GWM Haval H6 vs Skoda Kamiq

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.

The Kamiq's entry price is much higher than when Skoda Australia launched the small SUV, and it is missing key features - some of which are a result of the semiconductor crisis and beyond the company's control.

It also proved a little thirstier than expected too, but for the most part, the Kamiq is a solid pick.

It is one of the most enjoyable small SUVs, of any price, to drive, with sharp dynamics and a willing turbocharged engine.

A spacious-for-the-segment cabin and top-notch tech add to the Kamiq's appeal.

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.

The Kamiq is something of a contradiction in that it is visually appealing, yet conservative at the same time.

The standard Candy White paint of our test car probably didn't help the staid vibe.

But, there are elements – such as the split headlights with a crystal-like pattern of the daytime running lights, and the well-crafted rear end – that set the Kamiq apart.

These features and the signature grille leave no doubt that you're driving a Skoda.

If you're after a more visually arresting Kamiq, check out the sporty looking Monte Carlo.

Inside, the design is again on the conservative European side. In fact, in Ambition grade at least, the Kamiq's cabin looks a little drab.

The cream headliner and a metal-look insert running the width of the dash breaks up the grey, and there are some interesting angles to the dash and door panels, but it all looks a bit generic.

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.

The cabin might look a little drab, but you'd be hard-pressed to fault the overall quality of the interior.

There are some hard plastics on the lower part of the dash but soft-touch materials on top. The Kamiq features a lovely flat-bottom, perforated leather steering wheel that feels nice to touch and has simple controls. However, the cruise control buttons are housed on a stalk on the left side of the steering column. It can be hard to see the controls on these secondary stalks which are often hidden behind the steering wheel and we don't know why carmakers insist on using them. Keep cruise controls on the steering wheel, please.

Tall folk will love the headroom in the Kamiq, and it's easy to find a good seating position but the front seats aren't super supportive. They could do with a little more thigh padding.

The Kamiq's design ensures it is one of the best models in its class when it comes to visibility; there's plenty of glass and narrow pillars, meaning no obvious blind spots.

It features a small but deep central storage bin, a decent glove box, good space for big bottles (1.5L bottles, according to Skoda) and more in the front doors.

The configurable ‘Virtual Cockpit' digital instrument cluster is hard to fault. Although the system asks to hit the ‘OK' button to reset the trip computer, we could not locate an OK button anywhere on the steering wheel.

The 8.0-inch multimedia system has a logical menu and it houses functions for the driver-assist features and other vehicle functions.

Annoyingly, the air conditioning controls are split between analogue switches and digital controls via the touchscreen. You can only adjust fan speed on the screen. Surely it makes more sense for this function to be either digital or analogue, not both?

There's a surprising amount of occupant space in the rear, with plenty of legroom behind my 183cm (six foot) frame, and acres of headroom.

As well as the two USB-C ports up front there's a further two in the rear, as well as lower air vents, map pockets, grab handles and coat hooks. Door storage is narrow and will only fit tiny bottles.

The rear seats fold 60/40 and there's no centre armrest.

At 400 litres (1395L with the rear seats folded), it's a decent-sized boot, but it can't match the Kia Seltos (468L).

Being a Skoda, it has handy touches like a storage nook on the side of the cargo area, rubber mats, hooks for a luggage net and a solid cargo blind for added security.

The Kamiq's 16-inch space-saver spare wheel is housed under the boot floor.

When the Kamiq launched in Australia in late 2020, the line-up started with the entry-level 85TSI manual from $26,990 before on-road costs. Given how much safety and other standard gear was packed in, it was seen as incredible value for money.

That variant – powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine – was dropped in 2021 and now the most affordable Kamiq is the recently added Ambition manual from $34,690 before on-road costs. 

Granted, it has a more powerful and responsive 110kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine – also found in a bunch of other VW Group products – but it's a big jump from the previous entry car.

We tested the Ambition automatic which is priced from $35,690 before on-roads and for that you get cloth seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, tinted windows, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, a power tailgate, manually adjustable front seats, dual-zone air conditioning, keyless entry and start, and an umbrella in the driver's door – a clever Skoda signature.

UPDATE: The Kamiq 110TSI Ambition  has now been replaced by the Kamiq Style 85TSI, which was announced on May 5, 2022.

Tech-wise it has a fully digital instrument cluster, wireless phone-charging, 8.0-inch multimedia display with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a lengthy list of standard safety gear (see safety section below).

But, it is missing some key features like a digital radio and satellite navigation. The former is not available on any Kamiq grade and the latter is standard on the flagship Signature, which is priced from $38,090, and it's part of an option pack on the mid-grade sports-focused Monte Carlo from $37,590.

We can maybe forgive the lack of sat nav, given an increasing number of people use phone-based maps, but the absence of digital radio is weird.

It's much less of a bargain than when it first launched.

In terms of rivals, the Mazda CX-30 starts at just under $30,000, the Kia Seltos starts from $27,290, while the Renault Arkana kicks off at $34,590.

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.

As mentioned, the Kamiq is no longer offered with an entry-level 1.0-litre three-pot unit. Instead, all variants are powered by VW Group's 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine delivering 110kW of power at 6000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1500-3500rpm.

The Kamiq is front-wheel drive only and the Ambition is available with a six-speed manual gearbox and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission offered as standard on all other grades.

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. 

According to Skoda, the official combined fuel-use figure for the automatic Kamiq is 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres. The manual is more frugal at 4.9L.

After a week of mixed but mostly urban driving, we recorded 8.5L/100km in the Ambition. That's quite a difference from the official figure.

In terms of CO2 emissions, the figure is 128g/km.

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.

Prior to getting behind the wheel of the Kamiq Ambition, I was impressed by the former base Kamiq with the 1.0-litre engine, which I sampled shortly after it launched.

Now having driven the 1.5-litre version, I'm even more enamoured with the Kamiq.

It is quick off the mark, with the responsive 110kW engine providing a lot of urge. Previous-generation VW Group models with the brand's dual-clutch transmission (they call it a DSG) have a tendency to lag on take-off -  a combination of the jolty transmission and the turbocharger.

These days the lag is much more subtle and doesn't impact the responsiveness, certainly when it comes to the Kamiq. Even the idle-stop function lacks the delay found in older VW Group product.

There is a bit of low-speed jerkiness caused by the transmission, but it's not a deal-breaker.

The Kamiq is a star performer among its rivals when it comes to dynamics. as well as super-sharp steering - typical of Skoda and VW models - it impresses when cornering, planting itself thanks to a balanced chassis, well-calibrated traction control and good tyres.

Road manners on loose surfaces are also hard to fault, and the Kamiq's cabin is relatively well insulated from outside noise.

The Kamiq's ride is mostly settled, particularly on urban streets, but the low-profile tyres and slightly firm suspension tune mean you will feel potholes and speed bumps. But again, not to the point of being a deal-breaker.

The Kamiq is offered with a solid range of safety gear as standard.

Features like front and rear autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, multi-collision braking, a rain braking feature, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, automatic flashing brake lights in the case of an emergency, adaptive cruise control, tyre pressure monitor, driver attention alert, lane assist and more.

Blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert are usually standard on the Monte Carlo Signature, but Skoda says these two features are not currently available as they are impacted by the global semiconductor shortage. These two items are not offered at all on the Ambition grade.

The Kamiq has a five-star ANCAP rating that was awarded in 2019. It has seven airbags but does not include a front centre airbag that is designed to reduce the risk of injury during a side impact.

On the road, the adaptive cruise control is a bit slow to respond when you pull out to overtake on a freeway, for example.

The lane keeping aid functions well for the most part but can sometimes tug on the wheel.

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.

Skoda offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for the Kamiq.

The servicing schedule is every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The Czech brand offers customers two service packs for the Kamiq Ambition, including a five-year/75,000km term for $1500, or a seven-year/105,000km for $2100.