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CarsLore / Compare / Large SUVs / Explorer vs H3

Ford Explorer vs Hummer H3

Two large SUVs, compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. 2 like-for-like measures: the Ford Explorer leads on 2, the Hummer H3 on 0.

Where each one leads

Ford Explorer

  • Against cars of the same year, the Ford Explorer comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 20% less often than average) than the Hummer H3 (fails 4% less often than average).
  • On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Ford Explorer uses 10.4 l/100 km, the 2010 Hummer H3 14.8.

Hummer H3

Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.

Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare

At a glance

Ford ExplorerHummer H3
Model years in the US safety record1984–20272003–2010
New cars registered in Europe10,009 (2010–2022)—
Licensed in the United Kingdom16,800—
On the road in the Netherlands7,417—
In traffic in Finland1,617—

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

Ford ExplorerHummer H3
New York safety inspections failed1.2%2.3%
… against cars of the same year−20%−4%
Illogical odometer records (NL)1.0%—
US owner complaints34,627790
Most complaints aboutPower trainElectrical system
Model year with most complaints2002 (3,295)2006 (361)
US recall campaigns1424
Manufacturer service bulletins5,0354,698
NHTSA defect investigations155—

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Safety

Ford ExplorerHummer H3
NHTSA overall rating5★ (2027)—

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).

Fuel, emissions and price

Ford ExplorerHummer H3
Official combined fuel use, Canada10.4 l/100 km (2026)14.8 l/100 km (2010)
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe75 g/km—
Average power of new cars in Europe267 kW (358 hp)—
Average mass in running order2,547 kg—
Dutch list price when new (median)€77,709—
Average odometer in Finland86,000 km—

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).