Maintenance
5,000 -mile service, cost: $34.72
Problem areas: None
What's Hot,What's Not:
Hot: We love the look and color of our H2, especially without side steps. People still turn their heads everywhere our H2 goes. The locker is a great addition to off-pavement driving and the midgate has already proved its usefulness. A perfect complement to the plush interior is the Bose sound system that incorporates AM/FM/XM/CD and DVD-based navigation, a worthwhile option-especially for road trips. We are still trying to figure out how to bolt the spare-tire carrier to our own trail rigs.
Not: The build quality on these newer H2s is light years ahead of the first model year, although the quality of materials on the dash could be better. With such a blunt shape and AWD, the engine works hard to push the big H2 around. The H2's high ride height and tailgate-mounted spare tire create a large blind spot to the rear of the vehicle, as we discovered to our chagrin when we backed right over (and into) the hood of a Toyota Avalon when attempting to pull out of a parking space (the H2 was unscathed). We'd like to see some kind of backup warning system on the H2 as we have seen in other fullsize SUVs.
Logbook Quotes:
"The H2 SUT still gets looks everywhere I go.""Three little girls riding pink bikes with streamers just gave me the thumbs up!""The SUT is an ego booster, people I don't know smile and wave at me.""The ride is surprisingly quiet and comfortable.""You should see how bugs hit the windshield!""XM stereo is tha Bomb!"