GWM Haval H6 HEV Review: Could Consider Over A Corolla Cross

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The GWM Haval H6 HEV offers butch looks, decent space, lots of tech, plenty of pace, good fuel efficiency, and all at a decent price.

For those out there looking at a sensible family-oriented SUV for around the RM 150,000 mark, the Toyota Corolla Cross has pretty much been the choice that most Malaysians would default to. This Corolla of crossovers after all offers a good mix of practicality and affordability wrapped up in a reliable Toyota package, with those opting for the hybrid variant further benefitting from a bit of silent and fuel-sipping motoring too.

There has nevertheless recently been a few rather compelling (Chinese) challengers to the Corolla Cross’ crown in this segment though, with one of them at least coming in the form of GWM’s newly-launched Haval H6 HEV.

And having recently driven one for nearly 1,000 km in just a weekend, this writer at least could now actually recommend for those making their way to a Toyota dealership to check this similarly-hybrid Chinese SUV out before they place their a deposit on a Corolla Cross, for a few rather compelling reasons that will be elaborated on further below.

Exterior: A Sharp-Looking SUV

Now one of the most immediately obvious attractions that will likely draw some to the Haval H6 HEV over the Corolla Cross is for the former to be a way sharper-looking than the latter. Macho yet slick was the general comment that this writer received when various friends and family saw it, with one even likening this SUV’s exterior aesthetic to a bodybuilder in a well-cut suit.

What perhaps is more impressive though with this Haval, but doesn’t quite come across in the pictures here, is just how big and imposing it looks in real life. Despite its Corolla Cross-rivalling price tag, this Chinese SUV is really more CR-V-sized in actual exterior dimensions. And with that macho front end to boot, one really would instinctively move out of the way when this comes bearing down on you at speed on the fast lane.

Just planting this into your head here though so you can’t unsee it every time you see a Haval H6, but doesn’t this Chinese SUV look a lot like a Peugeot 3008 from the front? From the chrome-pinned frameless trapezoidal grille and sleek headlights, both cars certainly share more than a passing resemblance…

Interior: A Premium Place To Be In

Touching on the topic of practicality first when it comes to the H6 HEV’s interior, this Chinese SUV is decently spacious inside for what it is. GWM currently touts for the Haval to feature the longest wheelbase in its class, and this certainly does translates to more than reasonable amounts of legroom for even the lankiest of occupants in any seat within it.

What more is that with it being a comparatively wide and boxy SUV, shoulder and head room isn’t really an issue in any seat within the Haval as well, even for the most generously proportioned. With its hybrid batteries living under the boot floor however, the boot is to be a bit shallower than its large exterior dimensions might suggest.

Now in terms of qualitative aspect inside the H6 meanwhile, this Haval’s cabin does indeed look premium, with the rose gold trim and cream-accented indigo leather upholstery adding some colour and class to the cabin. But perhaps more impressive than just looking premium, is the fact that one could argue for its interior to actually feel it too.

The Haval’s dashboard and door tops for instance are nicely padded, while its seats are plush and cushy. All the switchgear also feels decently solid in its operation, and everything around its interior generally gives the impression of it being decently well put together.

Much like any other Chinese car as well, there are more features in the Haval H6 HEV than you could want for your money. Here’s just a list of the fancier bits of kit:

12.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen with wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity
10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster with a surprisingly high-degree of display menu customisability
full length panoramic sunroof that is actually able to slide open (a rarity actually)
one of the most information-rich coloured heads up display in the business
8-way power-adjustable drivers seat
front ventilated seats
wireless charging pad
dual-zone automatic climate control with negative-ion air cleaner
360° surround view camera with transparent body function
powered tailgate
automatic LED headlights and wipers
8-speaker sound system with DTS equaliser

In taking a slight tangent to talk a bit more on the screens, the Haval’s twin displays are both sharp to the eye and rather slick to operate. This writer personally also rather adores the standard galaxy display theme that GWM calls ‘the foreign space’. There is nevertheless still a bit of un-intuitiveness with its user interface and general interior controls however, which is elaborated upon (at great length) in a whole separate story dedicated to the Haval H6’s various quirks and features linked here.

Power & Efficiency: Good Pace Yet Good Gas Milage

One of the biggest selling points proclaimed by GWM for this Haval H6 HEV is its self-charging hybrid powertrain, which touts some rather impressive power and fuel efficiency figures on paper. And credit where credit is due, it actually manages to deliver on both fronts in the real world too.

Touching the power front first, there is more than a decent amount of it available from this electrified and boosted setup. More pleasantly too is that said oomph comes about relatively instantaneous and linearly, with any delay in power delivery upon putting one’s foot down from the usual turbo lag all but masked by the electric drive motor.

There’s certainly enough instant go on tap with this Haval to make squirting out of junctions or merging with traffic something that the driver doesn’t even need to think twice before doing. And speaking from personal experience at least, it is the confidence that this big SUV can boogie on demand which takes so much strain and stress out of a daily commute.

On the efficiency side of things meanwhile, this writer had managed to cover just over 650 km before the Haval said it had under a quarter tank of petrol left in its 61-litre tank. Now this is of course a little ways off the 1,000 km on a full tank that GWM claims this hybrid SUV can manage, but is nevertheless an impressive-enough figure, especially when considering that not once in the 650 km this writer had covered with the H6 did he think to drive in an economical manner, with it worth noting too that the 650 km also included a rather speedy return interstate trip from KL to Ipoh.

Driving Dynamics: Decent Enough When Within Its Limit

As for how Haval actually drives here, let’s just say that H6’s driving dynamics is unfortunately not able to break the current trend of Chinese SUVs being sub-par in this aspect. So this does in turn means that it really is not the most confidence-inspiring for the drivers that really wish to push their cars, or actually the most comfortable on the road too for passengers onboard at higher speeds.

The H6’s steering for instance doesn’t have the most weight or feel, even when put into its heaviest setting in sport mode. And despite featuring a multi-link rear suspension setup that GWM claims is supposedly tuned by Malaysians specifically for local roads, this SUV still manages to be both jiggly and not the most sure-footed on the highway.

The aforementioned interstate drive to Ipoh and back also revealed for there to be elevated levels of wind and road noise at above highway speeds, which combined with not the most supportive seats in the world therefore does make for longer journeys in the Haval become a somewhat tiresome affair for all occupants after a while.

Then again, all the cars in this particular segment aren’t exactly to be true blue driver’s cars for those wanting to drive at ten-tenths either. Instead, bring the speeds down to a more reasonable speed and the Haval then becomes a decently quiet and refined ride for pootling around town on the daily, which is actually where the hybrid system shines in its efficiency too!

One other thing regarding how the Haval H6 drives that either is good or bad depending on the person is that thanks to a somewhat narrow windscreen and a long bonnet, this SUV feels even bigger to drive on the road that it already is. Manoeuvrability in tight spots therefore isn’t the easiest (thankfully helped by the decent surround view camera with an actual physical button on the dashboard to activate at an instant), but the positive tradeoff to this is for it to offer the security and the rather reassuring sense that you won’t be easily bullied on the road.

Finally for those who prefer their cars to drive itself on the other hand, the Haval expectedly comes packed with all the ADAS kit that one could expect from a Chinese car, with it including some more atas stuff too in the form of self-parking and reverse tracing. And as for how it all actually works, the adaptive cruise control is pretty smooth in its action, with bonus points for the old-school activation on a dedicated stalk being delightfully intuitive to use.

Conclusion: Could Consider Over A Corolla Cross

In summarising the Haval H6 HEV, it looks more premium than a Corolla Cross, with it further featuring an interior that is more plush and better-equipped too. It also offers decent amounts of poke without guzzling all that much fuel, and it doesn’t really drive half bad too (when being sensible anyway).

What more is that while it may not it may not have the legendary Toyota reliability attached to its name, GWM is currently offering some staggering warranties with this Haval. This includes a 10-year/1,000,000 km engine warranty, 8-year/1,000,000 km HEV system warranty and 7-year/200,000 km vehicle warranty.

So to those actually in the market for the newly-facelifted Toyota Corolla Cross, this Chinese electrified alternative might just be compelling enough to convince one to be among the growing number of Malaysians to choose it instead.