Haval H6 arrives in Oz

With the flags and bunting from the brand’s Australian launch removed barely 12 months ago, Chinese SUV purveyor Haval has released its new H6, a direct rival for popular mid-size SUVs like the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-TRAIL.

Like other Haval models — the H2, H8 and H9, pricing for which was slashed in June — buyers have a choice of either Premium or LUX grades with the H6.

Haval is making its new medium SUV more appetising by offering sweeteners to the end of 2016; the Premium is pegged at $29,990 and the LUX at $33,990, both including on-road costs (drive-away).

If you buy an H6 after the New Year’s Eve hang-over has worn off, you’ll get another headache when you realise you’ll need to pay $31,990 for the Premium and $34,990 for the LUX, plus on-road costs.

The entry-level Premium comes well equipped with 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate-control, privacy glass, keyless entry and start, 7.0-inch colour infotainment screen, seven-speaker audio system, Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming, tyre-pressure monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera and blind-spot monitoring.

The H6 LUX’s additional kit over Premium includes 19-inch alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, ‘Comfort-Tek' seats, heated front and rear seats, eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat, four-way power adjustable passenger seat, eight-speaker sound system (it adds a sub-woofer in the boot) and adaptive xenon headlights with automatic leveling.

However, integrated sat-nav is not available in the H6, although HAVAL hopes to have such a system available as an option by year’s end.

Haval expects 55 per cent of H6 buyers will choose the Premium and 45 per cent will plump for the LUX.

An initial allotment of 250 vehicles is being shipped to Australia in preparation for the November 1 on-sale date, and Haval is confident of selling them all by year’s end -- and can get more if required.

Crashworthiness has been a sore point for Chinese manufacturers, including Haval. While bettering some of the low scores of other Chinese vehicles, the Haval H9 achieved just four stars in ANCAP crash test results announced in May.

Haval Australia chief marketing officer Tim Smith said the company may not be able to supply H6 vehicles to ANCAP in time for the results to be known until next year.

On the safety front, all H6s have six airbags, blind-spot monitoring, traction/stability control with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist. LUX models add a nearside curb-view camera.

The H6 is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol direct-injection engine with peak outputs of 145kW at 5200rpm and 315Nm at 2000rpm. A first for Haval is the H6’s standard six-speed Getrag DCT451 dual-clutch automatic transmis-sion with paddle shifters.

As is the growing trend with tall, boxy wagons we call SUVs, the H6 is front-wheel drive only. An AWD model is available overseas, but it won't be imported as it is manual-only.

The H6 is big in the Chinese domestic market (where Haval is also the number-one SUV brand) and the medium SUV also makes the top-10 list for global SUV sales, says Smith.

“The Haval H6 range has sold more than a million units and is consistently the biggest selling SUV in China. In the 2016 calendar year to date, it is the fifth biggest-selling SUV in the world,” he claimed.

Haval has high hopes for the H6 here, with marketing manager Bill Soo pointing out that the medium SUVs are the fastest growing in the combined SUV segment, which itself is on track for a 44 per cent market share in 2016.

“SUVs are on track to exceed passenger car sales in 2017. H6 is the right product at the right time” Soo posited.

Nothing is more upbeat at a car launch than the brand’s description of expected buyers. The ‘target audience’ for H6 is a broad church; men and women from 25 to 55, with the majority signing the sales slip expected to be women. None are expected to be slovenly couch potatoes: they’ll be professionals (the usual suspects of butcher, baker and candle-stick maker) or retired from same.

The H6 comes in six exterior colours and you’re not hit with a premium paint charge for any of them. You can pick from Ebony, Bronze, Atlantic Blue, Sleek Silver, Monza, Titanium or Pure White.

Haval's newest model is packaged with a generous five-year/100,000km warranty and five years’ roadside assistance, five-year service price menu and 24/7 customer care.

2016 Haval H6 pricing (drive-away)*:
H6 Premium — $29,990
H6 LUX — $33,990

* Only until December 31, 2016, after which the Premium will cost $31,990 and the LUX $34,990 (plus ORCs)