2006 Hummer H3 Road Test

The best designed gauges and controls are the ones you never notice, yet use all the time. On this score, the 2006 Hummer H3 does a great job, its horizontal layout making things easy to see and use. It’s also cool, too, with graphics that add flair to the visual experience. There’s not much new about this layout, of course, seeing as it’s largely what you get in the Chevrolet Colorado, and while the H3 adds upscale touches, one must ask: for $30K, I get the Colorado? Well, yeah, kinda, and that’s okay because it works, especially if you’re able to spend some more and add the optional leather. With the chrome highlights balanced against the brushed metal and plastic set pieces, and the iconic Hummer touches, it comes across as an upscale Colorado. The bottom line is this: the layout of the cabin is logically designed for day-to-day living, and it works well, with the exception of a steering wheel that doesn’t telescope and a base driver’s seat that’s missing a height adjustor. Except for that, the three-knob environmental control settings below the radio are easy to reach, and the automatic transmission shifter is a big, beefy unit that feels good in hand. The chrome that surrounds the shifter is nice, as well, though the chrome strip above the radio controls is silly: all it does is reflect glare.