2025 GWM Haval H6 review: Updated mid-size SUV a definite improvement but for one quibble...

So far the highest-selling Chinese brand in Australia in 2025, GWM – or Great Wall Motors – is on a roll. Thanks to a flurry of new product, including the Cannon Alpha PHEV ute and Tank 300 diesel off-road SUV, the brand has aspirations of selling 50,000 cars locally this year and it’s currently on track to do so.

While the Haval Jolion small SUV has been the highest-selling GWM product locally this year, its H6 larger sibling isn’t far behind and plays in what is now the most competitive car segment in Australia: the mid-size SUV.

Armed with a comprehensive update, including styling, technological, drivetrain and value upgrades, is the updated Haval H6 a serious mid-size SUV player?

Price and equipment

GWM Australia recently launched the facelifted Haval H6 range into Australian showrooms, with the hybrid drivetrain available now, the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol landing next month and the new plug-in hybrid in September.

GWM also rejigged the H6’s model line-up, with only two models now available and a base price increase by $2000 thanks to the culling of the former base model. That makes it sound more expensive, but it isn’t: some models are up to $4000 cheaper than before. In all, the keen value that GWM is known for is maintained with the updated Haval H6.

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2025 GWM Haval H6 pricing (drive away)

H6 Lux standard equipment:

• 19-inch black alloy wheels
• Dusk-sensing automatic LED lighting
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Keyless entry and push button start
• Heated and auto-folding mirrors with puddle lamps
• Electric tailgate with kick-to-open functionality (hybrid)
• Leather steering wheel
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• 6-way electric driver seat adjustment
• Dual-zone automatic climate control with rear air vents
• 10.25-inch digital driver’s display
• 14.6-inch touchscreen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Wireless phone charger (50W)
• 4x USB outlets
• 2x 12V sockets
• Eight-speaker sound system
• Auto-dimming rear mirror

Haval H6 safety features:

• 7x airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and junction assistance
• Lane keeping assistance
• Adaptive lane guidance
• Adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Driver fatigue monitoring
• Auto high beam
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert
• Rear parking sensors
• 360-degree camera
• Tyre pressure monitoring

The pre-facelifted H6 earned a five-star ANCAP rating in 2022, and a rating for the updated model is reportedly due soon – we’ll update this review when it’s announced.

H6 Ultra model adds over Lux

• Head-up display
• Rear privacy glass
• Panoramic sunroof
• Driver seat memory and lumbar adjustment
• 4-way electric front passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Upgraded sound system (hybrid features eight speakers, with petrol and PHEV variants adding an extra one for nine in total)
• Front parking sensors (excluding PHEV)
• Automatic parking (excluding PHEV)
• Stainless steel front scuff plates

Interior, practicality and boot space

The interior of the Haval H6 received a comprehensive update aimed at keeping it fresh inside. The centre console has been redesigned for more storage with the gear selector now located on the right-hand stalk behind the steering wheel. A huge new 14.6-inch touchscreen now features too, and the finish throughout is still impressive for the price with a lot of soft touch materials and synthetic leather trims that feel like the real thing.

One change inside that many will overlook is the steering wheel. While the design appears to be similar to the pre-updated model, GWM has given it a thicker rim and that small change has made a for a big improvement: it now provides more confidence from behind the wheel and is much more natural to hold than the thinner wheel presented in the older H6.

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The biggest technological change in the facelifted H6 is a new 14.6-inch touchscreen that features on all models. It uses the same software as other new GWM products, such as the Cannon Alpha, and is easier to use and faster than the pre-updated model’s 12.3-inch unit. It now features wireless smartphone mirroring that was mostly reliable in our time with it, though there’s still no inbuilt satellite navigation for those who live in areas with poor phone reception.

Annoyingly, the pre-updated H6’s lack of physical buttons has continued with the new model. While there are shortcut buttons on the centre console for turning on the HVAC system, the demisters and 360-degree camera, there’s no volume knob and physical home button so that even just getting to the home screen from phone mirroring takes at least a few screen pushes.

There’s a blank shortcut button on the centre console, and we think it’s the perfect spot for a home button. A permanent bar on the bottom of the home screen to more easily adjust the HVAC system would also be a great idea too, so that adjusting the temperature was made much easier.

The headlight controls are also now located in the screen, which would be fine if you could set them to auto to cover all driving situations, but they still aren’t rain-activated, requiring a few screen presses to turn them on. They also don’t switch off automatically when the car is turned off.

You can’t fault the storage in the H6 however, with sectioned door bins and a huge tray underneath the centre console that’s great for a handbag, while the new open-tray design is well thought out and the box underneath the central armrest is large too.

The rear seat and boot of the Haval H6 are mostly unchanged compared with the pre-updated model and that’s a good thing as the rear seat in particular was one of the roomiest and most practical in the mid-size SUV segment. Two tall adults will fit fine thanks to the commodious rear leg- and headroom, and the flat floor only enhances the available space. Amenities include door and map pockets, a central armrest, air vents and two charging ports – though no integrated sunshades, third climate zone or heated seats like some rivals offer.

The boot of the Haval H6 Ultra hybrid measures a healthy 560 litres with the seats up and 1445 litres with them folded, which they do almost flat. The Ultra hybrid doesn’t feature a spare wheel, however, and there’s no under-floor storage or bag hooks either, just some side storage. The boot is a great size, but could do with some more clever features to increase practicality even further.

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Under the bonnet

There are four drivetrains available in the updated H6 range: a 170kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol, a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol hybrid and two plug-in hybrids centred around another 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. One is front-wheel drive making 240kW/540Nm and the other is all-wheel drive making 268kW/760Nm for a claimed 4.8-second 0-100km/h sprint.

The hybrid produces 179kW of power and 530Nm of torque, and sends grunt to the front wheels through a ‘Dedicated Hybrid Transmission’. While the company doesn’t provide a claimed 0-100km/h time, it’s got more than enough grunt for everyday use and we’d guesstimate it to complete the benchmark sprint in the eight-second bracket.

GWM claims combined fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km and CO2 emissions of 120g/km, placing it only 0.5L/100km above the top-selling and less powerful RAV4 hybrid. We achieved 6.2L/100km in mixed driving, but our test car was brand new with less than 1000km on the clock, so the fuel consumption should improve with more distance.

On the road

Mechanically, the updated Haval H6 hybrid hasn’t seen the same level of change as the rest of the car with identical outputs to before, but they were already healthy in the segment. The H6 hybrid switches between petrol and electric power and does so in a smoother fashion than a RAV4, for example, and aside from the little EV icon on the driver’s display, you’d be hard pressed to tell thanks to its excellent engine noise suppression. Road noise levels are also impressively low, and as we’ve come to expect from Chinese cars – the H6’s refinement is excellent.

The hybrid drivetrain is also quietly grunty, making little noise but satisfying oomph from when the throttle is pressed, with the full 530Nm hitting not far from a start. Because of that, the H6 hybrid will chirp its wheels at full throttle, though changing the driving mode to eco dulls it a bit. At higher speeds, there’s more than enough grunt, with the H6 hybrid cruising at 110km/h effortlessly. The H6 is a reasonable handler for a mid-size SUV, though sporty it is not (and that’s fine, too).

If there is a caveat from behind the wheel, it’s the ride quality – the H6 just isn’t as comfortable as it should be. The 19-inch wheels are standard across the range and make the low speed ride sensitive to even smaller bumps, so much so that it never settles properly in urban driving. It’s more comfortable at higher speeds, but the low speed ride needs finessing. The steering is quick, but too light and offers precious little feel.

Where GWM has made improvements, however, is with the updated active safety systems. Features such as the lane keeping assistance are now less intrusive than before and more effective as well. The adaptive cruise control is still a bit too conservative and will stay too far back from traffic for our taste, but unlike a lot of modern cars, the speed limit warning can be shut up permanently. Hooray! The 360-degree camera is also impressively high definition.

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Service and warranty

The H6 is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with an eight-year/160,000km warranty for the battery, five years of roadside assistance and five years of capped price servicing.

Five years/70,000km of servicing the H6 hybrid costs $2145 ($429 per year) with the first service due in 12 months or 10,000km (whichever comes first) and every service afterwards a further 12 months or 15,000km (again, whichever comes first).

Verdict: Should I buy a GWM Haval H6?

It’s great when a car maker launches a facelift that actually improves it, instead of just making it seem new, and the updated GWM Haval H6 is a great example of that as its cabin is now more attractive, it’s more practical and its value equation has been improved further. A top-spec hybrid costs under $44,000 drive away, or $20,000 less than equivalent top-sellers in the segment. We’ve only tested the hybrid variant so far, but it’s expected to be the biggest seller of the facelifted range and we can see why: it’s easy to drive, provides more than enough performance and great real world fuel economy.

Where the H6 needs improvement is in the ride quality, which is just not comfortable enough, and the user-friendliness of the infotainment system, where more physical buttons would greatly improve the experience. Plus, the front seats are still too flat and there’s no spare wheel for hybrid models. But there’s no doubt that the Haval H6 is a better product than before, offering even more value as well, enough so that we think it will see GWM’s 2025 50,000 sales target easily met.

GWM Haval H6 rivals

MG HS Hybrid+

Kia Sportage Hybrid

Nissan X-Trail e-Power

Specs

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