2005 Truck Trend 4x4 Challenge includes H3

[Dogger]

I pulled this off a Jeep site I frequent.
H3 seems to have stellar off road performance.

I am a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner but as soon as things fall into place I will be an H3 owner.


The second annual Truck Trend 4x4 Challenge came down in the September/October 2005 Issue, which just came in the mail for me a couple days ago.

The contenders:
Land Rover LR3
Dodge Ram Power Wagon
Hummer H3
Toyota Land Cruiser
VW Touareg
Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Spot: Truck Trend was headed to the California desert to test the toughest off-roaders on the market today.

On the drive there, the Power Wagon had a wide torque band, the Toyota had Novocain-laced steering, the H3 was a claustrophobic's nightmare, the LR3 plugged along, and the WK blew by the group in full song, poised in the corners, had oodles of power, and "sported the best interior ever placed in a Jeep product."

On the Rock Garden, the 50-yard stretch laiden with boulders, stones, and rocks all wearing metallic paint as medals of honor, the TT Crew started testing the rock-crawling abilities. The H3 is "an incredible rock-crawler, literally idling over any obstacle in its way..." The Toyota managed fine with no grip issues, despite the street-style shoes. The Jeep had plenty of torque, but the street tires had difficulty gripping on the weather-beaten rocks. The Power Wagon made the Garden look like stepping stones, obliterating everything in its path. The Touareg had the suspension maxed, which made for a jouncy ride. It also lacked the aggressive tread. The LR3 did well in Terrain Response: Rock Crawl mode, with the 4x4 LCD helping along. The Jeep had the smallest wheels of the bunch, but the QDII provided more traction than tires this size deserve.

Over the ledge, the hill descent got started by the Touareg, with 4Low and Hill Descent engaged, pulsing the ABS "like a drummer in a speed-metal band." the LR3 slowly descended at a cool 4 MPH. The H3 made it look easy at 3 MPH. The Toyota's ABS kept it slow with minimal skidding. The Dodge did not have a fun time, slipping and sliding like a kid at a playground.

TT blasted across the highway, destined for the Salton Sea. The trail did bite back, here. In the canyon, the Jeep tried ascending the face, but wound up sliding sideways toward a ravine. the driver backed the Jeep to the base and the Power Wagon winched it out. The H3 was the first to navigate the canyon, finessed the trail with ultralow gears and small size. The Power Wagon narrowly pulled through, the Touareg groaned the whole way, the LR3, when in grass/gravel/snow mode, managed with minimal slip. The Jeep and Toyota were pros, with the Jeep's invisible lockers tossing traction when needed.

Next off to Ocotillo Wells, to Devil's Slide, to test approach, departure, ground clearance, and traction. The Jeep amazed with the Goodyear Wrangler grip, but could've used extra ground clearance, skidding on every plate it had. The Toyo choked on the rocks, the H3 and Power Wagon stole the show, the LR3 almost did as well, and the Touareg ripped off a plastic undertray with the suspension fully extended. In the sand, the Grand Cherokee and Touareg got stuck, both looking for the tow strap. victims of inefficient tread and big torque. the LR3 was unstoppable, and the rest managed fine. The next hill climb, a 64 degree incline, was a 150 foot test. The PWagon blasted through, LR3 made an impressive climb, the Touareg needed more aggressive tires than its Conti 4x4 Contacts, finishing at 140.5 feet. The Land Cruiser only made it 131 feet. Unfortunately, the Jeep learned that a 3.73:1 axle, 2.72:1 low, and axle hop lead to blown CV joints. Result: DNF.

To summarize, this is how they finished:
6th Place: Toyota Land Cruiser: With a $60,000 tag, Toyota's sure to make a nice profit. But, they should have equipped grippier tires and a higher trailer hitch.
5th Place: Jeep Grand Cherokee: This finish by no means shows this isn't a tremendous vehicle. But, they would've liked a Rubicon edition with more clearance and larger tires. The test was a little too hard core, but would have managed beautifully in medium off-road conditions.
4th Place: VW Touareg: Very capable, and had enough high-powered computer controls to edge out the Jeep.
3rd Place: Power Wagon: Just barely lost 2nd, but the $43,262 price made them pause. Also, the lockers took their time.
2nd Place: H3: A real humdinger. Missed the mark by a hair, but needs more power. the I5 just felt weak. Give it a turbodiesel or V8 and it dominates.
1st Place: LR3: Yayyyy! For $53,245, you better get a good off-roader. The Terrain Response did its thing, managed fine at triple-digit speeds, and crawled. It came, it saw, it conquered - in comfort.

[Dogger]

I pulled this off a Jeep site I frequent.
H3 seems to have stellar off road performance.

I am a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner but as soon as things fall into place I will be an H3 owner.


The second annual Truck Trend 4x4 Challenge came down in the September/October 2005 Issue, which just came in the mail for me a couple days ago.

The contenders:
Land Rover LR3
Dodge Ram Power Wagon
Hummer H3
Toyota Land Cruiser
VW Touareg
Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Spot: Truck Trend was headed to the California desert to test the toughest off-roaders on the market today.

On the drive there, the Power Wagon had a wide torque band, the Toyota had Novocain-laced steering, the H3 was a claustrophobic's nightmare, the LR3 plugged along, and the WK blew by the group in full song, poised in the corners, had oodles of power, and "sported the best interior ever placed in a Jeep product."

On the Rock Garden, the 50-yard stretch laiden with boulders, stones, and rocks all wearing metallic paint as medals of honor, the TT Crew started testing the rock-crawling abilities. The H3 is "an incredible rock-crawler, literally idling over any obstacle in its way..." The Toyota managed fine with no grip issues, despite the street-style shoes. The Jeep had plenty of torque, but the street tires had difficulty gripping on the weather-beaten rocks. The Power Wagon made the Garden look like stepping stones, obliterating everything in its path. The Touareg had the suspension maxed, which made for a jouncy ride. It also lacked the aggressive tread. The LR3 did well in Terrain Response: Rock Crawl mode, with the 4x4 LCD helping along. The Jeep had the smallest wheels of the bunch, but the QDII provided more traction than tires this size deserve.

Over the ledge, the hill descent got started by the Touareg, with 4Low and Hill Descent engaged, pulsing the ABS "like a drummer in a speed-metal band." the LR3 slowly descended at a cool 4 MPH. The H3 made it look easy at 3 MPH. The Toyota's ABS kept it slow with minimal skidding. The Dodge did not have a fun time, slipping and sliding like a kid at a playground.

TT blasted across the highway, destined for the Salton Sea. The trail did bite back, here. In the canyon, the Jeep tried ascending the face, but wound up sliding sideways toward a ravine. the driver backed the Jeep to the base and the Power Wagon winched it out. The H3 was the first to navigate the canyon, finessed the trail with ultralow gears and small size. The Power Wagon narrowly pulled through, the Touareg groaned the whole way, the LR3, when in grass/gravel/snow mode, managed with minimal slip. The Jeep and Toyota were pros, with the Jeep's invisible lockers tossing traction when needed.

Next off to Ocotillo Wells, to Devil's Slide, to test approach, departure, ground clearance, and traction. The Jeep amazed with the Goodyear Wrangler grip, but could've used extra ground clearance, skidding on every plate it had. The Toyo choked on the rocks, the H3 and Power Wagon stole the show, the LR3 almost did as well, and the Touareg ripped off a plastic undertray with the suspension fully extended. In the sand, the Grand Cherokee and Touareg got stuck, both looking for the tow strap. victims of inefficient tread and big torque. the LR3 was unstoppable, and the rest managed fine. The next hill climb, a 64 degree incline, was a 150 foot test. The PWagon blasted through, LR3 made an impressive climb, the Touareg needed more aggressive tires than its Conti 4x4 Contacts, finishing at 140.5 feet. The Land Cruiser only made it 131 feet. Unfortunately, the Jeep learned that a 3.73:1 axle, 2.72:1 low, and axle hop lead to blown CV joints. Result: DNF.

To summarize, this is how they finished:
6th Place: Toyota Land Cruiser: With a $60,000 tag, Toyota's sure to make a nice profit. But, they should have equipped grippier tires and a higher trailer hitch.
5th Place: Jeep Grand Cherokee: This finish by no means shows this isn't a tremendous vehicle. But, they would've liked a Rubicon edition with more clearance and larger tires. The test was a little too hard core, but would have managed beautifully in medium off-road conditions.
4th Place: VW Touareg: Very capable, and had enough high-powered computer controls to edge out the Jeep.
3rd Place: Power Wagon: Just barely lost 2nd, but the $43,262 price made them pause. Also, the lockers took their time.
2nd Place: H3: A real humdinger. Missed the mark by a hair, but needs more power. the I5 just felt weak. Give it a turbodiesel or V8 and it dominates.
1st Place: LR3: Yayyyy! For $53,245, you better get a good off-roader. The Terrain Response did its thing, managed fine at triple-digit speeds, and crawled. It came, it saw, it conquered - in comfort.

[H3Lady]

Nice write up.

I am almost postive the next major move for the H3 by GM will be more horsepower...

I think I overheard in the 270 range....

[Marc H3]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H3Lady:
Nice write up.

I am almost postive the next major move for the H3 by GM will be more horsepower...

I think I overheard in the 270 range.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE><span class="ev_code_blue">HI H3Lady,

The increase for next year 07 MY is 25 more HP.

What the dealer in WNY area told me was that their largest volume of new customers that are buying H3's were previous Jeep owners! </span>

[VTSTOMPER]

Pretty good I'd say. I would say a bit more power will be on the list...maybe GM will offer a SC on the 5.

[timgco]

Anyone that liked that article needs to go buy it so they can see the H3 launching over the sand dune. At the end it takes 2nd to the LR3 Land Rover.

[Marc H3]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by VTSTOMPER:
Pretty good I'd say. I would say a bit more power will be on the list...maybe GM will offer a SC on the 5. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><span class="ev_code_blue">What GM Powertrain is doing is adding approx. 25 more HP for 07. Increasing the 06 3.5L displacment. I will try to get the exact numbers later today from the 07 MY Engineering Launch Team.</span>

[VTSTOMPER]

Marc,

What is the 411 with the alpha - in the H2 and H3 line! know anything?

[FormerJeeper]

Some interesting observations:

The LR3 and the Grand Cherokee were the other two vehicles I was considering.

The LR3 costs $50K and needs premium gas!

I am a former Jeep owner for the past 8 years!

A Magnusson Super Charger next year makes the H3 compete better.

-C

[FormerJeeper]

Is that Jeeps Unlimited and if so can you post a link to the thread?

Thnx

-C

[Dogger]

Yes Jeeps Unlimited Link it is. It's from the WK forum.

[FormerJeeper]

It's good to see that the idiot quotient is still high on JU

-C