Haval Jolion 2022 review

The entry-point to the Haval Jolion range is the Premium and you can have it for $26,990 drive-away. Above this is the Lux which comes in at $28,990 drive-away. At the top of the range is the Ultra which can be had for $31,990 drive-away. 

The Lux adds LED headlights and running lights. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

Premium, Lux and Ultra – not matter which one you get they all sound like you’ve bought the top grade.

Coming standard on the Premium are 17-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, a 10.25-inch touchscreen Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a four-speaker stereo, reversing camera and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, fabric seats, air-conditioning, a proximity key and push button start. 

The Jolion has either a 10.25-inch or 12.3-inch multimedia screen. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

By the way, with that proximity key, it only works when you put your hand on the driver’s side door handle… not the other doors. Sort of convenient.

The Lux adds LED headlights and LED running lights, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, synthetic leather seats, the 7.0-inch driver display, power driver’s seats, heated front seats, dual-zone climate, a six-speaker stereo and dark tinted rear windows. The value for money is outrageous. And by that, I mean very good.

There's a 7.0-inch driver display for Lux and above variants. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

If you step up to the Ultra that screens goes from a 10.25-inch to a 12.3-inch, you get a head-up display, wireless phone charging and a panoramic sunroof.

Sat nav isn’t available at all, but you don’t need it if you have your phone, and that’s fine, as long as the battery doesn’t run flat, or reception isn’t good.

Something’s happened at Haval. The cars were never ugly, just a bit awkward. But now the styling is en pointe. 

The H6 was the first new-look Haval to come to Australia and now the Jolion is here looking stunning, too.

The shiny grille narrowly escapes looking tacky, but the unique LED tail-lights and running lights look high-end. 

The Jolion looks stunning. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

End-to-end the Jolion is 4472mm long, 1841mm wide and 1574mm tall. That's 100mm longer than the Kia Seltos. So, while the Jolion is a small SUV it’s a large, small SUV.

The high-end exterior is matched by a cabin that’s just as premium feeling with a clean, modern design. 

Seriously, it makes you wonder why all affordable brands can’t do the same. Instead, the punishment for buying a cheap car seems to be an interior which has had all comfort and style removed. Not the Jolion.

The materials used feel high-quality, fit and finish is good, and there’s not much in the way of hard plastics. 

The cabin has a premium and modern design. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

Most of the controls for climate and media are through the large display and that means a cabin which is free from the clutter of buttons, but this also has its own usability issues. A bit of form over function going on here.  

Telling the three grades apart is tricky. The Premium and Lux have 17-inch wheels, while the Ultra has 18-inch rims, along with a sunroof.

Our test car was finished in 'Mars Red'. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

There are six colours on offer with 'Hamilton White' as standard, and the premium hues being 'Azure Blue', 'Smoke Grey', 'Golden Black', 'Mars Red' and 'Vivid Green.' 

It’s good to see variety of colours when most brands these days offer any colour you like as long as it’s dark grey. 

Two things make the Jolion hard to beat for practicality: its overall size and clever packaging of the interior.

Nothing creates more room better than a bigger car. That sounds obvious and silly but think about this. Hyundai’s Kona costs about the same as the Jolion and sits in the same small SUV category.

The Lux has synthetic leather seats. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

But the Kona has so little legroom that I can’t fit into the second row (to be fair, I’m built like a streetlight at 191cm) and the boot is so small I found it almost useless for my family. 

That’s because the Kona is tiny. It’s 347mm shorter in length than the Jolion. That’s the width of our biggest 124L CarsGuide suitcase longer.

That means not only can I fit into the Jolion’s second row, but I have more room back there than almost any small SUV on the market. Have a look at the video above to see just how much room.

The Jolion has the best back seat row space of almost any small SUV. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

Those rear doors also open wide and offer plenty of space to enter and exit. 

The boot is also good for the class with 430 litres of cargo capacity. 

Cabin storage is excellent with large door pockets, four cupholders (two in the front and two in the rear) and a deep centre console storage bin. 

The centre console ‘floats’ with a large area under it for bags, wallets and phones. There are USB ports under there, too, plus another two in the second row.

There are directional air vents for the second row and privacy glass for those back windows. Parents will know how valuable this is for keeping the sun of their kids’ faces.

All Jolions have the same engine regardless of which grade you pick. It's a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 110kW/220Nm. 

I found it overly noisy, prone to turbo lag and lacking the oomph I’d expect from an engine with these output figures.

The 1.5-litre turbo-petrol produces 110kW/220Nm. (Lux variant pictured/ image credit: Dean McCartney)

The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is one of the better versions of this type of transmission I’ve tested. Not as jerky as some.  

All Jolions are front-wheel drive.

The driving experience is not the Jolion’s strong point, but it isn’t awful, either. There’s a wooden feeling over speed bumps and at lower city speed on ordinary roads. In short, the ride isn’t outstanding, but I could live with it.

Then again, the Jolion I tested was the Lux grade with 17-inch wheels and Kumho rubber. My colleague Byron Mathioudakis tested the top grade Ultra which rolls on 18-inch wheels, and felt the ride and handling was more disappointing than I did. 

The Lux wear 17-inch alloy wheels. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

A larger diameter wheel can absolutely change the way a car feels and I’ll be able to comment more on the difference when I drive the Ultra down the track. 

I reckon the dual-clutch auto does a fine job, but the engine needs more development. It lacks the refinement we are seeing on most mainstream SUVs.

Slightly below average ride and handling, and a lacklustre engine aside, the Jolion’s steering is good (despite the lack of reach adjustment in the steering column) as is visibility (despite the small back window) making for an SUV that's easy, and for the most part, comfortable to pilot.

Haval says after a combination of open and urban roads the Jolion should use 8.1L/100km. My testing saw our car use 9.2L/100km, measured at the fuel pump.

A fuel consumption of 9.2L/100km for a small SUV is high. I’d expect something closer to 7.5L/100km. 

The Jolion is yet to be given an ANCAP crash rating, and we will report on this when it’s announced.

 All grades have AEB which can detect cyclists and pedestrians, there’s lane departure warning and lane keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, blind spot warning and traffic sign recognition.

There’s even a distraction/fatigue camera which watches you while you’re driving to make sure you’ve got everything under control. Not creepy at all, right?

Under the boot floor is a space saver spare. (Lux variant pictured/image credit: Dean McCartney)

For child seats there are three top tether mounts and two ISOFIX points. I found installing my son’s top tether seat easy and he had good visibility out of his window.

A space saver spare in under the boot floor.

The Jolion is covered a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended every 12 months/15,000km and the pricing is capped at about $1500 over five years. Five years’ roadside assistance is also included.