2026 GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV AWD review

The current fuel crisis has resulted in Aussie buyers rushing into hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and all-electric vehicles (EVs) – and brands like GWM have positioned themselves perfectly to fill that need.

It’s been about a year since GWM launched the Haval H6 GT PHEV mid-size SUV, offering a great electric range, a cabin packed with features, and frankly blistering performance – packaged in a coupe-SUV body.

But for those who need something more family-friendly, there’s the regular Haval H6, which comes in a traditional wagon body – with the plug-in hybrid variants joining the lineup last year.

Those looking at the Haval H6 have several options, from the entry-level Lux to the range-topping Ultra grade – both available with either a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 1.5-litre petrol-electric powertrain, or a plug-in hybrid system also based around a 1.5-litre petrol engine.

GWM offers two PHEVs in the Ultra equipment grade, one being front-wheel drive, and the other offering all-wheel drive. The range-topping H6 Ultra PHEV AWD is the one we’re reviewing today.

Given there’s $3000 between the FWD and AWD versions, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer to get the latter, badged by GWM as the Hi4. The extra traction in wet weather, on gravel roads, and even during day-to-day driving makes the AWD cheap insurance.

Even at the top end of the model lineup, this Haval H6 Ultra PHEV Hi4 costs just $50,990 drive-away, making it a very attractive option for those wanting an electric family car for commuting, without giving up the freedom of petrol.

On paper, the H6 Ultra PHEV AWD comes across as a rare bargain in today’s market – but does the reality match?

How much does the GWM Haval H6 cost?

The Haval H6 range kicks off at $35,990 drive-away for the base petrol grade, with this range-topping H6 Ultra PHEV AWD variant costing $50,990 drive-away.

However, GWM has had several bonus offers available in recent times, making the H6 even more of a bargain.

While there were only a handful of plug-in hybrid models on sale in Australia when the third-generation Haval H6 was launched in 2021, the competition is heating up.

Along with the seven-seater Mitsubishi Outlander and the MG HS PHEV, BYD has also introduced several plug-in hybrid models, including the Sealion 5 – the cheapest PHEV on sale right now – and the seven-seater Sealion 8 mid-size SUVs.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the GWM Haval H6 like on the inside?

The Haval H6 is technically in the medium SUV category, but it has to be at the upper end of the segment’s dimension limits, because it does feel very spacious.

Despite this, it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly big, as vehicles in the large SUV category sometimes can. But unless you need a seven-seater, the five-seat H6 would be plenty enough for most families.

Greeting you is a somewhat minimalistic interior, with a large 14.6-inch infotainment screen, a 10.25-inch digital instrument display, a head-up display, a dished steering wheel, and quite a high centre console that helps give the feeling of being wrapped in the car. It’s the same basic layout pioneered by Tesla that now features widely across the industry, but with a small handful of shortcut buttons for things like demisting windows.

My colleagues haven’t always loved the seats, but I found them to be good enough. And while the GWM suffers from a steering wheel angle that makes it feel more akin to a bus – not uncommon in Chinese cars – there’s enough adjustment in the column and the seat to find a comfortable driving position.

There’s a lot to like about the cabin of the Haval H6, including plenty of soft-touch surfaces, classy trims, and aluminium speaker grilles that have been ‘borrowed’ from Mercedes-Benz. I also really liked the knurled thumb wheels on the steering wheel.

There’s obviously been a lot of attention given to the interior, so it’s a little surprising that those physical shortcut buttons in the centre stack seemed out of alignment. But then again, this is a $50k car with a tonne of features and an impressive powertrain, so if misaligned buttons are the compromise, that seems like a fair deal.

The infotainment touchscreen can take a little while to get your head around – particularly if you’re over the age of about 25. Thankfully, it features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We used the former for the majority of our time with the car.

Audio quality is on the average side of things, despite the impressive-looking speaker covers. Weirdly though, both times I took calls while driving, after a few minutes in the system clearly decided our conversation was boring (fair), and randomly hit play on the Mudvayne playlist I had on high rotation that week. It was like being played off stage at an awards night for heavy metal music.

It’s clearly a glitch that may be worked out once the engineers read this review, but little things like that can knock your confidence and make you question whether everything has been tested fully before being released into the world.

The infotainment screen is large and crisp, and the high-definition reversing camera is one of the best I’ve used in recent memory.

As part of the refresh introduced last year, the shifter has been relocated from the centre console, and is now where the right-hand indicator stalk would normally be, which I’m not at all a fan of. More on that later.

However, there is a good swag of features at the Ultra grade, including remote entry and start, auto headlights and wipers, panoramic sunroof, head-up display, heated and ventilated front seats, and a heated steering wheel.

You can also control many of the car’s features using voice commands, which I want to make fun of, but it can be helpful if you don’t want to dig through the menus on the screen to find something.

There’s a good amount of space for second-row passengers too – both for legs and toes – helped by the flat floor and the sunroof, which helps to keep the space light and airy. There are also USB-A and USB-C outlets below the rear air vents, adding to the USB ports up front.

Out back is a 560-litre boot, which increases to 1445L with the back seats folded almost flat, complemented by a powered tailgate.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

Being a plug-in hybrid, the H6 PHEV combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a 19.1kWh battery and an electric motor powering each axle, together with a two-speed automatic transmission.

GWM claims total outputs of 268kW of power and 760Nm of torque, and a combined fuel consumption figure of just 1.1L/100km, in a vehicle weighing in at 1980kg.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the GWM Haval H6 drive?

GWM has made a big deal about its Australian-market vehicles having their suspension and steering locally tuned by former Holden engineer Rob Trubiani.

And while the result is no doubt an improvement over earlier Haval H6s in terms of ride and handling, this is a mid-size SUV that weighs just shy of two tonnes, so there’s a lot of mass to deal with. No doubt, Mr Trubiani had his work cut out and did what he could.

At freeway speeds, the H6 is quiet and pleasant, but during turns the handling feels very rubbery, as if the light steering and pedal inputs aren’t directly connected to the vehicle’s responses.

At the time of testing, I noted the vehicle “felt like a metal ball on a paddle”. I remember being quite proud of the analogy when I wrote that, but I haven’t the faintest idea what I meant by it now.

What I can tell you is the H6 soaks up bumps well enough most of the time, but hit a few larger potholes through roadworks and that extra mass from the battery and powertrain is hard to hide, with the suspension getting a little overwhelmed.

The biggest complaint has to be levelled at the ADAS – the advanced driver assist system. What is meant to be a series of functions designed to improve vehicle safety felt like it was out to unalive me every time I got behind the wheel.

It was like having an invisible drunk passenger next to you who yanks on the steering wheel at random intervals. A few times I had to put some real effort into wrestling the steering back to stop the car from driving itself into a solid object, like a traffic island or roadworks bollard.

Now, thankfully GWM has given owners the ability to turn down the sensitivity of the ADAS, with things like steering interference able to be turned off completely. But the point is that people buy brand-new cars to ensure their families have the latest safety equipment, and this stuff really should just work straight out of the box.

Returning to the drive selector, which as I’ve mentioned is now the same size, shape, and location as a typical right-hand indicator stalk. So, if you’re like me and find yourself swapping between different cars, it’s incredibly easy to put the vehicle into neutral when you’re approaching a left turn.

Then there’s the cruise control, which requires a second tap of the shifter stalk to initiate the feature, or a double tap to begin semi-autonomous cruise control. Without instruction, I don’t believe anyone would intuitively know how to turn the cruise control on, and it’s another example of car companies trying to be different just for the sake of it.

However, those complaints make up maybe five per cent of the driving experience. The other 95 per cent of the time, the H6 PHEV is quiet, comfortable, spacious, and drives well.

Much of that is thanks to its plug-in hybrid powertrain, which provides a decent level of performance along with good efficiency and smoothness. The 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine only makes 110kW and 240Nm – which is about what you’d find in a small hatchback – but the addition of front and rear electric motors boosts those total outputs to 268kW and 760Nm. That’s no pocket change.

For context, the F15-series BMW X5 M50d, a large diesel performance SUV made between 2013 and 2018, produced 280kW and 740Nm from its tri-turbo diesel engine. Except the BMW cost $145,000 eight years ago, and could only cover the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.2 seconds – whereas the GWM H6 PHEV is said to be able to do it in 4.8 seconds.

Having said that, those figures quoted by GWM do feel quite optimistic.

GWM also claims 100km of electric-only driving range, and while we didn’t quite hit that figure, at least 80km should be achievable with plenty of headroom to spare.

Add the petrol engine into the mix and you’ve got a combined driving range of more than 1040km, according to GWM. Once the battery is dead though, expect the fuel economy to jump from 1.1L/100km to at least 5.5L/100km. We managed 6.2L/100km.

Ultimately, the H6 is best suited to just rolling down the road at a relaxed pace, with a car full of your family and luggage, and your destination somewhere on the horizon.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

The GWM Haval H6 range is well-appointed, with buyers able to choose between Lux and Ultra model grades.

2026 Haval H6 Lux equipment highlights:

• 19-inch black alloy wheels
• Automatic LED headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Power-folding, heated exterior mirrors
• Puddle lights
• Electronic parking brake + auto hold
• Hands-free power tailgate (excludes petrol Lux)
• Proximity entry with push-button start
• 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• DAB+ digital radio
• 8-speaker sound system
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• Microfibre, leather-wrapped steering wheel
• 4-way steering column adjustment
• Leatherette upholstery
• 6-way power driver’s seat
• Dual-zone climate control with rear vents
• 50W wireless phone charger
• 2 x front USB outlets
• 2 x rear USB outlets
• 2 x 12V outlets (1 x front, 1 x boot)
• Cargo cover

The Ultra adds:

• Front parking sensors
• Rear privacy glass
• Panoramic sunroof
• Head-up display
• Heated steering wheel
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Driver’s seat memory and welcome
• Driver’s seat lumbar
• 4-way power passenger seat
• Front stainless steel scuff plates
• 9-speaker sound system

Hamilton White comes as standard, with premium colours available from $495.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the GWM Haval H6 safe?

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) awarded the Haval H6 a five-star safety rating in 2022, and includes all engine options.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Junction assist
• Driver fatigue monitoring
• Hill ascent and descent control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Emergency lane-keep assist
• Lane-keep assist
• 360-degree cameras with 180-degree transparent chassis mode
• Rear parking sensors
• Traffic jam assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• 7x airbags

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the GWM Haval H6 cost to run?

GWM provides a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre factory warranty, while the battery gets an additional year of warranty coverage (for eight years in total). Buyers also get five years of 24/7 roadside assistance, provided the vehicle is serviced by GWM.

Service intervals for the Haval H6 are 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first), but GWM does things a little differently, in that the first service is required at 10,000km.

The company provides capped-price servicing for the first five years, ranging from $230 and $570 per visit.

To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV Hi4

The GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV isn’t perfect, but there are still a lot of positives for buyers to consider.

For around $50k, the plug-in hybrid Ultra represents great value, with a long list of features normally found in much more expensive vehicles – to say nothing of the quality of the interior, which certainly impresses.

Then there’s the claimed straight-line performance, which can be used to embarrass your friends’ sports cars, scare your partner, and brag about to people at parties. Just brake hard before any corners.

Dynamically, the H6 isn’t anything to write home about – even in the mid-size SUV space – but for the vast majority of owners this vehicle will be relegated to being the family bus, and for that job it’ll do fine.

Although small in the overall scheme of things, we did come away with some real concerns about the car’s ADAS, along with some gripes with the overall user-friendliness of the infotainment and driving controls. However, owners can customise the settings and shortcuts to improve matters.

While we encourage those looking at the H6 Ultra PHEV to spend the extra on the all-wheel drive version, those who don’t feel the need might actually find the front-drive H6 Lux PHEV a more attractive option, with prices from $44,990 drive-away sweetening the deal.

The GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV is very impressive in many ways, yet imperfect in a few small areas, for which it could arguably be forgiven due to the value it offers.

Interested in buying a GWM Haval H6? Let CarExpert find you the best deal here

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MORE: Explore the GWM Haval H6 showroom