CarBrandLogos archive · Hummer · 2005

HummerHummer H3

The small one: a mid-size Chevrolet pickup in costume, and the only one you could park.

Photo: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Hummer history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Hummer H3, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

By 2005 the brand needed something that ordinary buyers could afford and fit on a driveway. The H3 was built on the GMT345 platform shared with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups, assembled at Shreveport in Louisiana and also in South Africa and Kaliningrad, and powered initially by a 3.5-litre five-cylinder that was widely judged inadequate for the weight.

Hummer H3T NY · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

A 3.7-litre version of the same five followed, and from 2008 a 5.3-litre V8 gave the car the performance its appearance implied. Off-road it was better than the packaging suggested: short overhangs, a proper low range and, with the Adventure or Alpha packages, locking differentials and aggressive tyres made it genuinely useful in rough terrain. An H3T pickup joined near the end.

In production

It was also the model that exposed the brand's problem. Buyers who wanted the look could get it cheaply; buyers who wanted a Humvee felt short-changed; and the fuel consumption was still poor for a mid-size vehicle. Production ended in May 2010 when GM closed Hummer after failing to sell it, and the name lay dormant until the GMC Hummer EV.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

3.5&nbsp

Body

4-door SUV

Technical specification

The Hummer H3, in detail.

Production: April 2005 – May 24, 2010
Class: Mid-size SUV; mid-size pickup truck (H3T)
Body style: 4-door SUV (GMT345); 4-door pickup truck (GMT745)
Layout: Front engine, four-wheel drive
Engine: 3.5 L (211 CID) GM Atlas engine#L52; L52 Straight-5; I5 (2006 only) ; 3.7 L (223 CID) GM Atlas engine#LLR; LLR I5 ; 5.3 L (325 CID) LS based GM small-block engine#LH8; LH8 V8 engine; V8
Transmission: 5-speed Aisin AR5 manual; 4-speed 4L60-E automatic
Assembly: United States: Shreveport, Louisiana; South Africa: Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape; Port Elizabeth (General Motors South Africa; GMSA); Russia: Kaliningrad (Avtotor)
Manufacturer: General Motors