Motor Trend picks Xterra over the H3

[DarthKarl]

http://motortrend.com/features/news/...051025_suvoty/

Looks like Motor Trend people are smoking crack, they like the '06 Xterra over the H3 as the SUV of the year...LOL

[XM DUDE]

I woulden't consider a Range Rover a good value, because of the high maintenance cost and reliability which is poor.
They are in the shop so much, it give new meaning to the term off road.

[timgco]

I did drive the Xterra. It's reall not that bad. Obviously I would take the H3 over the Xterra as I have an H3 on order. But here's what I noticed. The Xterra does have more get up and go and does feel slightly roomier. the big thing was NO SUNROOF OPTION AT ALL!

Time to fire off a few letters to MotorTrend on their terrible and uninformative article.

[Aubs]

Thanks Motor Trend. Obviously, they are stupid. Luckily, we owners who were smart enough and fortunate enough to buy the car based on it's own merits and our tastes have found it to be extremely nice. For all those slaves to the motor mags, we must feel pity. They are missing out on something.

[HIHUMMER]

mmmm...nicely put Aubs! Touche!

[HIHUMMER]

Also, did ya'll know that the H3 doesn't have avalable:Air conditioning, Front/rear cup holders , 60/40 split fold-down rear seatbacks, door pocket ..etc..
just a few I saw...looks like the nissan (and Motor Trend) people need to do a little more research?

[HummerNewbie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by HIHUMMER:
HA! And all this time I thought you guys bought Maxium just to check out the half naked chicks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Once those pages are stuck together you have nothing left to look at other than the articles

[jkH1+H2=H3]

I Have been in the Xterra, and rented many times, is it nice? hell yah! But really is it a H3 No way no how!!! Sit and drive the xterra, Sit and drive the H3, the best way is to go to Hertz or any car company leasing for the day and drive them both.It will solve your answer without spending a ton of cash. H3 will be your choice. Your a puss if you like the xterra. for sure.

[Ipedog]

When I was a kid my parents ran a B&B on the coast of Maine. They busted their butts to make the place great. But when the magazines that they advertised in promoted the upcoming "best of" issues to the Inns, the "Best" was typically open to the highest bidder. Only a few of the magazines were unbiased and did the competitions w/o regard to advertising budget.

MotorTrend is not what I would call an unbiased magazine.

[JeffW]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Motor Trends truck magazine recently said, the H3 was the best out of a bunch of vehicles only 2nd to the LandRover LR3. They said, it would have got 1st except LandRover had more power. (and about $20,000 more).

Seems like a contradiction in reporting.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I remember that vividly (in fact I continually re-read it), however I just noticed that in Truck Trends Buyers Guide, they gave the H3 only 2 stars, while giving the LR3 (and other lesser vehicles) 5 stars. One of their complaints about the H3 was "boxy"... They think the LR3 is less boxy!?!? Truck Trend's glowing off-road comparison was strictly testing off-road capability, where the H3 shined. I suspect in these other evaluations they are giving more weight to on-road and daily driving manners. And it seems they may be giving extraordinary weight to the engine criterion itself. I still have to disagree with the findings, though. Although the Xterra's engine is extremely nice, I think the H3 is a much more comfortable daily driver, especially with the Lux package, which isn't even offered in the Xterra.

[JeffW]

Xterra doesn't even have full-time 4WD. That's a biggie in my book.

[DDWH]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Nissan Xterra is GHEY! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looks like crap and drives like Chit!

[Cedar Butte]

We have both.

It has great storage and lot's of neat things like the 12V socket inside the storage consol to recharge the phone. H O W E V E R , I T I S N O T A H U M M E R.

The Hummer has a more solid feel and more polished (not hard plastic) inteior.

Also the H3 accelerates better on the highway, yes even with it's lower horsepower.

And I can tow with my H3, all of the Xterra's have a recall to replace the entire rear hich assembly, and they don't have any to put on yet. They say it can fail without warning.

Hummer wins in my book.

[trading13]

There isn't a chance in hell I'd drive an xterra.

[H3 Hummer]

Well Maxim magazine made the H3 the Off-roader of the year. We all no that they are more reputable the car and driver when it comes to vehicles.


Motor Trends truck magazine recently said, the H3 was the best out of a bunch of vehicles only 2nd to the LandRover LR3. They said, it would have got 1st except LandRover had more power. (and about $20,000 more).

Seems like a contradiction in reporting.

[HIHUMMER]

Xterra "advantages" over the H3 according to Nissan.


The Nissan Xterra SE 4x4 4dr sport utility vehicle '06 has the following advantages over the Hummer H3 SUV 4dr sport utility vehicle '06:

General
Lower price
Longer powertrain warranty

Mechanical
Larger engine
6 cylinder engine
More horsepower
4 ventilated discs
Front stabilizer bar
Rear stabilizer bar
Automatic transmission with torque lock-up
Electronically controlled automatic transmission
Transmission stability control

Exterior
Mica paint standard
17 in wheels
Body side moldings

Interior
Front power windows with one-touch feature
Driver seat height adjustment
Driver seat tilt adjustment
Rear head restraints
Driver vanity mirror
Driver illuminated vanity mirror
Front-passenger illuminated vanity mirror
Automatic drive indicator on dashboard
Open dashboard console storage
Covered console overhead storage

Audio
CD autochanger
6 CD autochanger capacity
Radio Data System (RDS)
9 speakers

Safety
Driver/front-passenger seat belts with pretensioners
Driver/passenger height adjustable front seat belts
Rear seats head restraints

Weight & Fuel Economy
Better fuel economy on EPA highway cycle
(21 vs 20)

Dimensions
More hip room in front
More shoulder room in front
More shoulder room in rear
Longer cargo space
Greater cargo capacity, with all seats in place
Greater cargo capacity, seats down, to roof

[HIHUMMER]

Originally posted by H3 Hummer:
Well Maxim magazine made the H3 the Off-roader of the year. We all no that they are more reputable the car and driver when it comes to vehicles.

HA! And all this time I thought you guys bought Maxium just to check out the half naked chicks!

[H3 Hummer]

So I got a Trunk Trend magazine yesterday. I think this is Motor Trends magazine for trucks but not sure. Anywho, the information they put is so contradictory.

For example the H3 gets 5 stars for off-road above all other even the Range Rover that got 4.5 stars (but cost over twice as much. So, they give it 5 stars for off-road but only 2 stars for value.

How retarded. So they are basically saying this is a 5 star rating best of the best off-road vehichle. Even better then a $60,000 + Range Rover but it's not nota good value.

The only thing good about this magazine is that it shows the H3 flying through the air and visually it makes the H3 the best of the best.

I think like some of you alluded to, they are in bed with Nissan.

[Ipedog]

MotorTrend historically has always been the least credible of the automotive press (IMHO ). Nissan probably just gave them the biggest ad budget for next year, or was willing to pay more to be in the spotlight.

[DWPC]

No loss. M/T is Waiting Room fodder. They've named some real junk as Car and SUV of the Year. I'm more interested in what the "serious" automotive press says about the H3.