What is it?
2008 Hummer H3 Alpha
What's special about it?
We're not sure exactly who at General Motors thought an inline five-cylinder engine was a good choice for the small-only-by-Hummer-standards H3. But we're pretty sure if he entered the Iditarod dog sled race, you'd see him trailside, whipping the snot out of a small team of Lhasa Apsos.
Finally, Hummer has done the sensible thing and dropped a V8 into the 2008 Hummer H3. It will be called the H3 Alpha and it goes on sale this summer.
The lump in question is a 5.3-liter, small-block V8 making 295 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. The H3 Alpha, which comes with a four-speed automatic transmission and a short 4.10 rear axle ratio, should get to 60 mph from a standstill in about 8 seconds. That's a 3 full seconds quicker than a standard H3. It's hard to imagine fuel economy for the Alpha could be much worse than that of the base H3, which went a scant 13.3 miles per gallon during its stay with us. For now, Hummer says it doesn't have any fuel economy estimates for the new model.
All Alphas come standard with a higher level of standard luxury features and have many bits of chrome trim and wheels along with "Alpha" badging.
Head curtain side airbags, which were previously optional, are now standard, as are traction and stability control. Like the 2008 Hummer H2, all H3s will have silver-painted lower front bumpers. Hummer has not set a price yet, but considering a well-equipped standard H3 is up in the mid-$30,000 range, we'd say the Alpha will easily top $40,000.
What's Edmunds' take?
Late is better than never. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
2008 Hummer H3 Alpha
What's special about it?
We're not sure exactly who at General Motors thought an inline five-cylinder engine was a good choice for the small-only-by-Hummer-standards H3. But we're pretty sure if he entered the Iditarod dog sled race, you'd see him trailside, whipping the snot out of a small team of Lhasa Apsos.
Finally, Hummer has done the sensible thing and dropped a V8 into the 2008 Hummer H3. It will be called the H3 Alpha and it goes on sale this summer.
The lump in question is a 5.3-liter, small-block V8 making 295 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. The H3 Alpha, which comes with a four-speed automatic transmission and a short 4.10 rear axle ratio, should get to 60 mph from a standstill in about 8 seconds. That's a 3 full seconds quicker than a standard H3. It's hard to imagine fuel economy for the Alpha could be much worse than that of the base H3, which went a scant 13.3 miles per gallon during its stay with us. For now, Hummer says it doesn't have any fuel economy estimates for the new model.
All Alphas come standard with a higher level of standard luxury features and have many bits of chrome trim and wheels along with "Alpha" badging.
Head curtain side airbags, which were previously optional, are now standard, as are traction and stability control. Like the 2008 Hummer H2, all H3s will have silver-painted lower front bumpers. Hummer has not set a price yet, but considering a well-equipped standard H3 is up in the mid-$30,000 range, we'd say the Alpha will easily top $40,000.
What's Edmunds' take?
Late is better than never. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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