Summary: The Haval H6 has undergone some useful improvements over the previous model. Certainly, the Australian suspension tuning program is well worthwhile. And you’ll make significant fuel savings, as long as you keep it charged.

2026 Haval H6 Ultra PHEV SUV

Pricing: $35,990 (entry level 2WD petrol), $40,990 (2WD hybrid), $44,990 (2WD plug-in hybrid), $47,990 (2WD Ultra PHEV), $50,990 (AWD Ultra PHEV), all plus on road costs

Options: premium paint $495

Warranty: Seven-years/unlimited km, eight-year/unlimited km battery warranty, five-year roadside assistance, five-year capped price servicing

Safety: 5-star ANCAP (tested 2022)

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo plug-in hybrid

Service intervals: 15,000km/12 months

Power: 240kW (FWD), 268kW (AWD)

Torque: 540Nm (FWD), 760Nm (AWD)

Battery: 19.09kWh Lithium Ion Phosphate

Transmission: dual-speed dedicated hybrid transmission, front-wheel drive/all-wheel drive

Body: 4703mm (long); 1886mm (wide); 1730mm (high)

Build country: China

Weight: 1895kg

Luggage capacity: 560L, 1445L (rear seats folded)

Towing capacity: 1500kg

Wheels: 19-inch alloy

Tyres: 235/55R19

Spare wheel: repair kit

Ground clearance: 170mm

Turning circle: 11.9m

Fuel tank: 55 litres

Claimed fuel consumption: 1.0L/100km (RWD), 1.1L/100km (AWD), 91 RON unleaded

Claimed energy consumption: 18.4kWh/100km

Claimed electric-only range: 106km (FWD), 100km (AWD), NEDC

Consumption on test: 5.9L/100km (250km)

Charging time: 28 minutes (DC charger at 64kWh, from 30 to 80 percent), 3 hours (AC charger at 6.6kWh, 15 to 100 percent)

seniordriveraus consumption on test: not tested

[review]

Great Wall’s Haval H6 PHEV is the third plug-in hybrid that we have driven in as many weeks.

Dating back to 2011, the third generation H6 made its debut at the 2020 Chengdu Motor Show.

And, all jokes aside, it’s the first Haval to sit on the ‘Lemon’ platform – we kid you not.

H6 is GWM’s all-time, best-selling model, with more than 4 million sales globally.

The plug-in version was added in 2021, with a new-look front and available in petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid form.

“Every inch of the H6 has been meticulously considered,” we’re told.

What’s it cost?

The front-wheel drive H6 Hybrid comes in just the two grades, both offering 1.5-litre motors. The Lux Hybrid is the entry model priced from $42,490 while the Ultra Hybrid starts from $45,990, both driveaway.

With seven colours from which to choose, six of them a $495 option, it’s priced to sell.

Standard features include 19-inch alloys, artificial leather upholstery and two-zone climate air with vents for rear passengers.

Hybrid gets a cascading, Peugeot-esque front grille that morphs into the body work, setting the hybrid apart from its more mundane H6 siblings.

At the rear a pair of high-mount stop lights look down from binnacles above the tailgate, while the tail lights are joined by a band of LEDs across the back (that look pretty cool at night).

The design of the dash is right on the money with a stylish line of metal-look trim that spans the breadth and frames the air conditioning outlets, showing Haval is a quick study.

Other features include a power-adjust driver’s seat, heated and ventilated front seats and a heated leather steering wheel.

There’s also heads-up display, an electric tailgate, panoramic sunroof and a fully automatic system that will park the car for you.

Add to this LED head and tail lights, LED fog and daytime running lights, ambient interior lighting, auto-fold exterior mirrors, auto lights and wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror, front and rear parking sensors – and it makes it a car you want to like.

The cabin is dominated by two large colour displays: a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment in the centre of the dash and a smaller 10.25-inch screen located behind the steering wheel for the speedo and other instruments.

The touchscreen provides control for most features but it can be tricky getting it right while trying to steer and keep an eye on the traffic at the same time.

Most car makers at least provide a quick access volume knob for audio.

Infotainment consists of a 12.3-inch touch and scroll screen, with AM/FM radio, Bluetooth, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, eight-speaker audio with DTS support, wireless phone charging and five USB ports (three front and two back).

Surprisingly, there’s no navigation or digital radio.

Five-star safety includes seven airbags, including a centre bag, 360-degree camera, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, secondary collision mitigation and autonomous emergency braking including pedestrian, bicycle and crossroads.

The big, bright, high-definition camera provides a crystal-clear image of the surroundings.

Other safety features include driver fatigue monitoring, blind spot monitor, lane keeping assistance and rear cross traffic alert and braking.

Two ISOfix child seat anchors are provided.

Towing capacity is 1500kg, with 225/55 series Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 rubber and a tyre repair kit that replaces a spare.

Haval H6 Hybrid is covered by a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, along with five years roadside assistance and five-year capped price servicing.

What’s it go like?

The H6 is a mid-sized, five-seat wagon that is 4703mm long, with a 2738mm wheelbase and between 560 and 1445 litres of luggage capacity – the latter with rear seats folded.

Apart from real leather trim (Comfort-Tek is a euphemism for “artificial”), there’s not much missing from the equipment list. Oddly, that is, except for rear parking sensors and automatic parking which are unaccountably missing in this grade.

A column-mounted gear selector frees up space on the centre console for additional storage and provides space for the wireless phone charger.

Like the Geely, a small 10.25-inch screen sits above the steering column and serves as the instrument cluster.

An automatically activated parking brake adds to ease of use.

The hybrid powertrain in the H6 PHEV produces 240kW of power and 540Nm of torque in front-wheel drive form, with a dual-speed dedicated hybrid transmission.

With all-wheel drive, this rises to 268kW and 760kW, giving it a zero to 100km/h time of 4.8 seconds.

Either way, they’re impressive figures.

With a 55-litre tank, the H6 takes standard 91 RON unleaded.

Claimed fuel consumption with a fully charged battery is 1.0L/100km (1.1L for AWD).

If you’re slack and let the battery run down, consumption rises to 5.0L/100km (5.3L for AWD).

Sadly we confess to being apathetic and were getting 5.9L/100km after more than 250km of driving.

With energy consumption at 18.4kWh/100km, the PHEV has a pure electric driving range of 106km or 100km for the AWD version.

Unfortunately these figures are under the older, more lenient, NEDC test regime, that car companies continue to quote because they look better in print. A WLTP figure of 80km is closer to the mark.

The 19.09kWh Lithium Ion Phosphate (LFP) battery can be charged from 30-80 percent in 28 minutes using a DC charger (at a rate of 34kW), or from 15-100 percent using an AC charger in under three hours (at 6.6kW).

Who, we wonder, wants to half-charge their battery when that presumably means half the range too?

The hybrid system operates in both series or parallel mode, powering the wheels or battery, with EV, EV Priority and Intelligent Hybrid modes.

There are also the usual drive mode options: Normal, Eco, Sport or Snow.

Steering weight can be adjusted, with comfortable, sport or light settings.

There’s also adjustable regenerative braking with the option of one-pedal driving – although the latter does not bring the vehicle to a complete stop.

Driving the H6 PHEV feels much like its competitors around town, but with a bit more get up and go.

Find some twisty roads, however, turn up the wick and the wagon comes to life, with braking and handling that is superior to its Chinese compatriots.

Handling is safe, predictable and planted, with strong mid-range throttle response and impressive braking.

The wagon has a substantial (dare we say, Commodore) feel, absorbing bumps rather than crashing over them, with very little rebound.

Whatever Great Wall is paying Mr Trubiani, it’s money in the bank.

But it’s not all peaches and cream…

The interior feels drab and dated in comparison to competitors, with too many features controlled from the touchscreen, taking attention away from the road.

Then there’s the annoying driver seatbelt which must be locked in before the brakes will release and the wagon can move off.

It’s a great idea, safety-wise that is, but not a very practical one.

The throttle exhibits some overrun, evident as the car continues to accelerate after lifting off the accelerator, forcing the driver to brake – sometimes hurriedly.

This can be unnerving in stop-start traffic and parking behind another vehicle on a steepish driveway, where the car tends to leap forward on liftoff, threatening to ram the car in front.

The column-mounted transmission lever has another trap waiting where it is possible to put the car into reverse if you mistake the gear lever for the indicator stalk with your foot on the brake, for example, when queuing for a left-hand turn.

With little in the way of labelling it took some time to work out how to engage cruise control which as it turns out is via – you guessed it – the gear selector.

Head-up display, as usual, is almost invisible with polarised sunglasses and the power-operated tailgate often refused to respond to the key fob.

Other than this the PHEV is a keeper.

Braked towing capacity is 1500kg.

A tyre repair kit is provided in the event of a flat tyre.

What we like

• Plenty of mumbo
• Retains good old AM radio
• No need to worry about range

What we don’t like

• Comparatively expensive
• Throttle overrun an issue
• Could do with more electric range

What over-50s need to know

Of the three so-called “super hybrids” that we’ve driven in recent weeks, the H6 is the most expensive, but dynamically better.

It’s let down by a drab, rather uninspiring cabin fitout and in this regard, some contrasting trim would help to break the monotony.

Beauty is however in the eye of the beholder.

The PHEV delivers the benefits of an SUV, with ease of entry and exit, a comfortable cabin, with seating for five and good-sized boot.

Throw in the ability to operate the wagon in electric or petrol-electric mode and it’s an appealing proposition at the price.

The Australian-tuned suspension is a bonus.

seniordriver comments

It’s interesting that Chris rates the Haval H6 as the best of the three plug-in hybrids he has driven over the past few weeks. We suspect that the biggest single difference is the Australian-tuned suspension.

With prices ranging from $35,990 (for the petrol version) up to $50,990 for the top-of-the-range AWD hybrid, the H6 appears to have the market covered.

The absence of rear parking sensors is hard to understand.

We question the claimed electric-only range of 106km. Because these figures relate to the more lenient NEDC protocol, we’d be more inclined to believe a range of 80-odd km.

Once again, the dependence on operations being controlled from the touchscreen means drivers must take their eyes off the road to use them, and this is a real safety issue that we wish would be addressed.