2009 HUMMER H3 - Review

By Eric Loveday

Eric Loveday

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Eric Loveday is a car enthusiast with a love for everything automotive. He purchased a 1970 Chevelle at age 16, quickly outgrew its dated engineering... More

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Electric 2009 HUMMER H3 by Raser Technologies and FEV

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Raser Technologies unveiled its 100 mpg Hummer H3 Plug-in at the 2009 SAE World Congress earlier this year.  Now the prototype vehicle is far enough along that the company is beginning to offer test drives and the journalists over at Popular Mechanics got their chance just a few shorts days ago.  So does the Plug-in Hummer live up to its hype?

We previously reported about this vehicle and you can read about it here: Raser unveils Hummer H3 Plug-in.

This Hummer utilizes a system similar to the Chevy Volt.  It has a large battery pack and an engine that acts as a range extender or generator to recharge the batteries when depleted.  The range of the vehicle is approximately 40 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in and charges the batteries providing an additional 360 miles of range for a total of 400 miles on a single tank of gas.

The vehicle utilizes GM Ecotec Turbocharged 4 cylinder engine to charge the three lithium-ion battery packs found throughout the vehicle.  The new powertrain adds approximately 1,000 pounds of weight to an already heavy vehicle.  According to the reviewers at Popular Mechanics, the additional weight is noticeable while driving and makes the vehicle ride closer to the ground.

When you turn the key to start the vehicle, its nearly silent as most electric vehicles are.  However, there is audible pumping noises from a line that supplies pressurized fluid to the torque converter and pumping noises from the power steering unit.