GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hybrid 2025 review

The 2025 GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hybrid we have here sits in the meatiest part of the medium SUV segment with a $43,990 price tag (drive-away), representing sharp value amongst its rivals.

It isn’t stingy with the spec either. Equipment highlights include a power-operated tailgate, a 360-degree parking camera, faux leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats (which are also heated and ventilated), dual-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, a huge 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, head-up display, panoramic glass sunroof, wireless phone charger and adaptive cruise control.

Safety equipment includes the suite of expected electronics like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), stability control and traction control, as well as frontal collision warning that also detects pedestrians and cyclists, traffic sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors, the aforementioned 360-degree parking camera array, lane keep assist and a driver fatigue monitor. Seven airbags are standard

There are a couple of driver aids that are exclusive to the Ultra grade, too. Auto parking assist and auto reverse assist can not only autonomously steer the car into a perpendicular or parallel parking spot, but can also memorise the path taken prior to coming to a halt and repeat it in reverse, which can be handy if you’ve had to negotiate a tight driveway.

Impressive, but for the majority of buyers the piece of technology that will arguably be of most interest is the petrol-electric hybrid powertrain we’re testing here. Hybrids are hot in SUV-land, and the H6’s 1.5-litre turbo-petrol and electric-motor combo promises some enticing numbers. Naturally, fuel economy is arguably the most important, and for the H6 Ultra hybrid, the factory claim for the combined cycle is 5.2L/100km (NEDC).

The output is a healthy 179kW when the 110kW petrol engine and 130kW electric motor are working together. However peak combined torque is a colossal 530Nm – is that too much of a good thing for the front-wheel drive H6 hybrid?

The current generation has always been strong value, and a great choice for those looking for an SUV with a spacious back seat. With the arrival of the facelifted 2025 Haval H6 Ultra hybrid, it’s now got a cabin that’s even more user-friendly.

That’s largely due to the overhaul of the centre console. By relocating the transmission selector to the steering column, the wireless phone charging pad has migrated closer to the occupants and is easier to access as a result. The cupholders fall naturally to hand, too, while there’s an additional tray for keys and wallets – the under-console storage cubby is larger as well.

Besides that, the designers have also eliminated all ‘piano black’ trim from the cabin. Piano black – that hard gloss black plastic that tends to mark easily with scratches and grease – is a scourge on the industry, and it’s pleasing to see that GWM has relegated it to its rightful place: the bin.

The engineers have had a crack at making the H6 drive better, too. The pre-update H6 suffered from a sloppy chassis and ho-hum handling, with most of the blame levelled at a suspension that was too soft. For the facelift the dampers have been tightened up with stronger rebound damping, with the result being a definite improvement in body control. Good job.

Another positive note concerns its hybrid efficiency. Haval claims 5.2L/100km on the combined cycle, and that’s precisely what our tester delivered after subjecting it to our 100-kilometre urban/highway test loop. The extent of its electrification is also a high point, with the H6 hybrid having a stronger preference for pure-electric propulsion than many other petrol-electric hybrid SUVs.

The new 14.6-inch infotainment screen is big, but underutilised thanks to the absence of a built-in sat-nav system (you can only bring your own via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay) and frustrating control clustering that hides commonly used controls, like the volume slider and ventilation controls.

Poor UX principles are also found on the 2025 GWM Haval H6’s steering wheel. Its reshaped rim is indeed nicer to hold now, but the arrow keys on the right side of the wheel are confusingly responsible for both the trip computer functions and audio. Their control mode is toggled by another button on the steering wheel, and there’s only a tiny visual indicator in the digital dash to tell you whether you’re in audio mode, or trip computer mode. Annoying.

A bigger limitation is the absence of any clever packaging in the boot space. At 560L with the rear seats up it’s got enough capacity to be useful, but there’s no under-floor storage, nowhere to stow the cargo blind when it’s not in use and not even a single bag hook or cargo net to secure your groceries.

But by far the biggest problem with the H6 hybrid is its powertrain. With 530Nm of petrol-electric torque going to just the front wheels, it’s too grunty for its own good. It’s brawn without brain, it’ll spin a tyre in the dry and it gets even worse in the wet when, occasionally, there will be so much wheelspin that the traction control simply throws its hands up and clocks off.

It’s not much better when the traction control is functioning either, as it attempts to control slippage by abruptly cutting power before restoring it after an uncomfortably long pause.

The fix should be simple – either reduce the overall torque output or re-shape the torque curve to make it more driveable. We hear there’s a new chassis tune coming for the H6, so fingers crossed it’s addressed.

The value for money is hard to look past, especially as the updated 2025 Haval H6 Ultra hybrid looks smarter and functions better than ever. It rides nicer, too.

However, the ragged edges created by the over-abundance of torque from this surprisingly muscular hybrid family car means there’s still room for GWM Haval to improve the recipe and make it as pleasant to drive as its Japanese and European competition.

2025 GWM Haval H6 Ultra hybrid at a glance:
Price: $43,990 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol-electric hybrid
Output: 110kW/230Nm (electric motor: 130kW/300Nm)
Combined output: 179kW/530Nm
Transmission: DHT automatic
Fuel: 5.2L/100km (NEDC)
CO2: 120g/km (ADR Combined or WLTP if overseas model)
Safety rating: Five-star (2022)

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