2006 Hummer H3 in Corona

The trail to the Woodpecker Mine is a narrow ravine in the desert, one of the most challenging off-road tests in Arizona. It's hot, remote, and difficult-a place where you need more than brand image to get you through.

Fortunately, the Hummer H3 is not Arnold Lite, a girly-man in disguise. It may have started life as a humble Chevy Colorado pickup, but the H3 has been honed into a true Hummer.

It sure looks great. The sheetmetal repeats all the Hummer idioms without venturing into cartoon animation. There's no disguising the interior's pickup-style architecture, yet it looks surprisingly upscale with either standard cloth or optional leather seats.

But it's the H3's off-roading prowess that really gives it the right to wear the Hummer badge. The coil-spring, independent front suspension and leaf-spring, solid rear axle look simple, but they deliver amazing articulation with either the standard 32-inch Goodyear tires or the optional 33-inch Bridgestones. There are four underbody skid plates, the chassis's minimum breakover angle is 24 degrees, and the turning circle is just 37 feet. There's a two-speed, electrically controlled Borg-Warner transfer case. The center and rear differentials can be locked for off-road driving (which also alters the response of the throttle and brake systems), and even the electronic stability control is set up for the dirt.

We spent a full day crawling through dry streambeds between low hills covered in twisted saguaro cactus, clambering up steep ledges, and rolling slowly across boulder fields. It was hard going, and only something as compact, agile, and capable as the H3-or a Jeep Wrangler-could have measured up.... Read full article