It took some time for Toyota to lastly convey its hybrid RAV4 to Australia, ready a complete era to introduce a powertrain that has rapidly turn into the preferred within the line-up.
With the RAV4 hybrid promoting up a storm and ready instances blowing out to as much as two years, there’s clearly demand for a mid-sized hybrid SUV.
GWM, Nissan and Subaru have responded in form, whereas Honda has a pair of hybrid mid-sizers within the pipeline and Hyundai is anticipated to lastly convey a hybrid Tucson right here subsequent 12 months.
The phase has due to this fact gone from barren to booming in a brief house of time, with the GWM Haval H6 carving out a distinct segment as one of many extra inexpensive fashions.
That’s regardless of GWM providing it completely in a single absolutely loaded trim. Does it make sense to stay with a base mannequin SUV from the established hybrid chief, or take an opportunity on a automobile from a youthful Chinese language model that’s loaded with all of the fruit?
How a lot does the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid value?
The hybrid is on the market solely in top-spec Extremely trim, priced at $45,990 drive-away – a steep $6000 greater than a front-wheel drive, petrol-powered H6 Extremely.
Towards a Toyota RAV4, nevertheless, that is one sharply priced machine. A base RAV4 GX hybrid prices $40,550 earlier than on-road prices, or $44,770 drive-away primarily based on a Sydney postcode.
Nissan doesn’t supply an equal X-Path e-Energy to that base RAV4, with the electrified vary opening at $54,190 earlier than on-road prices for a well-specified Ti, or $58,621 drive-away. Subaru’s much less environment friendly Forester Hybrid L is priced at $43,290 earlier than on-roads, or $48,224 drive-away.
What’s the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid like on the within?
The H6 Hybrid’s inside is nearly an identical to the petrol H6’s, which is each good and dangerous.
When it comes to presentation, the H6 scores extremely. It has severe showroom attraction, from the slick-looking screens to the minimalist dashboard and neat ambient lighting that bleeds via the dashboard.
Materials high quality can also be usually good, with soft-touch trim used on the dashboard and doorways. It may also be discovered on the perimeters of the centre console, if not close to the place your knee might relaxation.
There are some low cost touches within the inside, nevertheless. The steering wheel feels skinny and has a gap on the rear with an uncovered screw, one thing GWM might simply repair. We additionally observed a creaky sound when winding down a window, although there have been no different rattles or different construct high quality points current within the H6.
Essentially the most bothersome a part of the inside is the infotainment system.
That neat, minimalist dashboard design has been achieved by eradicating plenty of the bodily switchgear, leaving you to go burrowing via touchscreen menus to manage features like turning on the ventilated seats or altering the drive mode. The shortage of native voice prompts additionally prevents you from simply adjusting settings.
You’ll be able to customise a pull-down menu along with your most popular shortcuts, however for some motive it wouldn’t allow us to add some key options like ventilated entrance seat controls. This leaves you searching via menus to activate or deactivate options that in most vehicles you’d press a single bodily button for.
The helpful pull-down menu additionally doesn’t seem once you’re utilizing smartphone mirroring. You’ll need to have your telephone related, because the Haval H6 doesn’t have manufacturing facility satellite tv for pc navigation. Handily, nevertheless, turn-by-turn instructions from Google Maps seem within the head-up show.
There aren’t any bodily controls for the local weather management, once more forcing you to depend on the touchscreen, whereas the system can lag once you’re swiping between screens.
The usability points with the infotainment system are irritating because the precise look of the system, in addition to that of the digital instrument cluster, is sort of spectacular.
You may have two slick themes to select from – we most popular ‘Earth’ – and there are cute particulars just like the animation within the cluster of your automobile and surrounding automobiles, which tells you the place you’re in relation to lane markings and different automobiles. It’s at all times shifting, however manages to not be distracting. GWM has additionally accomplished a greater job with the sort of show than Chery, which has a really related display screen.
Then there’s the 3D surround-view digicam, which has fabulous decision. It’s a class-leading system, and places these of some luxury-brand fashions to disgrace.
There’s a wi-fi charging pad on the base of the centre stack, whereas a helpful storage shelf could be discovered under the centre console that’s massive sufficient to accommodate a purse. However GWM, why wouldn’t you progress the USB outlet required for smartphone mirroring to the driving force’s facet?
Talking of storage, the entrance doorways will simply swallow 1L bottles, whereas there’s a decently sized centre console bin with an attractively completed lid that opens with the push of a button.
The entrance seats aren’t notably properly bolstered however they proved comfy over lengthy distances, whereas the steering wheel could be adjusted for each rake and attain.
The H6 is among the many extra spacious automobiles in its class, with the second row a very comfy place to take a seat. There’s loads of room in each dimension as, even at 180cm tall and with a panoramic sunroof above me, I might sit within the center seat and have headroom to spare. There’s a pleasant, flat flooring again right here too.
When it comes to facilities, there are two USB-A retailers, a fold-down armrest with two cupholders, and rear air vents. The storage cutouts within the doorways, nevertheless, don’t have a correct insert to maintain bottles in place.
Baby seats could be positioned utilizing one of many three top-tether anchor factors or the ISOFIX anchor factors on every outboard seat.
With the rear seats upright, the H6 has a boot capability of 600L – one of many bigger within the class. This expands to 1485L with the rear seats folded down.
Below the boot flooring you’ll discover a tyre restore package, whereas on both facet of the primary boot flooring you’ll discover two open cubbies for storage. There’s additionally a 12V outlet.
What’s beneath the bonnet?
The H6 Hybrid is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine teamed with a two-speed 130kW electrical motor, a 1.8kWh battery pack and a two-speed ‘Direct Hybrid Transmission’.
Complete system outputs are 179kW of energy and 530Nm of torque. Whereas the petrol H6 is on the market with all-wheel drive, the hybrid is front-wheel drive-only.
Over a mixture of inner-city, suburban and freeway driving, we averaged 6.1L/100km – about the identical as a Nissan X-Path e-Energy. On a number of freeway runs, we might common round 6.0L/100km.
The official mixed cycle declare is 5.2L/100km, barely increased than a front-wheel drive RAV4 hybrid (4.7L/100km) however significantly lower than the all-wheel drive-only Forester hybrid (6.7L/100km). It’s additionally 2.2L/100km thriftier than a front-wheel drive, petrol H6.
Just like the Toyota, the Haval H6 will run on 91 RON common unleaded gasoline.
How does the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid drive?
Toyota’s hybrids account for almost all of hybrid gross sales in Australia, which is sensible as they’ve been doing them for longer and the Japanese model presents a wider vary of them.
It’s honest to say, then, many Australians who’ve pushed hybrids earlier than might have solely had expertise with Toyota’s. The Haval H6 goes to really feel fairly completely different.
Whereas Toyota’s hybrids begin nearly silently and run on EV energy at low speeds earlier than the petrol engine fires up, the Haval H6 will lower out and in of EV mode even at excessive speeds. For instance, we noticed it driving at speeds of as much as 80km/h with out the petrol engine working.
That key distinction between the H6 and a RAV4 is welcome. Nonetheless, there are some downsides to GWM’s strategy to hybrids.
The silent idle and assured low-speed silence of a RAV4 hybrid isn’t current right here, with grumbly sounds at idle and when driving in EV mode.
There’s a little bit little bit of vibration generally when the petrol engine and electrical motor are each operating in tandem, and generally the transitions between petrol and electrical energy are a bit abrupt.
The automobile will inform you whether or not you’re in EV mode, parallel mode, or tandem mode, the latter mode a seemingly uncommon prevalence in our expertise.
The H6’s outputs are spectacular, however they’re additionally quite a bit for a front-wheel drive automobile. With the wheelspin, you study to feather the throttle like there’s a really small, very cute creature beneath the best pedal that you simply don’t need to squash. The tyres lack a lot in the best way of grip, one thing all too obvious on greasy roads.
The hybrid powertrain is genuinely spectacular, nevertheless. It has easy thrust, and proves punchy in all driving eventualities; low-speed refinement can also be superior to the petrol H6. Whereas it has its personal quirky noises, we additionally wouldn’t say that it total sounds worse than a RAV4 hybrid – the truth is, we’d argue the H6’s petrol engine sounds higher.
At freeway speeds, nevertheless, the H6 will get disappointingly noisy, notably compared with its electrified rivals. The cabin will get fairly boomy, and an excessive amount of highway noise seeps in.
Noise apart, freeway driving is a breeze within the H6. The pinnacle-up show is a welcome inclusion, and the adaptive cruise management works properly, with the show cleverly displaying an image of a automobile that adjustments from inexperienced to yellow to purple the nearer you get to it.
The lane centring does a commendable job of retaining you between the white strains, although it might really feel a bit squirmy at instances.
It’s good the H6 is such a succesful commuter, as a result of the automobile doesn’t actually do a lot to encourage you to drive it with any zeal. Must you achieve this, the wheelspin will trouble you earlier than the physique roll and understeer get an opportunity.
It’s possible you’ll assume the trade-off for unexciting dealing with could be an opulent experience, and also you’d be principally proper. It’s softly sprung, verging on floaty, however once you hit sure issues like trim tracks it might really feel fairly brittle.
It additionally will get a little bit fidgety over some rougher surfaces, whereas the floatiness means it will get a bit bouncy over undulating roads and takes a few seconds to settle.
There are three completely different steering modes, although we simply left it in Consolation; Gentle was too gentle, and Sport wasn’t sporty sufficient. Whatever the mode, there’s not a lot highway really feel and it might really feel fairly synthetic in its weighting.
Among the many settings, we discovered the choice of a “increase vitality restoration mode”, however we didn’t really feel a lot of a distinction. Additionally current within the menu is a Wash/Trailer mode.
Parking the H6 is a breeze with its semi-autonomous parking help. The system works genuinely properly and there’s little to no studying curve.
We might do with out the judgey “driving analysis” that seems once you park the automobile. Three stars? Gee, okay GWM, I don’t inform you the way you drive. Oh wait.
General, we’d prefer to see the H6 Hybrid get all-wheel drive and a few higher tyres, with some retuning accomplished to its suspension. There are some stable components right here, notably that punchy powertrain, however it wants some extra finessing.
What do you get?
There’s only one hybrid H6 obtainable, and it comes absolutely loaded.
Normal tools on the Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid consists of:
- 19-inch ‘Vortex’ alloy wheels
- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Head-up show
- Semi-autonomous parking help
- Inside ambient lighting
- Energy tailgate
- Panoramic sunroof
- Heated and ventilated entrance seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Wi-fi telephone charging
- 4-way energy passenger’s seat
That’s along with options present in inexpensive, petrol-powered variations of the H6, together with:
- 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- LED headlights, daytime operating lights and tail lights
- LED entrance and rear fog lights
- Static cornering lights
- Keyless entry and begin
- Roof rails
- Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
- Black leatherette upholstery
- Eight-way energy driver’s seat
- Twin-zone local weather management
- Eight-speaker sound system
- Digital anti-glare rear-view mirror
- Rear privateness glass
- Energy home windows with on-touch up/down for all home windows
Is the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid protected?
The GWM Haval H6 line-up – together with the H6 Hybrid and H6 GT – has a five-star ANCAP security ranking with a 2022 date stamp.
The H6 obtained an grownup occupant safety rating of 90 per cent, a baby occupant safety rating of 88 per cent, a weak highway consumer safety rating of 73 per cent, and a security help rating of 81 per cent.
All fashions come customary with the next security options:
- Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and bike owner detection and junction help
- Lane-keep help
- Lane-centring
- Lane-departure warning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver consideration monitoring
- Site visitors signal recognition
- Protected exit warning
- Entrance, front-side and curtain airbags plus a front-centre bag
- Reversing digicam with rear parking sensors
Rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise management with cease/go, a surround-view digicam, site visitors jam help, and entrance parking sensors can be found increased up within the vary, together with on the Extremely Hybrid.
How a lot does the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid value to run?
The GWM Haval H6 is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.
GWM additionally presents 5 years of capped-price servicing. The primary service is due at 12 months or 10,000km and prices $225, with subsequent companies at 15,000km intervals. They’re priced at $250, $400, $550 and $225.
That works out to a complete servicing value of $1650 over 5 years, properly beneath the Forester Hybrid L ($2963.61) however barely pricier than a RAV4 ($1300).
CarExpert’s Tackle the GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid
The GWM Haval H6 Extremely Hybrid makes a compelling case for itself.
Its infotainment is as irritating as within the petrol mannequin, its experience and dealing with are simply as floaty, and it does really feel like plenty of grunt in a front-drive SUV on eco tyres. That $6000 premium over the thirstier petrol mannequin can also be a troublesome ask.
However when you think about the actual fact you will get this absolutely loaded H6 hybrid for roughly the value of a base RAV4 hybrid, it begins to make a little bit extra sense. The occasional rumbly sound does intrude on the EV mode serenity, however that is in any other case a responsive powertrain that in some respects is extra nice than that of the Toyota’s.
As with the common H6, there’s additionally a spacious inside that feels fairly stable total.
GWM might have been growing its costs recently (who hasn’t?), however the H6 Extremely Hybrid nonetheless presents spectacular worth for cash.
