Hyundai Tucson vs GWM Haval H6

What's the difference?

As Toyota has found with the RAV4, these types of ‘self-charging hybrids’ are popular with customers because they offer more performance, lower fuel economy and require no change in behaviour - no plugging in or managing battery range.

There’s a very good reason for Hyundai to add the Tucson Hybrid to the local line-up, because it will expand the appeal of what is already a popular SUV. Many buyers have turned off diesel in the wake of the Volkswagen emission scandal, so hybrids such as these have greater appeal.

Especially if Hyundai can keep the price difference between the hybrid and diesel to a similar level to what we’ve already seen with the Santa Fe. In these current times of high petrol prices and cost-of-living pressures, anything that can make driving better financially we welcome.

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.

What’s interesting about the design is that there isn’t anything unique about it, at least not overtly different from the rest of the Tucson range. As electrification becomes the norm rather than the exception, car makers have realised car buyers don’t need or want their electrified cars to be styled dramatically differently. 

As Toyota's decision to drop the Prius in Australia and instead relying on the Corolla to cater to buyers looking for a hybrid model demonstrates, buyers have evolved with their tastes. 

Instead both outside and in, the Tucson Hybrid is a regular-looking SUV that will appeal to anyone looking for a fuel-efficient model. 

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.

Despite the addition of the hybrid powertrain elements the Tucson remains a practical family car. While it’s not the biggest SUV in its segment it offers adequate room for a family of four or five.

The front seats are comfortable and there’s good small item storage, as you’ll find in the existing Tucson range, with cup holders, a wireless smartphone charging pad, lidded console box and deep door pockets. The rear bench is good too, with enough room for my 180cm frame to fit in relative comfort, as well as cup holders in the fold-down armrest and a bottle holder in the door.

Crucially, the boot capacity is the same in both the petrol and hybrid Tucson in US specification, which means it should translate to the same 539-litres offered here. The boot floor is flat, which will make loading and unloading easier, but it’s worth noting that the US-spec model we drove had no space for a spare tyre and instead relied on a puncture repair kit.

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 H6 has six variants and our model on test is the flagship Ultra Hybrid, which is priced from $45,990, drive-away. That makes it way more affordable than similarly equipped rivals, the closest drive-away price tag being over $10K higher, at $56,206 for the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid.

Pricing goes up from there with the Kia Sportage GT-Line HEV priced from $60,496 and the Nissan X-Trail e-Power Ti-L from $63,200 (drive-away prices based on a NSW, 2000 postcode). So what do you get on the top-model hybrid H6?

For premium features, expect to see synthetic leather upholstery and trims, a panoramic sunroof, a handsfree powered tailgate, dual-zone climate control and a head-up display.

The front seats are electric, with the passenger side featuring four-way adjustment and the driver's side eight-way, as well as powered lumbar support. They sport heat and ventilation functions for added comfort.

Technology is high-quality with the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system. There is wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is good because unlike it's rivals, you miss out on built-in satellite navigation and digital radio in this model.

The exterior boasts a full suite of LED lights, including DRLs. Rims are 19-inch alloy but this hybrid model only gets a tyre puncture repair kit.

For the price tag, the kit is well-rounded and most creature comforts are assured.

This is the heart of the matter, with the Tucson Hybrid combining a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor. The petrol engine makes the same power as the ‘SmartStream G1.6’ in the current Tucson, 132kW/265Nm. But the addition of the 44kW electric motor takes the total powertrain output to 168kW/349Nm.

The powertrain is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission as standard as well as Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive system.

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.

Hyundai USA rates the Tucson Hybrid fuel economy at between 6.1L/100km and 6.3L/100km depending on the variant. It must be noted that US fuel economy figures do alter to Australian numbers, but as a guide those figures are competitive without being class-leading.

The X-Trail e-Power returns the same 6.1L/100km, but the RAV4 Hybrid uses just 4.8L/100km so there’s room for Hyundai to close the gap.

But at 6.1L/100km the hybrid would be the most fuel-efficient member of the Tucson range in Australia, with the diesel managing 6.3L/100km and the 1.6 turbo petrol using 7.2L/100km. So there’s reason to think adding this hybrid option would expand the appeal of the Tucson.

The US-spec models have a 51-litre fuel tank which means a theoretical driving range of up to 835km on a single tank.

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. 

The extra power and torque makes for a notable improvement in performance over what’s currently offered in Australia. The Tucson Hybrid feels quite punchy off the mark whenever you engage both the engine and motor. While it’s not exactly a ‘N Performance’ model, it does feel sprightly for a mid-size SUV.

Plus there’s the added bonus that the electric motor can do all of the work some of the time.

So if you do a lot of urban driving and can be careful with your right foot you may be able to get close to, or even beat, the claimed fuel economy.

It’s difficult to make a definitive comment on the handling, because the version we drove had the US suspension tune, which felt softer than what we’ve experienced here to deal with America’s very average road conditions. Even so, our test drive did demonstrate that the addition of the hybrid system, and the added weight it brings, doesn’t have a negative impact on the way the Tucson drives. It still feels like a well-balanced and responsive SUV and we’d certainly expect that to be the case of Australian-bound models.

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.

In this grade level the H6 has a great suite of safety features, including a biggie like rear cross-traffic alert, which is only available on the higher Ultra grades. The lane keeping aid is quite sensitive, though, which can lead to a jerky on-road feel.

Other standard safety features include driver attention alert, tyre pressure monitoring, rear collision warning, LED lights, lane departure/keeping aids, emergency lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, child safety locks and a 360-degree camera system with front and rear parking sensors.

A windshield mounted USB-A port for a dashcam, is also standard.

The H6 has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2022 as well as seven airbags including a front centre airbag.

It has high individual assessment scores for adult and child protection at 90 and 88 per cent, respectively.

The H6 features AEB with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection which is operational from 5.0-85km/h (150km/h for car detection).

There are two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top tether anchor points. Three car seats are likely to fit.

It’s safe to assume that Hyundai Australia will offer its standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the Tucson Hybrid. 

Servicing costs are unclear but it’s probable that the more complex hybrid powertrain would mean a higher price. But Hyundai Australia will likely offer a servicing plan, so you’ll know up front what you’re in for.

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.