2025 GWM Haval Jolion Lux evaluate

New 12 months… not so new GWM Haval Jolion.

Effectively, that’s not strictly true, as GWM’s vary of entry-level SUVs has been revised for 2025 to incorporate a brand new Extremely petrol variant with extra energy and commonplace equipment.

Pricing is down too, not less than till the top of January.

Nevertheless, the remainder of the lineup stays unchanged, that means the mid-spec petrol Lux on take a look at nonetheless wears the ‘previous form’ bodywork, and packs the identical turbocharged four-cylinder engine below the bonnet.

Regardless of the obvious sameness of the car characteristic right here, the one fixed in life is change, and the small SUV market has remodeled dramatically for the reason that final time we bought our fingers on a Jolion.

WATCH: Paul’s video evaluate of the 2025 GWM Haval Jolion HEV

There’s a brand new hybrid MG ZS on the town, and fellow Chinese language marque Chery assumed the position of disruptor when it launched the grime low cost, feature-packed Tiggo 4 Professional late final 12 months.

Each fashions are direct rivals to the Jolion, though the GWM stays one of the best vendor within the phase. However can the unchanged Lux petrol assist the Jolion to hold onto its gross sales crown?

How does the Haval Jolion examine?

View an in depth breakdown of the Haval Jolion towards equally sized automobiles.

Haval

Jolion

How a lot does the GWM Haval Jolion value?

The Jolion vary is at the moment topic to promotional pricing that’s set to be reviewed on January 31.

At its present value level, the Jolion Lux is priced in step with the Chery Tiggo 4 Professional Final, a key competitor that has taken the small SUV phase by storm since launching in October final 12 months.

Previous to the newest spherical of reductions, the Jolion Lux was offered for $29,990 drive-away – or $3000 extra.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

What’s the GWM Haval Jolion like on the within?

Mum drilled into me as a teen that first impressions matter, and the Jolion doesn’t do itself any favours on this regard.

Small SUVs have come a good distance in recent times, and what would possibly’ve handed as spectacular in 2020 doesn’t fairly minimize the mustard now.

Chery has gone out of its strategy to wow potential consumers with premium cabin presentation and slick tech, whereas MG has gotten its act along with a brand new vary of fashions that share easy, cohesive inside designs. The strengths of the Mazda CX-3 lie in familiarity and materials high quality.

Then again, this mid-spec Jolion Lux doesn’t actually have a super-strength to make it stand out from the group. Upon opening the motive force’s door, you’re greeted by a mish-mash of shapes, textures and supplies that lacks cohesion.

Except for the leatherette seats and steering wheel, the panels put on plastics various from a woodgrain-look end to woven plastic and metallic accents. It’s an actual mess, and GWM would’ve benefitted from holding it easy within the design division.

And any pleasure generated by the funky mixture of surfaces dissipates once they’re touched, as there’s no disguising the true nature of every.

From a consolation perspective, I respect the inclusion of padding on the centre console and door playing cards, whereas the faux-leather steering wheel is an improve over the plastic objects seen in some economic system vehicles.

The seats discovered on this variant are a combined bag. Trimmed in easy leatherette, they’re not overly supportive and fairly slippery, though the bottom cushion has loads of give.

Each entrance chairs are heated, which turns out to be useful on chilly winter mornings, whereas the motive force can also be handled to electrical adjustment. Like different jacked-up SUVs, the Jolion affords an elevated driving place that appeals to many trendy consumers.

As with the design and supplies, there are a fair proportion of missed alternatives related to the tech contained in the Jolion.

The ten.25-inch centre infotainment display screen is managed virtually totally by way of contact inputs, whereas buttons on the steering wheel allow customisation of the 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster.

That straight hyperlinks to my first level of criticism – the shortage of bodily button controls. A small strip of buttons under the centre display screen is devoted totally to local weather controls and digicam features, however different features can solely be accessed by working the touchscreen, which might be distracting whilst you’re driving.

It’s not all the time a fast look away from the highway, both, because the infotainment system usually lags as a consequence of an absence of processing energy. Apple CarPlay dropouts additionally occurred all through our week-long take a look at, regardless of the used of a wired connection.

Usability quirks apart, the infotainment system within the Jolion is comparatively easy and simple to navigate, with a clear look and respectable graphics. Customisation is restricted to the selection of some completely different layouts and color schemes.

I anticipated extra from the six-speaker sound system, which delivers grainy and poorly-mixed audio.

Just like the centre display screen, the digital cluster is primary in structure with clearly displayed pace, temperature, gasoline, and cruise management readouts. Three completely different show designs can be found – expertise, trend and dynamic.

Regardless of its rudimentary setup, the show was troublesome to customize at occasions, particularly when the steering wheel buttons briefly stopped working.

Shifting past expertise, the entrance row of the Jolion Lux is a sensible house with loads of storage choices.

You get chunky door bins, a deep centre console, cavernous glovebox and a tray under the centre tunnel; in addition to a sun shades holder, coin shelf and commonplace cupholders.

Cell units might be saved on a rubber tray below the centre stack, inside shut proximity to a pair of USB-A shops and a 12V socket. Though I’m nonetheless rocking a scruffy iPhone 11, the world is shifting in direction of USB-C charging, so I’d count on that to be supplied with the following replace of this mannequin.

The second row of the Jolion is equally spacious – a power of the mannequin.

Adults effectively north of six-foot can get comfy with out concern, as there’s loads of legroom and the seat backs are comfortable and welcoming. Headroom can also be plentiful, whereas a light-coloured headliner and large home windows maintain the house feeling mild and ethereal.

No have to name shotgun on the entrance seat, then.

Again seat facilities embrace twin USB-A shops, a pair of rear air vents behind the centre console, map pockets, small door bins, and a centre armrest with built-in cupholders.   

Second row passengers really feel uncared for in some reasonably priced SUVs, lacking out on vents or charging amenities, however that’s not the case right here. ISOFIX factors characteristic on the outboard rear seats, and there’s a trio of prime tethers.

When not required, the rear bench folds down in 60/40 fashion, increasing a boot that measures 337 litres with the automotive in five-seat guise to a quoted 1133 litres.

No matter seating configuration, the boot within the Jolion is beneficiant. Upon lifting the handbook tailgate, you received’t discover any intelligent particular options, however there’s loads of room and no step up from the boot flooring to the folded rear bench.

GWM matches the Jolion with an area saver spare wheel, which might be discovered below the boot flooring.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

What’s below the bonnet?

There are three powertrain choices for 2025 – the reintroduced Extremely petrol develops 25kW and 60Nm greater than the usual Premium and Lux fashions, however 10kW and 115Nm lower than the hybrids. Our tester is supplied with the petrol engine in its base state of tune.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

How does the GWM Haval Jolion drive?

The Jolion has been round since 2021, however it nonetheless appears like an unfinished product on the highway.

On the town, I used to be instantly thrown by the delicate throttle pedal, which felt extra like an on/off swap than a predictable, progressive management on this petrol mannequin.

The twitchy pedal was a nightmare in site visitors – as exhausting as I attempted, it was actually troublesome to make easy progress. Though the Jolion is exceedingly eager to maneuver once you depress the accelerator, the engine doesn’t share fairly the identical enthusiasm.

To be honest, the bottom 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol produces 105kW and 210Nm, which is about par for the phase, and the Jolion has greater than sufficient punch for many conditions. Having mentioned that, aggressive acceleration is accompanied by a loud racket.

Steering the Jolion is a much more enjoyable expertise, because the wheel is mild and direct with minimal play about centre.

The Jolion additionally fares effectively from a trip consolation standpoint – it glides over suburban ruts and potholes, solely coming into bouncy territory once you assault a pace bump with an excessive amount of vigour.

Auto-hold is a helpful characteristic to have once you’re sitting at pink site visitors lights, whereas the inclusion of shift paddles behind the steering wheel makes this reasonably priced SUV really feel sportier than it’s.

With that mentioned, I used to be by no means inclined to reap the benefits of them because the dual-clutch transmission does an honest job of selecting the correct gear in city environments.

Even when shifting as effectively as potential, our tester returned sub-par gasoline economic system numbers. GWM claims a median consumption of 8.1L/100km for this mannequin however we noticed 9.2L/100km – effectively shy of claims made by rivals.

In fact, spending up for a hybrid model treatments this concern considerably.

The Jolion could also be among the many least expensive SUVs accessible Down Beneath however GWM hasn’t skimped out on security tech. On prime of a reversing digicam and parking sensors, the Lux good points a surround-view digicam, rounding out an already spectacular commonplace gear checklist.

Consequently, I by no means caught myself struggling to position the Jolion in a decent parking zone, not that it appears like a very cumbersome automotive to start with.

It does really feel substantial sufficient to carry its personal on the freeway, although. Even at 100km/h, highway and wind noise stays subdued, and the cabin really feel typically effectively insulated from the surface world.

That’s all effectively and good, however no quantity of noise suppression could make up for the infuriating beeps and bongs generated by the Jolion’s superior driver help programs (ADAS).

I’m certain we’re starting to sound like a damaged file by now, however intrusive ADAS are a blight on the automotive trade, and the Jolion is responsible of a number of the security tech cardinal sins.

For one, the motive force monitoring digicam positioned on the A-pillar is in your face and poorly calibrated. Even the briefest look to the infotainment display screen or a passenger triggers the system, prompting an obnoxious chime paired with a ‘don’t stray’ message on the instrument show.

I’ve skilled some intuitive and efficient anti-fatigue programs in current occasions, however this doesn’t slot in that class.

It’s significantly irritating throughout freeway runs, once you’re extra prone to attain for a drink or speak to the individual subsequent to you. Vehicles had been somewhat completely different again in 1984, however George Orwell had it proper when he described Huge Brother – all the time watching.

Effectively, except you turn the drowsiness monitor off, which is feasible in case you’re prepared to make changes each time you begin the automotive.

One other characteristic that falls wanting the mark within the Jolion is adaptive cruise management. The expertise is lazy and sluggish to reply to modifications within the stream of site visitors – typically our tester dropped a good distance behind a number one automotive even in its closest following setting, and the bottom engine doesn’t have the shove to make fast corrections.

Typically, the Jolion is greatest pushed with out help. Nation roads are a main instance of this. You received’t precisely be carving corners, as this SUV is susceptible to physique roll and understeer, however the trip stays comfy and intrusive security tech might be saved at bay.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

What do you get?

There are actually six variants within the Jolion vary: two ‘old-look’ petrol grades, one ‘new-look’ petrol, and three ‘new-look’ hybrids.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

Is the GWM Haval Jolion secure?

The GWM Haval Jolion has a five-star ANCAP security ranking based mostly on 2022 testing.

Commonplace security gear contains:

• Adaptive cruise management
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Pedestrian detection
• Bicycle owner detection
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver drowsiness detection
• Lane-keep help
• Lane centring
• Emergency lane-keep help
• Rear cross-traffic help
• Secure exit warning
• Site visitors signal recognition
• 7 airbags
• Reversing digicam
• Rear parking sensors

Lux variants and upwards achieve a surround-view digicam, whereas the Extremely Hybrid additionally has entrance parking sensors.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device.

How a lot does the GWM Haval Jolion value to run?

The GWM Haval Jolion is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Servicing prices have elevated throughout the vary for 2025.

To see how the GWM Haval Jolion stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability device

CarExpert’s Tackle the GWM Haval Jolion Lux

The GWM Haval Jolion doesn’t make as a lot sense because it used to, particularly in Lux petrol guise.

It’s nonetheless low cost – very low cost, till not less than the top of January – however there’s nothing else about this SUV that screams ‘decide me’. GWM hasn’t actually up to date the styling on this mid-spec variant, and the identical might be mentioned of the inside tech.

With the bottom petrol powertrain, the Lux nearly matches the Chery Tiggo 4 Professional, MG ZS, Mazda CX-3, Chery Omoda 5, and Mitsubishi ASX for efficiency, however it trails the pack on effectivity.

And, after modifications to GWM’s capped-price servicing, the Jolion isn’t significantly low cost to take care of anymore. I wasn’t a fan of the undercooked security programs both.

So, whereas the Jolion is a spacious and reasonably priced entry-level SUV, it lacks the driving dynamics or inside wow issue to be the decide of a crowded phase. That’s very true if GWM reverts to pre-discount pricing from February onwards.

As an alternative, it’s value pivoting to the Tiggo 4 Professional for a extra refined expertise on the identical value level, or stretching the funds for one thing carrying a Korean or Japanese badge.

Thinking about shopping for a GWM Haval Jolion? Get in contact with one in all CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here

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