Hummer heads Down Under

Iconic US brand Hummer is set to make its mark in Australia when Holden launches the H3 SUV in the second half of 2007. Although the baby of the Hummer range, the serious off-road wagon is only slightly smaller than the best-selling Ford Territory and will be powered by a 180kW/328Nm 3.7-litre in-line five-cylinder engine driving through either five-speed manual or four speed auto transmissions.

Hummer, which first came to prominence with its civilian version of the HUMVEE military vehicles that the American forces used in the Gulf War of the early 1990s, was bought by General Motors in 1999 and now has a three-model lineup.

While Holden will operate as the Australian importer and distributor, the H3 will be sold under the Hummer brand that will be further expanded from a single model -- with a diesel variant likely to be next off the blocks -- although the company has no plans to introduce the bigger H2 model. The H1 that started it all off is no longer in production.

The H3 will be sourced from South Africa but Holden has yet to determine exactly how the brand will be marketed in Australia and how many dealers will get the franchise.

Despite sitting size wise in the medium SUV segment, Holden doesn't see Hummer competing against those largely soft-road SUVs and although pricing has yet to be announced, it is likely to command a substantial premium over those vehicles as well with a starting sticker expected to be somewhere above $60,000.

In some respects, Hummer will be Holden's SUV version of HSV with the company planning to offer the full and very extensive range of merchandise and accessories in an attempt to engender and satisfy buyers after a "Hummer lifestyle". This will also include a range of owner support activities and club events.

The Hummer brand has been built on the vehicles' extreme off-road abilities and the H3 is expected to continue that tradition. The all-wheel-drive system is an electronically controlled arrangement that enables the H3 to ford rivers at depths of up to 610mm while the fully shielded under body offers 216mm of ground clearance.