Despite the 6.5-litre turbo-diesel V-8 delivering 205 hp at 3400 rpm and 440 lb.-ft. of torque at 1800 rpm, an H1 Tactical Vehicle is not very nimble, thanks mostly to its great weight. Get it up to speed on a highway and it will cruise along okay, but that noisy, cramped and rough-riding thing becomes an even bigger issue.
It's also very wide, so if you're not paying attention you'll be trading paint with parked cars and winging pedestrians.
As soon as it goes off-road, however, a transformation occurs. It's like a hockey goalie in full gear when he steps onto the ice -- the cumbersome waddle disappears as he enters his true medium and becomes agile.
A Hummer H1 Tactical Vehicle will simply roll over things that other SUVs would try to go around, and you're vaguely conscious of it. This is quite an empowering feeling, and you soon start to look for things to crush. It's not a pretty sensation, but then little about the military is beyond the uniforms.
Eventually, of course, you encounter things that must be accommodated with more reason, shall we say, and this is where the H1 Tactical Vehicle goes to another level. Its height, length and wheelbase let it clear almost anything, and the odd body shape allows it to climb grades you would have trouble walking up. It will also power along on an angle (22-degrees) that make you think it's going to roll over, but it doesn't.
But the heart of this toy is the New Venture Gear 242 transfer case that permits setting the drivetrain configuration to match virtually any terrain. You can heck the GM website if you want the full geek explanation of high lock and low lock and all that, but we're here to tell you that the result is magical. Some skill is of course required, but a great deal of the work is
done by the vehicle. You very quickly start going over stuff you'd stop for in a Land Rover or something pussy like that, and that is an enormously cool feeling of the king of the mountain variety.
Sad to say, this does not come cheap. How not cheap is an open question, since a Tactical Vehicle is only sold as a fleet model by GM and that's always negotiable. You could probably figure the list price of a regular H1 and go down a little from there. If you've got the bucks, however, and want to go where no one else can go, it's definitely worth it.
photo:General Motors
It's also very wide, so if you're not paying attention you'll be trading paint with parked cars and winging pedestrians.
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A Hummer H1 Tactical Vehicle will simply roll over things that other SUVs would try to go around, and you're vaguely conscious of it. This is quite an empowering feeling, and you soon start to look for things to crush. It's not a pretty sensation, but then little about the military is beyond the uniforms.
Eventually, of course, you encounter things that must be accommodated with more reason, shall we say, and this is where the H1 Tactical Vehicle goes to another level. Its height, length and wheelbase let it clear almost anything, and the odd body shape allows it to climb grades you would have trouble walking up. It will also power along on an angle (22-degrees) that make you think it's going to roll over, but it doesn't.
But the heart of this toy is the New Venture Gear 242 transfer case that permits setting the drivetrain configuration to match virtually any terrain. You can heck the GM website if you want the full geek explanation of high lock and low lock and all that, but we're here to tell you that the result is magical. Some skill is of course required, but a great deal of the work is
 |
Sad to say, this does not come cheap. How not cheap is an open question, since a Tactical Vehicle is only sold as a fleet model by GM and that's always negotiable. You could probably figure the list price of a regular H1 and go down a little from there. If you've got the bucks, however, and want to go where no one else can go, it's definitely worth it.
photo:General Motors
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