Next Haval H5 gunning for Defender

Leaked images of the all-new Haval H5 have been leaked online, showing that the Chinese car-maker's mid-size SUV is about to get a radical redesign.

The images, discovered by

Borrowing design cues from SUVs like the Bronco Sport, Suzuki Jimny, Mercedes G-Wagen, Land Rover Defender and Jeep Wrangler, the 2021 H5 sports a pair of round LED headlights, a large and prominent upright grille and a rugged-looking front bumper that incorporates two hooks and a large bash plate.

A raised ride height that promises plenty of ground clearance, plus protective black plastic wheel-arches and door sills, hint that the Haval could go further off road than ever before.

Not that the next H5 hasn't been designed without 'lifestyle' buyers in mind. As well as those butch new looks the Chinese SUV comes with roof rails and an almost full-length panoramic roof.

But with a rugged chassis under its boxy new skin, it's thought the Haval H5 could for the first time give SUVs like the recently launched Land Rover Defender a real run for their money in the dirt.

Expected to sit on a ladder-frame chassis and come with permanent all-wheel drive hardware, the H5 could trade some on-road refinement for off-road prowess.

Under the bonnet, the safe money is the H5 will come with up to three petrol powertrains: 1.5-litre turbo, 2.0-litre turbo or range-topping 1.5-litre turbo plug-in hybrid.