GWM Haval H6 vs Peugeot 3008

What's the difference?

The GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hybrid offers an attractive package for those hunting for a medium SUV hybrid that is affordable but well-equipped. Its rivals have a nicer on-road driving experience and better multimedia systems but you get a lot for your money and the H6 has great on-going costs.

Technology is supposed to make life better and easier, but I’m afraid this hybrid version of the 3008 falls short on that score due to its slow charging and limited range. Nor does this hybrid version make a great driving, practical and good looking SUV much better.

Then there's the price. A list price of $80K is too much, relative to class rivals and the petrol equivalent 3008. 

For this money you could buy a Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Tesla Model 3. All charge at (relatively) lightening-quick rates and deliver about 400km of range. And none of them require petrol, because they are fully electric.   

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid needs charging pretty much every moment it’s not being driven in order to make sure all of that 60km of range doesn’t run dry.

That’s a lot to ask from people in Australia who don’t blink at driving 500km for a family holiday, in a country which has far fewer charging locations than Europe. 

The Haval H6 is a good-looking medium SUV. It manages to blend the functionality of its size with a sleekness that should make it appealing to a wide audience.

You can tell the hybrid models apart from the pack because the grille ‘bleeds’ into the surrounding panels rather than maintaining the usual rectangular shape of the non-hybrid models. It makes the front look more stylish.

The full suite of LED lights look particularly interesting on the Ultra Hybrid with a focus on the full-width strip at the rear and cute ‘bunting’ styled brake lights.

The cabin exudes a good sense of quality with most of the materials used, like the synthetic leather upholstery and trims as well as soft touchpoints throughout. There are some harder plastics which detract from this general aesthetic but they’re mostly found in the back row and centre console.

The dashboard is stepped and has a lot going on with the chrome accents, shapes, style of vents and tech screens. You might think that would be overwhelming but it just adds nice focal points. The cabin is a pleasant space to be in.

There’s never been a Peugeot that hasn’t been interesting in its design. That’s a big part of their appeal and the 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is intriguingly good looking inside and out.

Look at the grille with its chrome studs filling that monstrous grin like glistening teeth. And see how the headlights blend into the jagged design and notice the eyebrow-like ridges above them which extend into the bonnet towards the windscreen. 

It’s a tough-but-pretty design that’s carried on down the side panels as they curve and crease towards the tailgate with its striking LED tail-lights.

The cabin is stunning with its black leather upholstery, metallic and faux wood trim, and Peugeot oddities such as the small angular steering wheel, the elongated gear shifter and high-placed instrument cluster.  

The cabin has loads of passenger space and it feels roomy up front. It’s also an easy car to get in and out of, which I like. I don't love the comfort of the front seats, though, as the seat backs cave too far inwards, even with the lumbar extended. Not conducive to great posture.  

The back seat is like a lounge, though, and in this instance I'd prefer to be a passenger princess than the driver in this car.

In the back row, the head- and legroom is excellent and middle seaters will be comfortable thanks to the flat floor. 

Individual storage is very good up front, the centre console playing the hero with its large shelf underneath. There are also two cupholders, a utility tray and a cute little nook for any small items like keys.

The middle console is medium-sized, as is the glove box and both doors have storage bins and a drink bottle holder.

In the back seat, there are map pockets, two cupholders in a fold down armrest and shallow storage bins in each door.

The other amenities in the back row are okay and you get directional air vents and reading lights.

You get a good storage capacity with the 600L boot and the level loading space makes it easy to slide gear in and out. The back seat has a 60/40 split if you need to boost your storage capacity. There’s no spare tyre in this model, just a tyre repair kit but you do get a powered tailgate. 

The practicality of the cabin is hurt by the usefulness of some of its tech, which is a shame since the cabin on a whole is fairly good.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and is fairly easy to use but the screen can occasionally lag. There are a lot of functions buried in the system and I miss having physical buttons for this reason. I sometimes don't bother with the heat and ventilation functions for the front seats because it isn't simple to access them.

You don’t get built-in sat nav or digital radio in this model but you do have wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I have beef with the CarPlay as the USB-A port for it is on the passenger side, not the driver's side. The CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity also dropped out a lot, which I found frustrating, especially when I was using it to navigate.

Charging options are okay with each row getting two USB-A ports. The front also features a wireless charging pad and a 12-volt outlet but you miss out on faster USB-C sockets.

I think we can all agree leather trousers look tremendous, but aren’t very practical. And there are some SUVs where form is favoured over function, too. But not this one... in most cases.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is spacious for a mid-sized SUV with great cabin storage and a big boot.

Up front there are huge door pockets that are more like buckets, a large split opening centre console storage box and two cupholders.

The second row has smaller door pockets and two cupholders in the fold-down armrest.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid’s boot is big compared to its rivals at 591 litres with the second row up, and 1670 litres with the rear seat folded.

For people space, there’s more than enough room for me at 191cm to sit behind my driving position. 

For charging there are USB ports and a 12V power outlet. 

Peugeot offers the plug-in hybrid version of its 3008 exclusively in the top-of-the-range GT Sport grade for a list price of $79,990. That makes it the most expensive Peugeot offered in Australia.

This hybrid is $20,000 more than the petrol version, in the same GT Sport grade, with identical standard features.

Electric cars are currently more costly to produce than their petrol counterparts, but expecting consumers to fork out $20K is hard to justify. Particularly when prestige rivals to the 3008 Plug-in Hybrid cost less. The Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-in lists for $66,990.

But if you're determined to own the GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid you’ll be treated to the full banquet of 3008 features.

Coming standard is a 10.0-inch media display, a 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, sat nav, a 10-speaker Focal stereo*, dual-zone climate control, power adjustable and heated front seats, and Nappa leather upholstery. 

*UPDATE: Peugeot advised on 5 May 2022 that Australian-spec MY22 models will temporarily omit the Focal premium audio system due to a manufacturing irregularity. See your Peugeot dealer to confirm when this feature will return.

There’s also a panoramic sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, aluminium roof rails, LED headlights and running lights, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, auto parking, proximity key, and tinted rear windows. 

The Ultra Hybrid is powered by a (110kW/230Nm) 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine and 'two-speed' (130kW/300Nm) electric motor with drive going to the front wheels only. The motor is powered by a relatively small 1.8kWh lithium-ion battery and GWM Haval quotes combined petrol-electric outputs of 179kW/530Nm.

Clearly that 530Nm torque figure is the result of simply adding the engine and motor's peak numbers together, which is 'unusual' because other brands quote a blended torque output and that's a massive amount of pulling power. In comparison, the RAV4 produces 160kW/221Nm and the Sportage 169kW/350Nm.

Question marks hovering above specification calculations aside, on the road the Ultra Hybrid is no slouch and you can easily keep your speed consistent on hills.

The all-wheel drive (AWD) 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is powered by a 81kW/320Nm electric motor on the front axle, an 83kW/166Nm motor on the rear axle, and a 147kW/300Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine driving the front wheels.

The total combined output is 222kW/520Nm, which makes it one of the most powerful mid-sized SUVs for the price. Acceleration is impressively quick with 0-100km/h coming in just 5.9 seconds.

The official combined cycle fuel figure is just 5.2L/100km and my real-world usage is 6.0L/100km after mostly open road driving. I would expect that figure to be lower in an urban setting.

Based on the combined cycle number and the 61L fuel tank, expect a driving range of up to 1173km for this model. Great for road tripping adventures. GWM recommends a minimum 91 RON 'standard' unleaded petrol to be used.

The Ultra Hybrid is not a plug-in hybrid. Instead, it uses its engine and regenerative braking to recoup battery percentage while you’re driving. After 230km I was only down to 91 per cent for the battery, which means it’s pretty darn efficient in that recouping process. 

This sounds obvious but plug-in hybrids need to be plugged into a charger. And I mean they need to be charged every time you’ve finished driving for the day. 

Otherwise, you’ll run out of charge and your fuel use will rocket past that of a petrol-powered 3008 due to the extra weight in batteries and motors you’re lugging around.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid has an electric range of 60km, although I went through the entire charge in less than 50km. Then I had to hunt down a fast charger and discovered it would take about four hours to stuff the batteries full of power again.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is extremely slow to fill up due to a small 3.7kW onboard charger. If the inverter unit was larger (as in BEVs like the Tesla Model X or Hyundai Ioniq 5) charging time would be much faster.

Charging overnight each day you use the 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is the scenario you’ll have to adopt if you want to get the most out of this SUV. 

I found that after starting with a full charge and driving it for a day of mainly urban usage the trip computer was reporting an average consumption of 1.4L/100km. 

If you plan on adding motorways and open roads into the mix Peugeot says you can expect to use 1.6L/100km.

That’s outstanding fuel economy, but let the charge run out and you’ll start seeing 9.5L/100km, and higher, as I did. 

In that scenario the petrol engine needs to lug 1.8 tonnes around, a decent chunk of which is heavy batteries and motors, which aren’t doing anything.

If you don’t have access to power at home to charge a car, then you’d be better off with the type of hybrid which charges through the engine and regenerative braking, such as a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. 

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid has received such a low score here because of its extremely slow charging time and limited range. 

A larger inverter would solve this issue. It's possible consumers will end up using a lot more fuel than the pure petrol variant unless they are vigilant in always charging this car (nearly) every time it is not being driven.

The Ultra Hybrid has a good well of power to dip into and the switch between the petrol and electric functions is pretty smooth but occasionally when you’re getting up to speed on a highway you get some loud noises as it switches over.

Power delivery is well balanced but you lose traction in the front if you accelerate too quickly from a standstill, particularly if you’re doing it on an incline.

When you’re braking on a hill, there can be a quick sliding sensation as if its slipped out of gear, which I did not like at all.

The ride comfort is a mixed bag for me, mostly because the front seats are uncomfortable on a longer journey but the suspension is compliant enough that you don’t wince when you hit bumps. There is some roll when you hit corners but otherwise you don’t really feel jostled in the Ultra Hybrid which is good.

Around town and at lower speeds, the engine noise is virtually nil and that creates a more refined on-road experience but road and wind noise are noticeable at higher speeds.

With the steering wheel feel set on ‘Comfort’ the H6 manoeuvres responsively in the city but can feel a little clunky in a tight car park because of its larger 12m turning circle.

The 360-degree view camera system is super clear, though, and you also get front and rear parking sensors so I didn’t find the H6 hard to park.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is an excellent SUV to drive. The ride is composed, the body feels nicely controlled and the handling is good. 

Add great acceleration, thanks to the torquey motors, and this SUV is well above average when it comes to the driving experience.

Any downsides? There always are. Visibility is compromised by thick, long A-pillars and the steering wheel’s odd shape and tiny size are a letdown. So too is not charging regularly, causing this SUV to suddenly have to lug its 1.8-tonne weight around under petrol power alone.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid comes with all the safety tech in the 3008's arsenal. 

There’s auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping technology, blind-spot monitoring, a camera system, and front and rear parking sensors.

There are some gaps though. No rear cross-traffic alert or reverse AEB. These things are now common on new cars.

For child seats there are three top tether anchor points across the second row along with two ISOFIX mounts.

The Peugeot 3008 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2017, but in the past five years safety tech has come a long way and this SUV has fallen behind.

Please be aware, too, that the plug-in hybrid version has yet to be given a ANCAP score. 

Affordability is extended to the ongoing costs for the H6 because it comes with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is above average for the class.

The hybrid battery is covered by an eight-year warranty and there is a five-year capped priced servicing program where services average $330, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first and you also get complimentary roadside assistance for five years through Allianz Global Assistance.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is covered by Peugeot’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The battery is also covered by an eight year warranty.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 20,000km. Service prices are capped, and you can expect to pay $3108 over the course of five years, for an annual average of $622.