Questions from a potential buyer..

[BEST 4x4xFAR]

Morning All,

Hope I don?t get branded a troll here, but I?ve been looking at possibly purchasing an H3 as an everyday driver/vacation vehicle. I want it to be capable, but ultimate off-road ability is not a concern (have a dedicated vehicle for this). I?m looking for something safe, capable and with ample room in the backseat for car seats, and in the cargo area for a family of ? to take vacation needs with them. Being a dedicated gear head of sorts, the mechanicals and specs are more important to me than they probably should be, and information seems a bit hard to come by. Though I am sure I?d be looking for the locking rear diff and manual transmission. For my better half, concerns are ride quality of the rear leaf sprung suspension, cargo capacity, car seat fitment and safety. So here are our questions if anyone can throw answers back for them that would be great?

~> What make and model is the manual transmission?
~> Does the transfer case have an open, or a limited slip center differential?
~> Is the 8.5? of ground clearance listed to the rear axles diff, or frame?

~> Anyone fitted a large, rear facing car seat like a Britax Boulevard in the back seat?
~> Will it fit in any of the three positions, and are their LATCH anchors for all three seating positions?
~> If the car seat is center mounted, is there still room for a passenger on either side?
~> How much cargo space/capacity is there? MSN auto?s comparison tool numbers don?t seem right. If they are, the cargo area of the H3 is actually smaller than my wife?s current Subaru Outback, has less cargo volume seats up/seats down, and the is only rated to carry 25 lbs more cargo than her Outback? Doesn?t seem quite right.

~> How comfortable do the ladies find the H3 to drive? Quiet and smooth enough for most? We realize it is a truck, but we want to make sure it is reasonably comfortable.
~> I?m gathering that real world fuel mileage doesn?t exactly match the EPA numbers, they seem awfully optimistic given the H3?s weight, small engine or not?
~> And just how lacking In power is the H3? I read a magazine review that said 5th gear was unusable on anything but dead level highway travel?

Thanks in advance. We are of course planning to go and test drive one, but we are having trouble finding an area dealer with a manual transmission to drive. Area dealers list over a 100 H3s in stock, but all autos?!?!?