Orlando Sentinel's view

Hummer has to face it: The novelty has worn off. We are at least a year or two past the point where customers buy a Hummer H2 or H3 for the “Look at me!” factor.

We’ve looked, and sales figures suggest that we’ve moved on. In the first nine months of 2007, Hummer sold 42,760 vehicles, down from 53,236 for the same period in 2006. Hummer is having to sell its vehicles on their merits, and with gasoline hovering at $3 a gallon, those merits have to exceed the gas bill.

To the company’s credit, Hummer is doing what it needs to do: Refining and improving the product. And for 2008, one of those products is substantially improved — it is, in fact, arguably the best all-around Hummer yet.

It’s the 2008 Hummer H3 Alpha, and while it looks pretty familiar on the outside, the improvements are there. Inside, the cockpit is downright luxurious, with gorgeous two-tone leather upholstery and instruments and controls that look not the least bit military.

The biggest news is under the hood, though. The H3 is based on the same platform as the Chevrolet Colorado pickup, and the Colorado was designed for a four- or five-cylinder inline engine. Fine for a bargain pickup, but for a Hummer H3 — weighing in at about 4,700 pounds — that 3.7-liter five-cylinder had to work hard to pull not only the weight but the full-time four-wheel-drive.

When the H3 was introduced in 2005 as a 2006 model, Hummer executives admitted that they’d like to have a V-8 option, but there was just no room. Hummer managed to squeeze a little more horsepower out of its five-cylinder for 2007, but clearly, the lack of power was holding the H3 back.

For 2008, problem solved: The 3.7-liter five-cylinder is still available, but now H3 buyers have the option of a 5.3-liter, 295-horsepower V-8, mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The five-speed manual is still offered with the smaller engine, but not with the V-8.

Just as Hummer executives said a couple of years ago, it wasn’t easy: The firewall behind the engine had to be modified to accommodate the V-8, and even so, it’s an extremely tight fit front to rear, with not much more room side to side.

But it’s in there, and it works. The H3 accelerates now with authority and can tow 6,000 pounds, up 1,500 from the five-cylinder. Off-road, low-range gearing almost seems too much for the H3 Alpha, as it winds out in first gear, then sort of lurches into second. Unless I really needed the extra power, it was a lot more comfortable cow-trailing in high gear.

Otherwise, the H3 is a mountain goat. The turning circle is tight, steering is precise, and there’s plenty of ground clearance and underbody protection. When the H3 was introduced, it suddenly made the H2 seem bloated and a bit irrelevant. The H3 Alpha compounds that perception.

It likely comes as no surprise that the H3 Alpha is capable off the road, but it’s a very competent highway tourer, too. The suspension is firm, but the ride is never punishing. It doesn’t hurt that the test vehicle was loaded with equipment, including a $1,720 navigation system; standard with the Alpha package is a seven-speaker Monsoon sound system with a six-disc CD player. The oddest option was the “rear vision camera system” for $850; rather than show the image from the rear camera in the navigation system screen, it’s shown in a little TV screen that pops out from the right of the rear-view mirror, and pops back when you shift into a forward gear. All that popping in and out is a little loud and startling, and while it works well enough, it looks a little cheesy.

This is a demonstrably improved H3, but it comes at a price: The Alpha starts at $38,645, and the test model topped out at $42,220. And the V-8 does you no favors at the gas pump with an EPA rating of 13 mpg city, 16 mpg highway.

If you can live with the price and the mileage, then this may be the H3 you’ve been waiting for.