ImNoSaint's H3 Build

ImNoSaint

Adventurist
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2007 H3, work in progress since 2013. I'll spare a lengthy build thread, find it here instead.
 
Can you comment on the interior some more and the visibility during normal driving and on the trail. Also can you let me know how tall you are. Since I am just 5'6" I have always raised the seats in my vehicles when possible. Possible in the H3?
 
Can you comment on the interior some more and the visibility during normal driving and on the trail. Also can you let me know how tall you are. Since I am just 5'6" I have always raised the seats in my vehicles when possible. Possible in the H3?
I went from a third generation Montero LTD to the H3 and it felt like going from an aquarium to a spy glass. Visibility is the H3's biggest complaint, which has made me more vigilant as a driver. I'm 5'11" and when I'd pull up to the line at an intersection, sometimes I had to crane down a bit to see the signal lights. I just compensate for it now by stopping a little short. Despite the low roof line, I've yet to feel impaired from a safety standpoint - no blind spots worse than any other SUV (better than an FJ), and I've never felt limited while negotiating off road.

At my height I feel I ride a little tall in relationship to the roofline. You might feel a bit under the line. I can put my left arm on the window frame at a perfect perpendicular to my shoulder. Were I any lower my arm would angle up. My H3 trim doesn't offer height adjustment, I'm not sure about other trim levels. I've seen DIY seat lifts, but they compromise the shear strength of the seat anchor and become a safety hazard.

As for the interior, besides the vehicle's off road ability, it's the reason I went with the H3. It's nothing like the H2; it's more European in design with durable textiles instead of leather. The dash layout is simple and easy to read.
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The HVAC controls are fly-by-wire and the servo motors failed on my vehicle around 135k miles. $30 replacement that's an easy fix. The LEDs in the control cluster are failing as well. That can be fixed with an expensive cluster replacement ($400) or if you're handy with a soldering gun for under ten bucks. You can read more about interior particulars here.

Hope this helps.
 
Good info thanks. As we just completed a 1620 mile trip in my 2005 LJ, we are at least considering something different and the H3 is intriguing. Thanks again.
 
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