We need a bigger vehicle, Anyone have a Hummer H2?

[Lyn]

Just curious if anyone has an H2 or know of someone that does?

My hubby wants the H2. We are looking at either a 2003 or 2004. He's likes how they 'look' plus they have the room we need. I know the gas mileage isn't great (10 mpg in the city on average) but most large suv's and trucks are gas eaters. I'm just curious about how reliable they are. We wouldn't be offroading with it, but definitely towing.

I tried to talk him into looking at other suv's or even the H3 but he's reallllly picky. LOL

[2Criminals]

I know someone with the H3 and she loves it. Says the gas mileage isn't really that bad either. I don't know if there are big size differences between the 2&3 or price.

[marypyrs]

Your Hubby might like to check out the Off Lease/Certified Used Hummers. (Maybe he already has. Just a thought.)

http://www/lotpro.com/cars/all/hummer/

[Nicole]

What are you guys towing? I mean, how heavy? Also, look at the reviews on Edmunds. I was just reading about them and many people said that it actually lacks the interior space that you would expect. One guy said that although he loves his H2, he had more space in his mini-van.

I have to give the spout-off here (its my job, I work for a Conservation district) and say that you could get the space, tow-power, etc. in a less...um...os tentacious vehicle.

We've got a boat (4500 pounds), 2 dogs (not as big as yours, but they're almost 200 pounds between them), and a 14 year old girl and have found our 1999 Toyota 4-Runner to be fairly fuel efficient, spacious, safe and reliable. Not to mention, it only cost us about $15,000. We've been really satisfied with it. The luggage rack on the top allows us to put the dogs in the back cargo area, the kid in the back seat and all of our gear on top in a carrier.

I know that a lot of the H2 "appeal" is how it looks, but just had to get my experience and 2.5 cents out there.

[Nicole]

What about:

The boxy scion, I have read that they are totally roomy inside, low to the ground so easy for big dogs to get into and they have good gas mileage.

Or

A subaru wagon or suv (that is a company that has made an effort to be earth friendly) they also get great gas mileage and subaru's are known to last a life time.

Or

An FJ Cruiser (?) Those look like they have good space and I'm guessing get's better gas mileage than a hummer (most anything does).

Or

The Honda Element?! Sounds like a great pet friendly car!

Or

The new extended cab Jeep Wranglers. I don't know much about them but I love the look of them and they look super roomy!


I will admit I am totally anti hummer (i have always called it the bummer. sorry!)

Good luck!

Julie

None of those actually have much towing capacity, Julie. That's the problem. If they did, we'd have something much smaller.

[Nicole]

Oh, and I forgot to add. Melissa, we're towing a 22' Mariah open-bow. Its a fun little boat!

[chaosndestruction]

I'd definitely look into something in the Nissan or Toyota lines...they are great with gas:)

haha i'm a toyota fan now but I don't like the way the FJ cruiser looks at all...to meet it looks like a hummer and a jeep had a baby...>.<

[bigdogs@5501]

My chevy Silverado Z71 has more room than an H2, not sure about the H2. We get 13 mpg, but we tow trailers etc. Where I live a truck is pretty much a necessity especially with 4 WD. I drive a Mazda truck for going to work etc. My daughter has an Element, great dog car, no towing capacity. Basically you are going to give up gas mileage for really good towing capacity and space. I will be shopping for my next car in about 2 years. The FJ is definetly on the list along with the new CRV. But I will still have the big truck for towing.

[Nicole]

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/05/19/007491.html
the FJ Cruiser can tow up to 5000lbs


http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/102426/article.html
the Subaru Outback can tow up to 3000lbs


http://www.consumerreports.org/media/content/Categories/CarsTrucks/Autos/honda/element/overview/suvex/profile.html
the HOnda Element can tow 1500lbs


http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/16360.shtml
the jeep wrangler gets 14 city mpg and 18 highway mpg
it can tow 3500lbs

Here's a thread about getting a scion in Canada (25$k Canadian)
but it can't tow so it's out of the question

Ok, ok. Sorry to get ya riled up, Julie. Here's the thing about towing a boat. The engine has to be powerful enough to get it out of the water on an inclined boat ramp... That's soaking wet. Its not just about the heft of the vehicle, but the horsepower of the engine. The Element is SUPER wimpy. It only has about 165hp, which wouldn't even MOVE my boat out of the ramp. I can't remember the deal with towing and getting stuff out of the water but its about horsepower and torque and where you get the horsepower, or something. The ratings as far as max towing capacity don't entirely explain what it can do. For example, the Element might tow a 1500 pound pop-up trailer down the highway, but couldn't even budge a 1000 pound boat out of a ramp. See?

My boat weighs about 4500 pounds (that's without the trailer) so none of those would work for us...well, the FJ would, but that's not too much different than our 4-Runner.

Believe me, I WISH that I could tow the boat with the Outback. We looked. But, it actually doesn't get much better mileage than our 4-Runner, either. Our 4-Runner gets 17/20 and the Outback you posted (2005, I think?) gets 18/25. So, its comperable.

*modified to add* We keep our Subaru Legacy around for our "daily" driving. She gets about 25 mpg at this point.

[Lyn]

No problem with the highjack.

No we are not towing a boat, large trailers mainly. I'm not sure of the weights involved though. He's always liked the H2's and I was never a big fan of them until we took one for a test drive. Compared to our Sonoma stepside it has tons of room. And Yep we are looking at a used one. The 2007's are upwards of $70,000-$80,000.

We looked at other suvs. Hubby does not like any of them including the H3.  Like I said before he's VERY picky. All I really wanted to know was if the H2 was reliable because he's pretty much already made up his mind. We are just waiting to see what they are going to give us for a trade in. If it's too low we are not buying anything since we still have a lease on the Sonoma.

[Lyn]

I know someone with the H3 and she loves it. Says the gas mileage isn't really that bad either. I don't know if there are big size differences between the 2&3 or price.

H3's are smaller. They have a V6, H2's have a V8. The H3's are quite a bit cheaper which is why I was trying to talk him into those. We can get a new H3 for the same price as a used H2. Gas mileage isn't much better though.