GWM’s peppy Haval H6 Hybrid hits the mark

Photo / Supplied
In partnership with GWM
There’s a new ‘right size’ Hybrid SUV on the market, and it comes with all the features, cabin space and value typically associated with GWM SUVs.
There’s something else that the new $48,490 Haval H6 HEV Ultra offers besides the $1768 clean car rebate the government will reward you with for first registering it – efficiency.

It’s the most frugal SUV yet from the brand and capable of 91 octane petrol use as low as 5.2litres/100km, which results in an ultra-low CO2 output of 133g/km.
These are fuel use/CO2 emission figures more usually associated with either smaller hybrid passenger cars or hybrid SUVs of similar size that require you to plug them in (PHEVs).
Perhaps the best thing about the new H6 HEV Ultra is that it drives with the performance, convenience and familiarity of a conventional SUV yet delivers fuel use figures comparable with plug-in hybrid models.
You can also drive the Haval H6 Hybrid on electric power alone in urban conditions, such as the first part of a journey from your house to a motorway.
Then, as speed limits rise, the 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine will automatically fire up to take full advantage of them, just like a PHEV. However, some PHEVs will struggle to deliver a range of 50km when configured to drive on electric power alone.

Yet the H6 HEV Ultra can roam for 50km using just the electric motor in solo despite not requiring its owner to recharge the 1.8kWh battery first.
That’s because the petrol engine and the automatic power regeneration when decelerating has most likely already replenished the battery on the previous journey.
At urban speeds, the H6 HEV Ultra also “drives like a Battery Electric Vehicle” according to some motoring reviewers.
That’s due to the drivetrain refinement of GWM’s Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT), which delivers power to the front wheels in a more responsive and less wasteful manner than a conventional gearbox.
When both the petrol engine and electric motor are working at peak output in parallel, the H6 HEV can generate 179kW of power and 530Nm of driving force. It’s enough to fire the dual-engine hybrid SUV from 0 to 100kmh in 7.9 seconds.
Besides the reduced emissions, another reason to opt for the hybrid version of the H6 is the new mesh grille, which adds an air of sophistication to what is already one of the better-looking vehicles in the mid-sized SUV segment.

Inside, there’s plenty of room, and the driver can really stretch out using the 8-way powered seat adjuster (front passengers get 4-way powered seat adjustment).
Both front seats are heated and ventilated, and all are covered with GWM’s Comfort-Tek leather. The 60/40 split/folding rear bench seats offer a generous helping of leg room and fold away to create a flat-floored storage bay capable of stowing 1485 litres of luggage.
You access this area via a powered tailgate activated by either a remote button on the key fob or by swiping a foot past a sensor beneath the rear bumper after the car has automatically recognised the presence of the owner via the radio frequency ID chip also in the key fob.
The new Haval H6 has been independently tested by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) and received a five-star overall crash test rating.
Some of the many safety-enhancing driving aids fitted to the HEV Ultra model include adaptive cruise control with Stop + Go, lane-keeping assist, 360-degree camera and reversing camera, rear cross traffic alert with emergency rear cross traffic braking, intelligent cornering control, blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist, driver alertness monitoring, and automatic emergency braking.

As the flagship of the new H6 range, the HEV Ultra has 19” wheels, a panoramic sunroof, LED fog lights, a rear-view mirror that electronically adjusts to reduce glare, and the largest 12.3” TFT touchscreen of the range mounted on the dashboard.
There’s another 10.25” TFT screen to project the digital instrument display and further driver information is projected onto the lower part of the windscreen via the heads-up display. It can also park itself.
It all adds up to a lot of peppy mid-sized hybrid SUV for the money.





