2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra Review

Chinese car maker GWM (Great Wall Motors) continues to go from strength to strength in Australia. Originally launched locally in 2009 as just Great Wall, the brand’s expansion locally to include the Haval and Ora brands sold separately overseas has brought big sales – so far in 2023, the company’s 8,194 sales are a 183.9 per cent increase on 2022’s numbers. That sales success has largely come from the keenly-priced Jolion and H6 SUVs, so how does something more rakishly styled fare in the local lineup? Enter the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra.

The H6 GT is to the H6 what the BMW X4 is to the X3 – same underpinnings, interior and mechanicals, but with a sleek coupe-like roofline for a more stylish effect. Badged as the H6 GT, it’s also going for an overall sportier attitude, which is emphasised by its black exterior detailing, large 19-inch wheels and carbon fibre-like trim. Is the H6 GT worth consideration if you’re after a sporty-looking coupe SUV on a budget? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 9/10

There are two variants of the H6 GT on offer in Australia: the entry-level Lux ($40,990 drive away) and the top-spec Ultra that we are testing here, which is priced from $46,490 drive away.

As you’d expect from a great value brand like GWM Haval, the H6 GT Ultra is very well equipped. Standard kit includes black 19-inch alloy wheels, dusk-sensing all-LED lighting, automatic wipers, keyless entry and start with a hands-free electric tailgate, heated and auto-folding mirrors, roof rails, a panoramic sunroof, a rear spoiler, a heated leather steering wheel, ‘Comfort-Tek’ synthetic leather and suede upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, an eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, a four-way electric front passenger seat, dual-zone climate control with rear vents, a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an eight-speaker sound system, a wireless phone charger, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, four USB-A ports and LED interior ambient lighting.

Safety kit includes seven airbags (including a front centre unit), auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assistance, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist with lane trace assist, driver attention monitoring, low-speed reverse auto braking, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, door open warning, traffic jam assist, front and rear parking sensors, automatic parking and a 360-degree camera. The H6 range earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022.

The only non-cost colour option for the H6 GT Ultra is ‘Hamilton White’, with ‘Sapphire Blue’, ‘Burgundy Red’, ‘Atlantis Blue’, ‘Golden Black’ and our test car’s ‘Crayon Grey’ costing $495 extra. Black synthetic leather and suede is the only available interior trim.

Funnily enough, direct competition for the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is actually quite rare because coupe SUVs continue to be the domain largely of premium manufacturers and mainstream car makers are yet to delve into them on a major scale. Because of that, there’s really only the Renault Arkana (from $39,990 drive away), Audi Q3 Sportback (from around $61,000 drive away) and Cupra Formentor (from $54,490 drive away) that offer direct competition, but they all are a size smaller than the H6 GT.

Because of that, we’d look to sporty offerings of mid-size SUVs as competition for the H6 GT Ultra: the Mazda CX-5 G35 GT SP (from around $57,000 drive away) and Hyundai Tucson Highlander N-Line 1.6L Turbo (from around $57,000 drive away). Both these cars are around $10,500 more expensive than the H6 GT Ultra and only offer a bit more standard equipment: the Mazda has Matrix adaptive high beam headlights, satellite navigation, digital radio and a Bose sound system while the Hyundai has inbuilt satellite navigation, live services, a Bose sound system and digital radio over the GWM Haval. Are these bits of equipment worth a $10,500 extra spend alone? Not at all, in our opinion.

Performance & Economy: 7/10

Under the bonnet of the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that’s shared with the regular non-hybrid H6. It makes 150kW of power (between 6,000rpm and 6,300rpm) and 320Nm of torque (between 1,500rpm and 4,000rpm) and is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Ultra is all-wheel drive – go for the base Lux and it’s front-wheel drive.

The engine itself is surprisingly punchy, thanks to the full slug of torque being made at low revs and staying until 4,000rpm. It feels punchier than its outputs would suggest, and in race mode, the exhaust is hilariously loud, almost like a Hyundai i30 N with pops and bangs on downshifts. It feels noticeably punchier than the 132kW 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine in the Tucson, which also has a ditzy dual-clutch transmission, but the CX-5’s strong 420Nm of torque hands it the performance advantage here.

The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in the H6 GT, like a lot of other DCT units we’ve experienced, needs work because its low-speed behaviour could definitely be improved. It lurches at low speeds, it slurs downshifts and it can be generally unpredictable. At higher speeds, it’s far better as it tends to pick the highest possible gear for better economy, but it needs improvement at lower speeds. In the H6 GT’s hilariously-titled race mode – why does an SUV need a race mode? – the transmission changes its behaviour and becomes a bit jolty, but if you use the paddle shifters for full race effect, it can still take an age to downshift.

The claimed combined fuel consumption for the H6 GT Ultra is 8.4L/100km with CO2 emissions rated at 193g/km. In our testing, it achieved 12.3L/100km in purely urban driving, so adding highway driving into the mix will likely lessen it. Helping costs is that the H6 GT can run on 91RON regular unleaded fuel, and it has a 60-litre fuel tank. In our testing, both the Tucson 1.6T and CX-5 G35 use similar amounts of fuel – though the Mazda can easily creep higher.

Ride & Handling: 7.5/10

Based on GWM’s ‘Lemon’ platform – yep, that isn’t a typo – the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra drives reasonably well, though it’s definitely not as sporty as its styling would suggest. As with any car, there are elements that are good about it – the suspension does a good job dealing with Australia’s rubbish roads and isn’t too firm despite its large 19-inch wheels – and elements that aren’t so good about it – the steering is largely lifeless and the active safety systems need refinement.

Put it is race mode to add weight to the steering (which oddly activates by flashing the hazard lights, but sport mode both does that and activates the headlights) and the H6 GT can be somewhat fun to push up a good road thanks to its good body control and firm-ish suspension, but it’s also comfortable in regular driving too. The active safety systems – like the lane keeping assistance, for example – need refinement because they are currently far too intrusive in the driving experience and both Mazda and Hyundai’s active safety systems are far more refined and unobtrusive.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

As we’ve found with the H6 previously, the cabin of the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is a modern, good quality and spacious place to spend time that will impress even new customers to the brand. But there’s also a lot that we would change about it, and most of that has to do with the infotainment system and how much more intuitive systems from both Mazda and Hyundai are to use.

The quality inside the H6 GT Ultra is generally good. There’s soft touch plastics atop the doors and dashboard, while the suede from the seats covers quite a lot of the cabin, including the doors and centre console cover, while the carbon fibre-like synthetic leather covers the lower dashboard. It all feels quite nice to the touch and while some of the switchgear feels a little cheap – like the stalks and window buttons – it all adds up to a good quality experience. Better quality than the CX-5 or Tucson? Not in our opinion, but not far off – especially for a $10,500 discount.

As mentioned above, the touchscreen takes the shine off the cabin experience, however. It’s a large 12.3-inch unit that features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the usual Am/FM radio and Bluetooth phone/audio streaming – but not digital radio, satellite navigation, or any live features found in some rivals. The screen itself is great to look at and uses a high quality display, but the menus and user-friendliness make little sense. For example, there’s no button for the heated/vented front seats – you have to go into the car’s settings menu, choose seats and then press the heat or cool button for the seat.

The buttons beneath the screen do little to help out the situation – a physical home button and volume knob would make things much easier to use, as would adapting the screens functions like the home shortcut menu and the reversing camera to the right-hand side of the screen. Having to reach across the screen to press the home button can be quite frustrating. It’s the same with the climate control – there’s no physical control buttons, just a button to turn the system on or off, and changing its settings requires at least three button presses to do so. We think it should be a lot easier to use, like the Tucson’s system.

The storage inside the H6 GT is quite good with a big central bin underneath the arm rest, a wireless phone charger tray under the centre console, a big storage bin underneath the transmission selector, a reasonable glovebox and big door bins.

The back seat of the H6 GT, like the regular H6, is a great space because it’s quite roomy – even for taller adults – against especially the tight CX-5. The headroom on offer is obviously not going to be as plentiful thanks to the sloping roofline, but for six-footers, it’s reasonable and the legroom on offer is great too. We’d even suggest that three would be able to fit across because of how wide it is.

The rear seat offers reasonable features too, including two map pockets, air vents, two USB-A ports, reasonable door bins and a central armrest with cup holders.

The boot of the H6 GT measures 392-litres with the seats up and 1,390L with them folded – quite a lot less than the regular H6’s 600L/1,485L – but it seems larger in person. By comparison, a CX-5 measures 442L/1,342L and the Tucson 539L/1,860L. The boot has a few features like side storage and a dual-level boot floor, as well as a space saver spare wheel underneath, though no remote release tabs to fold the rear seats like the CX-5 and Tucson feature, nor any hooks to hang shopping off.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Like other new GWM Haval products, the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is equipped with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance and five years of capped price servicing. The service intervals are odd, however – the first service pops up at 10,000km but each service afterwards is at 15,000km further (or once yearly, whichever comes first). Over five years/70,000km, the H6 GT Ultra costs a reasonable $1,780 (or $356 per service on average).

Both Mazda and Hyundai feature five-year/unlimited km warranties with five years of roadside assistance for the CX-5 and potentially unlimited roadside assistance for the Tucson if it’s serviced at a Hyundai dealership. Five years of servicing the CX-5 G35 costs $2,515 (or an average of $503 per service) and doing the same for the Tucson 1.6T costs $1,595 ($319 per service) but while the CX-5’s intervals are once-yearly/every 15,000km, the Tucson 1.6T’s are a shorter 10,000km interval. Still, at least both are the same throughout the car’s lifecycle, unlike the H6 GT.

The 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.9/10

The 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is a genuinely intriguing option in the mid-size SUV segment that, if you don’t mind the sloping rear end and the drawbacks that adds, is certainly worth consideration. It brings a lot to the table aside from its coupe SUV bodystyle: excellent value for money, a long list of standard equipment, a grunty engine, a practical interior that is good quality and affordable servicing.

Of course, it’s not perfect – the infotainment system needs redoing, it doesn’t have features like digital radio, satellite navigation or wireless smartphone mirroring, the steering is largely lifeless and the dual-clutch transmission gives off strange low-speed behaviour. But if you can look past these issues, we think that the 2023 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra is worth consideration. We predict it selling better than GWM Haval’s prediction for 400 units per month for its pricing alone.