An H3 will kick pretty much any xterras ass unless it is HEAVILY modified. By that I mean a solid axle.

An adventure series H3 is what I would buy. Cloth seats a 4 to 1 transfer case 33 inch tires and an eaton locker. A longer warranty and better fit and finish. Sticker price of 32,945 and i could probably squeek out a grand of discount.

If you took a stock X added a locker, larger tires, a lower T-case gear and a lift to match the ground clearance you are at or over the same price. But you still won't have the approach and departure angles or the traction control.

Believe it or not traction control works excellent off-road.

I can say these things because i drive the trucks every day on and off road and am very familiar with the capabilites of both the X and the H3.

An '05 X with (stock) locker and a 4.5" lift can hang with an H3 no problem. Add an lsd up front just for for good measure.

The H3 also has a longer wheelbase and significantly wider axles. It may not be an issue where you're at, but I assure you it's a big issue in CO.

But regardless, Dennis (the one talkin' sh!t) owns an H2. That thing can't fit down half of the trails down here.

The H3 is a nice rig. I just had to retort to the troll who comes around our forum and talks smack about Nissan.

The '05 Xterras have a worse breakover angle causing them to high center on obstacles that pre '05s crawl over. I've wheeled with a bunch of '05s this summer and they are constantly needing a strap or using their lockers. In my opinion, if one adds a locker to their rig that should mean they just increased their capability and are ready to tackle more challenging obstacles. It shouldn't mean that they can now do the SAME obstacles that pre '05 Xterras do without a locker.

I would give anything for the larger engine but for offroad prowess I'll stick with my '02.

A base model H3 costs 29,900 with a manual trans. If it were up to me i would take an 05 X over the H3 because of the bigger motor on the X. If it were an old body style X I would take the H3 because of the power it has 220 opposed to 170in the X

Sigh...another moron who uses the "Problems and Annoyances" thread to determine if a vehicle is reliable. :rolleyes:

I looked at the H3 seriously before I bought my 2005 Xterra OR. It is setup real well for offroad use.

What kept me from buying the H3 is that the windows are so small that your ability to see out is very limited in offroad situations. You would need a spotter most of the time to tackle obstacles I normally run through by myself.

I finally saw an H3 in person today. Rode next to it for a little while, on city streets (nice and slow) so I could get a good look. I can say, now, that it does look pretty good, in person. It's only about the size of the 05 Xterra; looked like a decent rig.

Also, the inline-5 appeared to have enough power to get it up and moving. Nothing fast, but about the same as what the first gen X's can do. Not too bad, in all honesty.

It still a GM product... need I say more.

It's been a long time but...I used to own an 01 X, but regretfully totalled it in Dec of 03.

I work as a contractor for GM and had the chance to drive one for about 3 days, and I have some valuable input.

Being a hard-core lover of the X I compared the two at length and seriously considered the H3, until I drove it.

The H3 has the inline 5 with 220 hp and a GVWR of 5850 lbs!(Compared to the X's 265hp and 5400 lbs GVWR). I can agree that that the inline has an awesome torque curve, but the inline 5 is lacking some of the get up and go (Sorta like the 99 X). The power will get you there and will move the veh, it just lacks some umph...

The biggest thing that bugged me about the H3 was it's lack of vehicle awareness. It was bigger than it thought it was. You cannot judge the front and rear of the veh, it's narrow windows, though a design element, limit your visibilty a lot.

All and all the H3 is a good looking vehicle that is more than capable, they just need to work on a few things...

* Skip the Supercharged for 07, and put in the inline 6 from the trailblazer (275 hp 25+ mpg)

* Larger windows to allow more visibility around the veh

I recommend that everyone drive the H3 prior to passing judgement on it. Truthfully unless you have driven it, you are working off of specualtion and what the rags say, and how often have you enjoyed a movie that Ebert and Roeper hated?

I don't think you will find many XTerra owners interested in an overly pimped suburban. The X is very functional, which is why I chose it over everything else back in late '99.

I should add, to the above reply, that functional to me means carrying 4 adults plus food plus gear plus water on logging roads or jeep trails, with reliability and with range. Having an extra 1,000 lbs or so of body, furniture and accessories kind of cuts into that range part, and I don't need the extras anyway. Obviously if I was looking at pure rock-crawling I might think differently, but then again I'd probably think CJ or vintage Bronco.

If I had the choice for a free '05 Xterra Off-Road or a H3, I would hands down take the Xterra.

larger engine, more horsepower, more room (hip and shoulder), more cargo space.

If I won one...
Take the Hummer Hx.
Sell the Hummer Hx.
Buy a new X.
Have enough money left over for many thousands of miles worth of gas (depending on the H model & how loaded it was), and dinner out with the Lovely Mrs Wizard.

Or, y'now, pay the &%&$#^$#@&&(&%# income taxes on the prize, cuz you CAN'T forget the IRS...

I wouldnt mind driving a Humvee, but I'll pass on the civilianized version. And I just plain love the X!

What about a '66 IH Scout 800 w/ 5.88 gears and lockers?

How rusty is it? :p

There's NONE AN AMERICAN CLASSIC

Are there any mechanical differences between the H3 and Colorado/Canyon?

For me it was down to the H3 and the X. I chose the X for the following reasons;

1. Cheaper
2. More Rear Passenger Room
3. Less Weight
4. Much More Power
5. I can sleep in the back of the X but not the H3

What I liked more about the H3:

1. Looks!!!

That's it. The H3 looks better (IMHO) but the X beats or equals it in every other way. I have not driven the H3 off-road, but from what I've read, I don't think it's any better than the X.

I am very glad I chose the X. Now if I can just get the Shrockworks bumper, to complement my Sliders. Then, I'll have the H3 beat in the ruggedness category as well.

for the price of an H3 , you could totaly deck out an X with twice the power and capablity . The H3 has an five cylinder that sucks ass as it labors up the smallest of inclines . It does have some torqe. But why pay out the ass for unrealibity . I have taken my X to places that could never be seen by an Hummer Owner

There are a lot of mechanical differences between the Colorado/Canyon and the H3. Foe the most part the similarities end at the engine and the G80 Locker (I think the Hummer has it).

The H3 does have the lowest crawl ratio standard off the lot of any veh out there. But why put a wicked crawl ration on a veh you can barely stick your head out of the side window?, It's not like you're crawling in the thing.

As far as I am concerned the X has no compition. The Liberty? The Escape?(HA!)... The closest thing to it's comipition is the Wrangler. But there you are sacrificing size and gas milage.

I love my X and am very glad to be back in one. Plain and simple it's advertising in 99 hit the mark "Everything you need, nothing you don't"

"San Diemas High Scool Football Rules"

I was just wondering, but I thought the H3 was based off the Colorado/Canyon platform. They do share the same frame don't they?

It seems to me they created the H3 for the "me too" crowd. I mean buying an H3 tells me you bought it for the name/so-called prestige. Everyone knows you can buy an overall better vehicle for about the same amount of money(X, 4Runner, Tahoe etc).

Two reasons the H3 got that crappy inline-5, for 1 if it had any more power it would creep too far up the food chain and take sales away from the H2 line. 2, and most importantly, people who are buying the H3 aint buying it for the inline-5, in fact they probably could'nt give a rat's ass whats under the hood. it's the name/so-called prestige I mentioned above.

As far as looks, I prefer the H3 over the new X, now I don't prefer it over the old X, you know the good one? :p

The H3 and the Colorado/Canyon are all built on the T platform... sorry about that..

Alright guys,

I did quite a bit of research on the H3 before deciding to go with the X instead. The H3 is a great off-road vehicle (powerful 4x4 w/ plenty of tourque, awesome crawl ratio, great clearance, etc). There are also a lot of downsides to it (small interior even though its heavier than the x, anemic on the freeway, too pricey compared to the competition, etc).

There is no need to put down the H3 in order to make the X look better. The X is already the better vehicle on its own merit. So lets respect the H3 for what it can do even though we wouldn't want to buy one because of what it can't do.

More info:
http://www.hummer3.net
http://www.autobuyguide.com/2006/12-aut/hummer/h3/reviews/
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=8692&page_number=1
http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/hummer_h3...tart=1&show=otl

Agreed, no need to bash the H3 to make the X look better.

I test drove the H3 several times before I bought my X. For me, the H3 was, hands down, the sweeter looking. There was just something about it that spoke to me. If I hadn't listened to my reasonable side, I would have bought one. Here's my first hand opinion.

Most of my driving would be on the street and on the street this car is gut-less. At a green light, I could floor it or ease on the gass, and you wouldn't be able to tell which I did because the H3 would act the same. It will go at it's own speed and doesn't care what you want it to do.

At speed, say 35 to 45, and you floor it... break out a good book and knock out a couple of chapters before you see much increase in speed.

Now, I understand the H3 is not a sports car and I'm not looking for it to be, BUT... if you live in a city there's hardly a day that goes by when you don't need to merge with fast moving traffic and other manuvers that require reasonable acceleration.
If you are behind a slow moving big rig on a two lane road, and you want to pass around it; you better make sure you have a lot of time before the car in the oncoming lane gets to you.

Visibility in the back is not just poor, it doesn't exist. This isn't just a matter of opinion, it's flat out dangerous. I spent some time on the Hummer owners forum (really nice people, by the way) and most if not all were installing rear mounted cameras.

If you think you're hurting at the gas pump, watch the pained expression when an H3 owner drives up. These guys end up dumping their girlfriends because they can't afford the girl and the H3, which to me, may be the best thing about the H3.
When you think about going camping down that rugged trail, get used to seeing X owners passing your camp site as they delve deep in to the forest.

The H3 is wide. I'm talking Oprah Winfreys ass kind of wide. Expect a high ding factor. Other people parking their cars will be tempted to throw open their doors. Part of my test drives included parking. I got better with each time, but I could see a high pucker factor on the salesmens face.

I know all of this sounds sharp and harsh, but I don't hate the H3. Really. I would have loved to have bought one, but I saw how flawed it was. It was depressing when I finally crossed it off my list of potential new SUV's to buy.