2024 GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid review: Australian first drive

07/25/2024 11:00 PM

2024 GWM Haval Jolion Ultra Hybrid

GWM introduced the Haval Jolion range to Australian buyers in July 2021, and in September 2022 added hybrid models to the mix.

Now in July 2024, the range has come in for a midlife overhaul. As is pretty standard for this kind of update, styling gets a nip and a tuck, but whereas petrol and hybrid versions were previously closely related, the two now offer clearly different styling directions.

Non-hybrid models keep all the same sheet metal as before, but a new vertical grille in black, a new rear spoiler, and some additional black cladding on the lower bodywork and wheel arches help clean up the styling slightly.

The Haval Jolion Hybrid range goes further with new bodywork front and rear, a reprofiled glasshouse, new bonnet, front guards, rear quarter panels, and tailgate, plus new head and tail-lights, and bumper styling that emphasises width, making for a much sleeker and more modern-looking compact SUV.

On the inside, the changes are less pronounced. The interior keeps the same layout and key features as before, but GWM has shuffled the range with fewer petrol models but more hybrid trims available.

Under the skin, the powertrains haven’t changed, though outputs have been massaged slightly. The biggest change for the hybrid models is the adoption of multi-link rear suspension in place of torsion beam suspension on earlier versions. The petrol Haval Jolion continues with a torsion beam rear.

The best news for Aussie buyers, though, is the price. Bucking the trend of recent price rises across the industry, the refreshed GWM Haval Jolion range has seen its prices lowered compared to the outgoing version. A move that proves GWM is serious about attracting the attention of buyers.

How much is a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid?

Prices on the new Jolion range are down, but by how much? Well, on the flagship Ultra Hybrid model we’re testing in this review, the $38,990 drive-away price represents a $2000 discount compared to the pre-update version.

GWM has also adjusted the range, with less variants than before. If you’re after a non-hybrid Haval Jolion pricing starts from $26,990 for the entry-level Premium and $29,990 for the Lux, down $1500 and $1000 respectively compared to pre-update models.

Stepping up to the hybrid models adds a significant $6000 to the starting price. The Haval Jolion Premium Hybrid (a new variant in the range) is priced from $32,990 and the Lux Hybrid from $35,990. Again, the Lux is down $1000 compared to its direct predecessor, and across the range all GWM Haval Jolion prices include on-road costs.

The range kicks off with a healthy features list that includes 17-inch alloy wheels, halogen headlights, rear park sensors and rear-view camera, cloth seat trim, keyless entry and start, four-speaker audio, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control, road sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert with braking and more.

The 2024 update also brings a tilt and reach adjustable steering column (previously tilt-only). The petrol Premium is the only model with manual air conditioning (all others get dual-zone climate control).

As you move through the range, the Lux adds LED headlights, a 360-degree camera system, faux-leather on the seats and steering wheel, heated front seats with power adjustment for the driver, six-speaker audio, a 7.0-inch driver’s display, and more. The Lux Hybrid also gains 18-inch wheels, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, and a larger 12.3-inch infotainment screen (up from 10.25 inches).

The Ultra then steps up again with power adjustment for the front passenger seat, a driver’s head-up display, panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging, front park sensors and auto-parking capabilities, plus interior ambient lighting.

It’s a healthy list of equipment, putting the Haval Jolion Hybrid in good stead against hybrid small SUV rivals like the Honda HR-V, which comes in one fully equipped hybrid grade priced at $43,900 drive-away. There’s also the Hyundai Kona Hybrid range priced from $36,500 to $46,500 plus on-road costs depending on variant, and the Corolla Cross range that starts from $36,480 and reaches to $50,030 before on-road costs.

How big is a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid?

While it’s been restyled and reinvented on the outside, the interior dimensions remain the same. External changes are ever so minor, the new Jolion Hybrid is 2mm shorter nose to tail, 33mm narrower at the body side, and the new model sits 7mm higher.

At the rear, GWM has shrunk boot capacity measurements in a more impactful way. With the rear seats up there’s now a claimed 255 litres (previously 390L) and the seats-folded space is now a claimed 916L (1069L previously). The floor sits high, and both the hybrid battery and 12-volt battery sit under the floor where you might normally find secondary storage.

Aside from those packaging changes, the interior is much the same as before. The steering column now adds reach adjustment, but even when fully extended the wheel feels a long way from the driver. You’ll also find light-up panels in the doors, with multi-colour ambient lighting and animated display options.

The faux-leather interior looks nice, though the seat trim can feel a bit tacky when it’s warm. Both front seats are heated, but the driver’s seat only is ventilated. The driver’s seat has electric slide, recline and height adjustment, and the passenger gets powered slide and recline. There’s no memory recall, so if you split the driving you’ll need to reset your position each time.

The interior design hasn’t changed, and arguably it didn’t really need to. It looks modern, although the lack of physical controls can make some functions a bit tricky to get to. You can’t adjust the cabin temperature, fan speed or seat heating with a single press – these functions are all buried in infotainment menus (more on that below).

The high centre console puts two cupholders within easy reach, but the overlapping rings mean it’s really only for one cup at a time. Storage is generous, though. There’s a big void under the gear selector to squeeze in a small bag, and the console armrest offers some hide-away storage.

The rear seats are comically generous. There’s so much leg room for a small SUV, although the sculpting of the rear bench makes it a better fit for two, not three passengers. Rear riders can fold down a centre armrest and have access to a pair of USB vents in the rear of the centre console, which is great to see.

All ports in the car (two up front, two in the rear) are the older USB-A style, though. Perhaps not the most forward-thinking move.

The Haval Jolion Ultra Hybrid features a massive panoramic sunroof, which is power operated and comes with a powered shade that offers full block-out (not just mesh) to keep the sun’s rays at bay on sunny days.

Eagle-eyed spotters might notice that GWM’s rebrand of the Haval division is only partially executed here too. The new Haval logo appears on the grille, wheel centres, and steering wheel gauge cluster, but not on the speaker grilles, which still bear the previous logo – a lapse in attention to detail.

Does the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

GWM might be dragging its feet a little in the infotainment stakes, as rivals move to much faster processors and a wider array of features.

The 12.3-inch display in the top-spec Ultra offers the size you expect, but the phone mirroring is via a wired connection only, there’s no wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity.

The system includes AM and FM radio, but not digital radio, and includes Bluetooth, but doesn’t feature inbuilt navigation. Vehicle functions are controlled via the screen, from climate control and seat heating, to drive modes and safety system parameters. GWM offers a home screen, yet rather than offering useful shortcuts to commonly used functions, it just rearranges the main menu and functions that should be quick to access but can be multiple presses away.

There are shortcuts, like the ability to swipe down for access to climate control, but no hard-coded shortcut buttons to jump between media, climate and settings. The Haval Jolion does have a row of hard keys for demister, air recirculation, and access to parking assist and the 360-view camera, but this bank of buttons could be much be better utilised.

With rivals offering digital radio, wireless connectivity, and integrated navigation, GWM feels a bit slow to react. Similarly, the GWM infotainment system is a closed one, so there’s no smartphone app to access the vehicle or check location remotely, and no access to over-the-air updates at this stage.

Is the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid a safe car?

GWM advises that ANCAP documentation has been submitted for the updated Jolion, and is awaiting approval. As the changes are largely cosmetic, with no key structural difference, the existing score is likely to carry over.

This means that based on the 2022 test result, the Haval Jolion carries a five-star ANCAP safety rating, with a 90 per cent adult occupant protection score, 84 per cent child occupant protection rating, 64 per cent for vulnerable road user (pedestrian and cyclist) protection, and 92 per cent for safety assist systems.

These ratings apply to all Haval Jolion variants, both petrol and hybrid.

What safety technology does the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid have?

Every model in the Haval Jolion range comes with the same safety equipment, so there’s no penalty for choosing one of the cheaper variants, although some driver-assist features change as you move up the range.

The range comes with autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), rear cross-traffic alert and braking, lane centring and lane-keep assist with emergency lane-keep intervention, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control linked to the traffic sign recognition plus traffic jam assist, blind-spot detection with lane change assist, rear collision warning, door open warning (to warn of approaching traffic), and a camera that monitors the driver’s level of attention.

A reverse camera and rear park sensors are standard on all Haval Jolions, but the Lux and Ultra upgrade to a 360-degree camera, while the Ultra also gains a more advanced park sensor system and self-parking capability.

GWM still has some work to do finessing the safety system suite. The adaptive cruise control can be slow to react to changing traffic and often falls far behind the pace of lead vehicles, or slows abruptly when the following gap closes. The lane assist chimes that it is ‘active’ constantly and flashes a message in the cluster each time.

Although driver monitoring cameras are still a new technology finding their feet in the safety ecosystem, the Haval Jolion will allow you to check mirrors or glance at the infotainment briefly before it scolds you for looking away. For me, it often struggled with spectacles, asking me to pay attention when I was, and worryingly, it puts up a warning to pay attention on the infotainment screen, which you then have to click to confirm – further taking your attention off the road.

How much does the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid cost to run?

GWM has kept the same service intervals and pricing structure for the 2024 Haval Jolion Hybrid. The first service is set at 12 months or 10,000km, and after that each following service is every 12 months or 15,000km.

The five-year capped-price service program runs to $1550 over its course, and each service is priced differently, but even the most expensive (four years or 55,000km) is still priced under $500, so it shouldn’t be too shocking. Toyota and Honda offer lower pricing at $250 per visit and $199 per visit respectively for the first five services.

GWM also offers a seven-year warranty on the vehicle, with eight years on the hybrid battery, plus five years of roadside assist.

An indicative insurance premium for this car came to $1351 per year based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances. The same driver’s details returned a similar $1406 for the Toyota Corolla Cross GX, or an eye-watering $2158 premium for a Hyundai Kona Hybrid.

Is the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid fuel-efficient?

The GWM hybrid system may not offer the same incredibly low official fuel figures as hybrid pioneer Toyota can, but the Haval Jolion’s 5.1 litres per 100 kilometres official fuel consumption means the hybrid models use 37 per cent less fuel than the claimed consumption of non-hybrid models (rated at 8.1L/100km).

Our first drive was on a shorter time scale than a regular review would be, so consumption was measured over a trimmed-down drive, but the on-test figure came to 6.8L/100km. That’s on the high side for what we’d expect from a hybrid small SUV, and closer to what a non-hybrid model should deliver.

Even in a pure steady-speed highway run, consumption as reported by the trip computer clocked in at 5.7L/100km – higher than GWM’s mixed-use claim. Our last outings in the Hyundai Kona Hybrid and Toyota Corolla Cross AWD hybrid delivered leaner 4.4L/100km and 4.9L/100km figures respectively.

The entire Jolion range is configured to run on 91-octane regular unleaded. The fuel tank is large for a car of this segment too, at 55 litres, giving a hypothetical driving range just shy of 1100km on a single fill at the claimed consumption rate, but more like 800km on the figures recorded on test.

What is the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid like to drive?

The hybrid system in the Haval Jolion is big on refinement, which is just the thing for helping soothe peak-hour commutes. As is the case with most hybrid systems, the Haval Jolion will attempt to start out in electric mode and transition to the petrol engine as speeds rise, or for more urgent acceleration.

Unlike Toyota’s popular hybrids, which can feel a touch timid, the Haval Jolion accelerates smoothly, with enough urge off the line to feel like a more regular powertrain. In traffic it’s not left behind, and in the situations where you push for more performance, the petrol engine is usually quite muted.

There is just a moment of building steam when you first press the accelerator pedal from a stop. Not alarming, just not electric-vehicle-instant. Given that the last time we drove the non-hybrid Jolion and noted hesitation from the transmission, this is an improvement.

The steering is adjustable through three steps, though the Light and Comfort settings both skew towards being super-light for use in town. I found the Sports setting a more stable option, without adding unnecessary weight. No matter the mode, the steering has a slightly vague feel and is certainly more at home in city scenarios.

Ride quality is decent. The Haval Jolion Hybrid can deal with general road imperfections without wallowing or jarring. On more heavily pockmarked roads, the ride can become noisy and harsh, but not alarmingly so.

One of the biggest changes to the new Jolion Hybrid is a move from torsion beam rear suspension to a multi-link set-up. While this is technically a more sophisticated design, in a car with no performance aspirations, the difference is minimal. In adverse conditions it means better road contact – on suburban streets, school drop-offs, and work commutes it probably won’t make a difference.

For the most part, GWM’s smallest SUV is set up to deliver an inoffensive and approachable demeanour, and most people should be able to make the smooth gear-shiftless acceleration and quiet powertrain work for them.

Rural buyers may note some additional tyre noise at highway speeds, though in the absence of other noises and distractions, it may simply be that it stands out more.

If you’re abrupt with the accelerator, the petrol engine can make itself known, but in typical driving the smooth handover from electric to petrol and back again can be hard to pick.

The only tell-tale sign that this hybrid is a little different to a regular SUV is the spongy and notchy-feeling brake pedal – but even though, only invested drivers are likely to notice or care.

Can a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid tow?

GWM’s stated tow rating for the Haval Jolion is surprisingly robust. It’s lightweight, at 1300kg braked and 750kg unbraked for hybrid models (the non-hybrid models have a slightly higher 1500kg braked tow rating), which makes it a match for the 1300kg rating of a Kona hybrid, but higher than the 750kg braked rating of a Corolla Cross.

That makes it suitable for light-duty work. You could hitch up your golf buggy, a garden trailer, or the kids’ dirt bikes, but don’t expect to take off with even a small caravan in tow, as this may test the limits.

Should I buy a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid?

The 2024 GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid is a decent car, but not a brilliant one in every regard. It hits a home run on value, and packs a lot of premium equipment into a small package for a small price. The fact that price is smaller still for 2024 compared to last year’s model is all the more commendable.

If you’ve driven a Haval Jolion before, and perhaps weren’t convinced, this sharp new suit doesn’t improve upon what was there before.

The fuel consumption is a touch higher than it should be for a hybrid, the safety and driver assist systems could do with some further fine-tuning, and although it looks sharp at first, the infotainment system isn’t as modern as it should be.

In saying that, the top-spec Haval Jolion Hybrid undercuts segment rivals on price and packs in so many features that for a simple commuter car, the Haval Jolion Ultra Hybrid goes beyond basic and treats you to some top-shelf inclusions at a bargain price. In a market where prices keep heading up, that alone deserves some attention.

How do I buy a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid? The next steps.

While you can get into lower-specced variants of the Haval Jolion for less, the fully equipped Ultra gives you everything you could want and keeps the price on the budget-conscious side of $40,000. It’s the one I’d opt for.

As GWM dealers move from run-out stock of the pre-update model to the newest model, you could snag a bargain. You can find GWM Haval Jolions for sale at Drive Marketplace. Be sure to arrange a test drive with your local dealer to see if the Haval Jolion Hybrid is right for you, or if you’d rather spend up on something like a Honda HR-V or Hyundai Kona.

For the latest news on this car and other models in the GWM range, plus offers and updates, you can find more information here.

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