6 ft 4 body..........I really think it takes soemone who offroads a lot to appreciate all the H3 can do. I drove the Adventure Package on a Demo, but went with the basic and it does just fine on the 1/2 mile dirt and gravel trail up the hill to the house and to my posterior rode a little smoother on pavement.
I've had no negative reaction or hand gestures, in fact every time I fill up, someone wants to come over and see my H3. This machine brings more onlookers than the Vehicross did when it was new! Every time I park there are finger prints on the windows. I think all negative reaction to cars, whether they be Corvettes or Hummers, spit or rocks, is just plain envy and jealousy. I had a Toyota Starlet once, someone through handful of gravel in the front seat - go figure.
At 2,900 miles I changed the oil and put in Mobil One Synthetic and I'm getting better mileage but it's hard to tell because the H3's done a lot of offroading lately. It's fun to drive offroad and comfortable on the highway.
My next challenge is to have a welder or someone figure out how to put a thicker plate on to bolt a front winch to. Pictures to follow when I get it done.
Shadow Green Metallic
Hummer Jim