[jatin22aug]

Hey Guys,

My urge to explore uncharted waters and dreams chasing landed me in Kuwait, some of those dreams related to Cars. Kuwait is known for its extreme climates whether its super hot summers (average 54°C) or Harsh Winters (Dry with 0 to 1°C). Surviving these climates without a personal vehicle is impossible as even visiting grocery store 100 metres away by foot is equivalent to living through hell. To cut story short, it took me around 2.5 months to complete my residency formalities, license/driving tests to finally get eligible to buy a car in Kuwait. All these times i was dependent on taxi's or cars of friends who are already settled here for some time now. The next thing that came to my mind is which car?. I had driven hatchbacks and sedans all my life therefore those were the last options i wanted and hence finally concluding that it has to be a SUV. The options that i started with for the SUVs are:

1) Toyota Land Cruiser/Prado
2) Mistubishi Pajero
3) Kia Mohave
4) Chevy Tahoe
5) GMC Dunali
6) Cadilac Escalade
7) GMC Yukon
8) Hummer H2/H3
9) Nissan Pathfinder and Patrol

I was pretty sure about the maximum budget which needs to be respected at all times, to avoid any financial issues later on. Therefore some of the above options fitted as 'used' car in that budget. Kuwait is a wealthy nation where citizens buy new cars, drive them 50,000-60,000 kms and then sell them at very low prices. Therefore options like used Land Cruiser and Hummer were within my reach (fortunately). I visited many new cars as well as certified used car showrooms to look out for the car that best suited me. My road to conclusion has been described in a brief writeup below:

1) Toyota Land Cruiser/Prado : They are Super Cars with unmatched reliability & best driving experience of all the options. Decent 2010-2011 model used Prado was still within my budget however that was the base model with no goodies. I somehow didnt like the exterior look of Prado (especially front for 2009-2010 models), however the option was kept open till last minute.

2) Mitsubishi Pajero/ Kia Mohave : These were the cheapest of all the options as even new full options vehicle was within my budget. The test drives were not convincing (relatively) and hence were rejected right away.

3) Nissan Pathfinder and Patrol: Nissan Patrol is one of my dream cars that i always wanted to own however new Patrol was way out of my budget and there were no decent used options available. I didnt like exterior of Pathfinder so both Nissan options were out of my final list.

4) GMC Dunali/Yukon/Cadillac Escalade: All these options have mighty road presence and awesome driving experience however, somehow i don't like the automatic transmission on steering . Therefore all out of list.

5) Hummer H2/H3: My eyes lit up when i saw Hummer Live in action for the first time in my life. I cant even explain that feeling in words here. Since GM has stopped Hummer production therefore no new cars (or should i say truck) are available however that anyways would have been way out of my budget. If you have ever driven Hummer H2, you would know that H3 is a straight reject. I saw couple of 2010-11 model H3s but no one could challenge the single 2006 H2 that i test drove. Sitting in driving seat in H2 is 'the' cloud nine feeling with all world around you starting to feel so small. The first accelerator pedal push and H2 responds with a welcome roar. Oh my god, i was living my dream there. I still have goose bumps thinking about that time. The test drive was a sellout straightway. The car was driven 2 lakh kms but didnt felt like one. The car was loaded with many features, some of them i never heard before (details below). I didnt even remember other options that time as all i wanted was that truck in my garage rightaway.

The conclusion: As is pretty much obvious from my above briefing that Hummer had no competition at all although Prado did fought well till last breath. The day i test drove the vehicle, i negotiated the price with the owner and the deal was finalized. The next day was saturday which is not considered a good day to buy vehicles in India. Fortunately Sundays are working in Kuwait, therefore all plans were finalized for the day. I cant explain how difficult were those 2 days for me to pass.

The 'Sun'day : Finally Sunday came after waiting for 2 days that felt like ages. I called my boss to inform him regarding my absence due to "personal" work to which he obliged. The owner came with the humvee and i insisted him to drive it till the transport office, where the transfer formalities were required to be carried out (almost 30 kms). The reason for not driving was that i was bit reluctant driving hummer straight away on highways during peak hours. The Average speed on Kuwaiti highway is ~120 km/hr which corresponds to maximum speed that i drove any car in India. At the same time, i wanted to have co-passenger experience since driving H2 wont allow you to concentrate on anything else. Its like 5-Star Advertisement with twist "Chalaoge to Kho Jaoge". There was cabin noise which probably was due to tyres that seemed designed for offroading. The transfer formalities were over within 5-7 minutes. I handed over my hard earned money cheque to the "ex" owner and in my mind i knew that each penny spent was worth it.

Till now i have driven approximately 100 kms and below are my immediate likes and dislikes:

Likes:
1) Awesome road presence. A mass head turner.
2) Superb driving experience with good overall visibility (except back). It does justice to the highways as it does to the offroad track.
3) Loads of room both at front and rear. It feels like 'the 7 Star' experience.
4) Many Goodies - Loads of features like Bose music system, heated seats, auto dimming back mirror, traction control, ABS, Tow mode, Dual zone climate control, Rear seat AC control/vents, rear zone audio controls/radio, separate video player for the rear passenger and many more.
5) Driver Information system (DIS) provides loads of information from Vehicle personalized settings, Engine hours, trip data, average mileage, fuel consumed, range left etc. I can personalize my vehicle for Doors close delay, central lock/open response type, curb view from side mirrors while reversing, headlight delay, DRL settings etc. It also shows warnings related to any malfunction.
6) 6.0 L V8 engine feels like riding a tiger. Superb response from the accelerator although the shear weight (~7000 lbs) does take initial momentum to begin.
7) It is loaded with Kenwood DVD touch screen system with reverse camera. This is an after market addition to this vehicle but is a good thing to have onboard.
8) There is a seat setting known as 'driver easy exit'. Whenever i pull out key from ignition the seat moves to a predefined setting for easy exit from the vehicle. I can set it according to my preference.
9) The Driver and Co-passenger has electrical seat position settings including lumber control. It is a boon for long highway driving.
10) The backview mirror has display for the outside temperature and direction.

Dislikes:
1) Mileage. A world known drawback of the Hummer however its not a deal breaker for me. In kuwait where petrol costs Rs 12 / Litre, it is pretty much affordable. I know environment enthusiasts would be happy that hummers are not in production anymore.
2) The car size plus the spare tire reduces the back visibility. Although side mirrors are designed well to reduce the blind spots.
3) Cabin noise. This probably is due to the tires selection by "ex" owner. I can live with it since tyres are too good to replace at this moment.

I was joking with friend while tailing a Pajero that probably the only thing visible in the back mirror to the pajero guy, the head lights..

Now i will let pictures do the talking.


The car pooja being done by my wife.


With Almighty's blessing


Another Cabin View


Me with my big "B"


Another View



I will add more pictures subsequently as i didnt get chance till date to transfer them out of my camera.

Drive Safe,

Jatin

[Rudra Sen]

Mods note: Thread moved to Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports. Thanks for sharing.

[madan80]

wow! congrats on the H2! When I initially started reading it - i was thinking that this would be another XUV / thar review! but then as I progressed, I was like! WOW!

Given the cost of fuel in your part of the world, it would not have been a deciding factor at all!

Won't this be the first H2 ownership on t-bhp?

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by madan80

wow! congrats on the H2! When I initially started reading it - i was thinking that this would be another XUV / thar review! but then as I progressed, I was like! WOW!

Given the cost of fuel in your part of the world, it would not have been a deciding factor at all!

Won't this be the first H2 ownership on t-bhp?

Thank you madan80. If i would have stayed a bit longer in india, definitely XUV would have been in my garage however i think god had something better planned for me

Regarding first H2 ownership, i think you are right since even i could not locate one while i was looking for suggestions on H2.

[GullwingGT]

Congrats on your new beast,the moment I started reading your thread I thought you would have got a prado or a cruiser,like most Indians do,we all love the Japs.
But really you have proved to be a true enthusiast(hummer),thats one hell of a ride.These Hummers are pretty popular in the middle east,have been to Saudi,so out of that experience,also petrol is cheapest their so no worries,Treat us with more pics and enjoy many miles on your ride.

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by GullwingGT

Congrats on your new beast,the moment I started reading your thread I thought you would have got a prado or a cruiser,like most Indians do,we all love the Japs.
But really you have proved to be a true enthusiast(hummer),thats one hell of a ride.These Hummers are pretty popular in the middle east,have been to Saudi,so out of that experience,also petrol is cheapest their so no worries,Treat us with more pics and enjoy many miles on your ride.

Thank you GullwingGT, Prado did fought bravely but you know its difficult to survive 'Hummer'ing.

[vasanthn21]

Congrats on the acquiring the beast!

Buying H2 itself is worth having gone to KuwaitI guess!

But, you HAD to mention that petrol is Rs.12/l, didn't you? I am more jealous of this fact than the fact that you bought a hummer H2!

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Congrats on the acquiring the beast!

Buying H2 itself is worth having gone to KuwaitI guess!

But, you HAD to mention that petrol is Rs.12/l, didn't you? I am more jealous of this fact than the fact that you bought a hummer H2!

Thank you vasanth21. Yes having H2 is one of the dreams that i am living in kuwait. Regarding petrol price, i could not devoid myself of this opportunity.

[srishiva]

congrats on your monster ! Good that you picked the white colour for the weather. OT: Do people keep idols on the dashboard?

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by srishiva

congrats on your monster ! Good that you picked the white colour for the weather. OT: Do people keep idols on the dashboard?

Hey thanks dude, yes kuwait weather is one of the main reason for picking white color, also its a desert area so dark colors are dificult to maintain.
In india keeping idols on dashboard is very common practice. Indians in kuwait also follow the same tradition.

[PranavDesai]

Congratulations Jatin for owning the "White Elephant." Pic #4 was the best with you grinning from ear to ear, and rightfully so. I have just one complaint for you, why did you mention the petrol price

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by PranavDesai

Congratulations Jatin for owning the "White Elephant." Pic #4 was the best with you grinning from ear to ear, and rightfully so. I have just one complaint for you, why did you mention the petrol price

Hey thanks Pranav. sorry about mentioning petrol price but after seeing petrol prices skyrocketing in india, it was really a pleasant surprise here.

[karan561]

Congrats , SUV's look the best in " WHITE " & makes the Hummer look more massive.

Just if you can smoke out the Chrome elements (including the wheels) to matte black that will surely make the car stand out.

[aveoman19]

I wish they made Hummers. They aren't as bad as those horrible trucks and buses that ply our roads. My long term aim is to revive the brand.

[jatin22aug]

Originally Posted by karan561

Congrats , SUV's look the best in " WHITE " & makes the Hummer look more massive.

Just if you can smoke out the Chrome elements (including the wheels) to matte black that will surely make the car stand out.

Thanks man. I have spent a fortune for this car so no modifications planned in immediate future but yes, when i will do, the unnecessary chrome would be the first to go.