- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0T, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
150kW, 320Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 8.4L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2022)
2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra review
We already know that the Haval brand represents great value. But how does the new Haval H6 GT fare in the crowded medium SUV segment?
- Great value proposition packed with standard features
- Styling is sophisticated and sporty
- Cabin storage is impressive
- Infotainment isn't the easiest to use on the go
- Coupe styling compromises boot capacity
- Ride has some drawbacks
2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra
By now you’ve surely seen plenty of Havals on the road. Their SUVs are bold and muscular, and if you don’t happen to catch the block-letter badge on the rear, they can easily be distinguished by their chunky chrome front grille.
But now, there’s a new-looking Haval cruising the streets of Oz – the 2022 Haval H6 GT. It’s a sportier, edgier-looking SUV with a coupe-inspired design. In styling terms, the H6 GT is a standout, which it certainly needs to be in the saturated and competitive medium SUV market.
If you're not already aware, this category is the hottest in the Australian market, so in order to succeed brands need to come in strong and give consumers an exceptional value proposition.
Standard features are one its greatest selling points, as there are plenty of them. In top-spec H6 GT Ultra trim it gets all-wheel drive with selectable driving modes, Michelin Sport tyres, head-up display, heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated and ventilated seats, four-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, wireless phone charging, ambient cabin lighting, hands-free electric tailgate, and a panoramic sunroof.
To give you an idea of just how generous this is, we recently conducted a Medium SUV Megatest that included 11 vehicles and no other car was equipped with all of these features. The majority of the bunch didn’t include seat heating or a power tailgate, and a lot didn’t have wireless charging.
The 2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra sits on 19-inch alloy wheels. Its appearance, while sporty, remains sophisticated in its coupe styling, clean lines and more understand grille.
Weirdly, though, there are remaining mounting points designed for a larger numberplate on the rear that isn't very attractive.
How much does the 2022 Haval H6 GT cost in Australia?
The 2022 Haval H6 GT is available in two variants – the Lux that starts at $40,990 drive-away, and the range-topping Ultra that kicks off at $46,490 drive-away.
We tested the Haval H6 GT Ultra, finished in Atlantis Blue, adding $495 to the price. This brings the total on-test cost to $46,985.
The Haval H6 goes up against the likes of our 2022 Drive Car or the Year winner in the Kia Sportage, and the most popular medium SUV in Australia – the Toyota RAV4.
When comparing price, we put this up against the Kia Sportage SX+ petrol AWD that sells for $43,500 excluding on-road costs, while the most comparable RAV4 is the Edge AWD petrol that starts at $50,200 plus on-roads.
Interestingly, while the H6 GT follows the styling guidelines of an 'SUV coupe', it's the only mainstream model to do so, with other examples of the body style coming from prestige brands like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Get a great deal today
Interested in this car? Provide your details and we'll connect you to a member of the Drive team.
Key details | 2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra |
Price | $46,490 drive-away |
Colour of test car | Atlantis Blue |
Options | Metallic paint – $495 |
Price as tested | $46,985 drive-away |
Rivals | Kia Sportage | Toyota RAV4 | MG HS |
How much space does the 2022 Haval H6 GT have inside?
I can’t tell you how surprised I was when jumping inside this Haval. In fact, as this car was in my possession for a week, I got the chance to show a few people and they too were impressed.
Not a lot of my friends know much about the brand, some haven’t seen them around at all, and while I’m not certain that they’d go out and buy one tomorrow, they appreciated everything this car has to offer and were stunned at the inclusions.
Sitting inside it looks sporty but plush, with its leather seats with suede-look accents and GT embroidery. The suede treatment continues in the doors and centre compartment.
The remaining materials throughout the cabin are a cohesive mixture of gloss and matte black textures with just enough silver accents. The only element I’m not a fan of is Haval’s rotary gear selector dial. It just screams cheap.
The storage is exceptional for passengers in the front row with the centre console providing a large open storage area suitable for a small handbag.
There’s also a well-sized centre compartment, glovebox, two cupholders and additional bottle holders in the door bins. The cupholders are retractable, so you always have the option of using this as another area for items if it’s not being occupied by beverages.
Front-row passengers also benefit from a wireless charge pad along with two USB ports.
The second row, like most SUVs of this size, will comfortably fit three passengers, but it's a little squishier for larger adults.
The rear seats offer plenty of comfort with ample leg and head room. There are two charging ports, dedicated air vents, room for bottles in the doors, along with a centre armrest with cupholders.
The boot is equipped with a power tailgate that can also be accessed via its kick sensor. I don’t really ever use this function, but it’s convenient if you’ve got your hands full of shopping and can't go searching for your keys.
The boot itself holds 392L with the rear seats up and a maximum of 1390L. This isn’t a lot, and it’s the design that compromises space here. So while the coupe styling looks appealing, it clearly has its downside.
To put this into context, the regular Haval H6 SUV model provides 600L of cargo capacity and a maximum of 1485L.
In fact, the H6 GT sits at the bottom of the segment in the way of boot space, with the RAV4 at 580L, the Sportage at 543L, and one of the segment's smallest boots, the Mazda CX-5, measuring 442L.
2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra | |
Seats | Five |
Boot volume | 392L seats up 1390L seats folded |
Length | 4727mm |
Width | 1940mm |
Height | 1729mm |
Wheelbase | 2738mm |
Does the 2022 Haval H6 GT have Apple CarPlay?
The Haval H6 GT Ultra scores a large 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both via a wired connection.
It’s high-resolution, within easy reach, and has easy to read icons and animations – same goes for the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and colour head-up display.
However, the main screen is not the easiest to use on the move, as Haval is yet another brand that has said goodbye to dials and buttons. There really aren’t many surrounding the screen to assist you on the go.
For example, to adjust your climate control you need to delve into the touchscreen. It took me some time to realise this, but luckily there is a shortcut screen where you swipe and a list of important features pop up, such as drive mode, climate, seat heating etc.
However, it can get a bit fiddly. Please just bring back some old-fashioned buttons! There doesn’t need to be a heap, but personally I don’t want to have to revert to a screen for my seat heating.
While I’m on the negatives, a lot of people that I called during my time with the car said they had trouble hearing me when I phoned them from the Bluetooth system. I didn’t have any connection problems on my end and pairing was easy, so that’s a plus.
The system has AM/FM radio but not DAB digital radio, and it also misses out on an in-built satellite navigation system, so you’ll have to opt for your phone to mirror this feature.
Something else worth mentioning is that the Haval sounds with a beep when you leave your phone sitting in the charging pad, ready to exit the car – very handy as I often forget that it's there.
Is the 2022 Haval H6 GT a safe car?
The Haval H6 GT shares its five-star ANCAP rating with the regular H6 model, which received its rating in 2022.
High scores were awarded to the H6 for its adult occupant protection (90 per cent) and child occupant protection (88 per cent).
2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Haval H6 GT have?
The Haval H6 GT Ultra gets a bunch of standard safety including autonomous emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist and lane-change assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, tyre pressure monitoring, driver fatigue monitoring and seven airbags.
Hats off to the impressive 360-degree camera as it’s of the highest quality, giving you a clear view of every angle of the vehicle.
It's worth noting that the Haval H6 GT also gets a head-up display, which is another nifty highlight.
The one addition I couldn’t get my head around was the autonomous park assist. I’m not big on relying on these features, as we all should have been taught how to parallel park when we got our licence, right? But in the spirit of testing this feature, I gave it a crack on a quiet back street and, boy, am I glad it was quiet.
There seem to be far too many steps for something that needs to be conducted at a fast pace. I mean, you’d want to ideally use this in a busy area when you’ve got traffic around and not just because you’re feeling a little lazy.
You’ll need to push the park assist button, enable the system, keep your eyes on the screen for the spot to pop up, select the space, tap another prompt, and then hold your breath as the car reverses into the space. This is probably the scariest part as it makes a screechy braking noise, so much so that it actually sounds like you're running over something.
While this is cool technology, for a function that's supposed to make life easier, it does the opposite.
How much does the Haval H6 GT cost to maintain?
The Haval H6 GT is supported by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty – up on the industry average of five years.
The first service is due at 12 months or 10,000km and then at 12 months or 15,000km from the second service on.
Servicing costs vary over the five-year period, with the first and fifth the cheapest at $210, and the fourth the most expensive ($580). The total servicing cost for five years is $1760.
A comprehensive insurance quote estimate comes to $1253.44 per annum based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
At a glance | 2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra |
Warranty | Seven years, unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km (1st year) 12 months or 15,000km (2nd service on) |
Servicing costs | $970 (3 years) $1760 (5 years) |
Is the Haval H6 GT fuel-efficient?
Haval claims 8.4 litres per 100km on a combined cycle, with its urban claim at 10.2L/100km. With a mixture of driving modes, along with a combination of driving conditions, however, mainly urban running, we returned a recording of 12.3L/100km. Not as close to its combined as we’d hoped, but we thankfully weren’t running to the bowser, plus it can take 91-octane unleaded fuel.
Fuel Consumption - brought to you by bp
Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 8.4L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 12.3L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 60L |
What is the Havel H6 GT like to drive?
Under the bonnet of the Haval H6 GT Ultra lies a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine capable of 150kW and 320Nm, while a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic sends drive to all four wheels.
The engine and transmission are the same as you'll find in the regular (non-hybrid) H6 range. The power is plentiful and more than enough for taking off at the lights, cruising along the highway, and performing snappy overtakes.
Being behind the wheel is quite a comfortable experience, with the panoramic sunroof offering an abundance of additional light to the cabin, while the leather seats are cushy and supportive.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the GT is the addition of Race mode, which produces an unexpected growl, and while it doesn’t provide you with knock-your-socks-off power, the difference in the exhaust note is instantly noticeable.
There are also Normal, Eco and several all-wheel-drive settings available. However, there’s a real issue when you make the switch from Sport to Race modes, whereby the hazard lights activate between the transition. Panicked by the thought that there was something seriously wrong with my vehicle, I alerted the team and, funnily enough, they were already acutely aware of this bizarre setting.
It’s a known thing in Havals. Not a great thing to be known for, and we can only hope it’s something that will get resolved in the future. It seems unnecessary, and maybe even a little dangerous to alert other drivers of a change in drive modes via the hazard lights.
By the road rules in Victoria, hazards are only to be used when stopped or slowly moving and likely to obstruct vehicles or pedestrians, not to add some pizzaz to changing drive modes.
The Haval’s soft suspension makes for easy and seamless driving at high speeds, but the downside to that is it doesn't feel overly composed on sharper, bumpier roads.
The cabin is pleasantly quiet, though, with very little noise surfacing from the Michelin tyres, even when navigating coarser surfaces.
Surging through corners is fairly effortless, but it does have its moments, especially at higher speeds where body control is lacking. Another negative is that the rear visibility is severely compromised thanks to its sloping roof. Thankfully, the side mirrors are large, and perhaps one of its greatest assets is its exceptional 360-degree camera.
The camera is of the highest quality and makes parking a lot easier – rely on this, if need be, instead of its park assist.
One final thing to note is the inclusion of the custom button on the steering wheel, which gives you the ability to easily flick through your favourites, such as drive modes, steering heating etc.
Key details | 2022 Haval H6 GT Ultra |
Engine | 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine |
Power | 150kW @ 6300rpm |
Torque | 320Nm @ 1500–4000rpm |
Drive type | All-wheel drive |
Transmission | Seven-speed automatic transmission |
Power to weight ratio | 89kW/t |
Weight | 1680kg |
Spare tyre type | Space-saver |
Tow rating | 2000kg braked 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 12m |
Should I buy a Haval H6 GT?
I'll say it again – this car is an impressive value proposition. If you're after an SUV that's fair on price and is full of features, then this might be the car for you.
The amount of standard features are a standout, the interior is impressive and comfortable, and its appearance is appealing. Haval has certainly come in strong with this offering with an SUV that is a great option for families, plus the sporty styling will surely appeal to a broader audience.
However, the ride isn't perfect and a little busy at times. But perhaps my biggest hesitation is the build quality of these vehicles. It's such an affordable package, which is great. However, their resale numbers are poor, so that does make me question their longevity.