The military looking Hummer comes standard with 4 wheel drive.Once on the road, the Hummer feels large and ponderous. Its 195 horsepower work to get the rig up to speed, with glacial throttle response. Passing maneuvers are feasible but they must be strategized. Momentum management is the key, whether accelerating or decelerating. Driving in the slow lane and leaving a generous amount of space between vehicles are natural cautions and prove to be little inconvenience. The auditory assault from the engine, 37-inch tires, and to a lesser degree, wind noise acts as a rudimentary speed governor. Fortunately, the powerful Monsoon stereo can drown out the noise with large speakers aimed right at the passengers' heads.For both performance and sound output, we wish the 6.6-liter/300-horsepower Duramax turbodiesel offered in the Chevrolet heavy-duty pickups were available. For now, AM Generalis very committed to the older 6.5-liter due largely to the military necessity of minimizing the number of parts and service protocols, especially for forward deployments.
Although incredibly capable on rough terrain, a Hummer H1 is not something you'd want to use as daily transportation on blacktop. The massive dimensions make maneuvering in city traffic -- not to mention parking -- a nightmare. Performance is sluggish -- the H1's 0-60-mph performance, at over 16 seconds, is nearly twice as slow as some economy cars and only marginally quicker than the Columbia Glacier. Lastly, the cabin is about as luxurious as a postal truck's, and with the tucked-up driveline components taking up valuable passenger space, the seats are comically small.
The final year of the Hummer H1 was 2005, though it actually continued one more year as theH1 Alpha. This model boasted a number of changes under the skin that made the beast the best it had ever been. But by this time, the Hummer's price tag was upwards of $100,000, diesel cost more than $3 a gallon and most people were no longer interested in posing as hard-core military personnel on a covert operation to the shopping mall.
Most Recent Hummer H1
Although most Hummers (pre-H1 and H1 alike) are visually identical, the 1996-2005 versions are most similar beneath the macho bodywork. For '96, a 6.5-liter diesel V8 replaced the former 6.2-liter engine and offered 170 horsepower to the 6.2's 150. But more importantly, a turbocharged version of the 6.5-liter was available too, which furnished 195 hp and 430 pound-feet of torque. A 5.7-liter gas V8 was also available for 1996 and '97, but it wasn't a match for the heavy Hummer. Active safety was greatly increased for 1999 via the adoption of antilock brakes and traction control.
The new millennium saw the debut of the slantback model and the option of a CD changer, while 2001 brought a revamped gauge cluster, rear armrests and optional 17-inch alloy wheels. A 10th-anniversary package, complete with badges, marked 2002, as did a new steering wheel and more legroom for front passengers. An electronically locking rear differential became available for 2003, as did a 12-CD changer. The 6.5 turbodiesel picked up 10 hp and 10 lb-ft for 2004. The last Hummer H1 rolled out in 2005, replaced the following year by the more powerful H1 Alpha, which itself lasted just the single year.
Past Hummer H1 Models
Produced from 1992-'95, nearly all the earlier Hummers were powered by a standard 6.2-liter diesel engine (a 5.7-liter gas engine powered some '95s) and had minimal changes during its first four model years. These were even more lackluster performers than the later versions, as they didn't benefit from the option of turbodiesel power or a 4th gear for the automatic transmission.