So, sell me on the H3....

[H3Shopper]

Maybe not a great header, but I would like to hear some thoughts on what I consider to be minor drawbacks with the H3.

It is time to retire my 1999 Grand Cherokee, and I'm looking for a luxury ride that is capable of towing my boat to the mountains, and able to reach those remote camping spots I've grown accustomed to with the GC. I don't really like the interior of the new GC's so the H3 is an obvious candidate.

But, after my test drive, I'm a bit hesitant to pull the trigger....

I won't say the H3 is underpowered -- it is slow of the line but once it gets up to speed it performs fine. However, such a small engine should get better gas mileage. This engine is less powerful than my GC, AND it gets worse mileage?? Granted, the H3 weighs about 500 pounds more, but this doesn't sound like good tradeoff.

The cargo area is disappoiniing, but acceptable for my needs.

The driver's door controls are in exactly the wrong spot. Hard to reach with your fingers, and uncomfortable when you try to rest your elbow.

It doesn't have dual climate control? Or even single climate control? WTF, this thing costs $35,000. Its been so long since I've seen manual AC controls, I'm not even sure I know how they work!

Okay, obviously some of these complaints are nit-picky, but I hate to "settle" for a vehicle that is less than it should be, just because I can't find anything better. The Grand Cherokee was perfect, before they reconfigured it to please the soccer moms, and now I'm really stuck.

Perhaps I should wait until the H3 gets some upgrades in 2007 or 08? Problem is, the current ride probably won't last that long....