Off-Road: 2009 HUMMER H3T vs. The Competition

Today we were invited to be part of HUMMER’s 10 city ride-and-drive tour in which the H3T and some of its non-GM competition.

Since the HUMMER H3T is in between a mid-size pickup and full-size pickup, it was paired against the mid-size Toyota Tacoma and full-size Ford F-150. To make it a little more fair, HUMMER provided a Tacoma equipped with the TRD Off-Road package which includes special shocks, a locking rear differential, and some exciting stickers. The F-150 was equipped with the FX4 package, which was similar in options to the Tacoma less the locking diff. Check out the full breakdown with pictures after the jump.

First up was the Toyota Tacoma TRD. Climbing in I first noticed the difference in interiors. Out of the three brands represented, it was the least-expensive and least-sturdy feeling (that’s supposed to sound better than cheap and flimsy…did it work?). Even though the Tacoma only had a few thousand miles on it, the radio’s volume knob was already inoperable — so I only had the option of listening to my tunes at ear bleeding levels or not at all. But back to the off-roading. The Tacoma’s steering seemed very loose to me – I felt like any ditch or rock I hit the steering wheel was spinning out of control. When trying to ease into the obstacles, Tacoma’s springy suspension sent all the occupants into involuntary bobble-head imitation mode.

The F-150 was a much smoother ride than the Tacoma, and just as smooth as the H3. Its long, full-size wheelbase no doubt helped that ride, but its full-size height found tree lines throughout the course that we hadn’t noticed in the Tacoma and the H3T. The suspension in the F-150 handled the ditches pretty well, but the brake/throttle controls at low speeds were a bit difficult to finesse.

The HUMMER H3T performed extremely similar to the H3 off-road which we’ve experienced many hours behind the wheel, and frankly consider the benchmark for off-road agility. The H3T has a new feature for any HUMMER, though, called Hill Start Assist. When sitting on an incline, pushing the brake all the way down engages the system which allows you to lift off the brake for several seconds while the vehicle maintains its position without rolling backwards. Cool system.

At the end of the day, the H3T pickup proved itself to be the most capable stock pickup truck in its class. Being an off-road truck first, and a luxury truck second – the H3 also takes the cake for premium features like higher quality materials, a better warranty, and the ability to park outside of your garage in Frisco, TX all come standard.

For another opinion outside the HUMMER world – our friend Andrew Ganz from Leftlane also reviewed the same event. Enjoy.