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This is the baby SUV for Hyundai’s line-up but it does tend to remind you of this a little too often for this to truly be fun.
Still, it presents an interesting road-side presence and a comfortable urban driving experience.
Coupled with the competitive price tag, is this the little SUV that could? I’ve been driving it for the last week to find that out for you.
If there is one word that should be at the very top of the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid’s brochure, it is value, value, value.
Well, that's three words. But you get the idea.
This is the just-updated flagship version, and it gets tons of premium-style goodies, and it’s less than $40k drive-away. The cheapest one is under $33k on the road.
And with Japanese hybrid prices only heading one way — up — that makes this Chinese SUV something of a bargain.
The question is, does it have more to offer than just kindness on your bank account? Or to put it another way, is it both cheap and cheerful, or too much of one and not enough of the other?
There’s only one way to find out. So stick around as we take a closer look at the GWM Haval Jolion HEV Ultra.
The Hyundai Venue Elite is a sweet-looking, compact SUV that should suit drivers who only need an A-to-B sort of car in the city. Or an empty nester who doesn’t want to feel flustered by any high-end tech and wants knobs and dials where they expect them to be.
Some elements of the safety set could be better though and that’s something to consider. However, for an urban landscape, you can practically fit it anywhere. With its engine specs, it's also happiest in the city - don't consider this a road trip car.
Perhaps not the most engaging drive on offer in Australia, this GWM Haval Jolion HEV Ultra feels like a marked improvement over the last petrol-powered Jolion I drove, with a smooth and lag-free power delivery and more polished road manners. The value and practicality offerings are on point, too.
Cute is the adjective that comes to mind when you look at the Venue’s compact styling. And it is compact with its wee 4040mm length. The benefits of its dimensions means that you should be able to tuck this away in most garages or apartment car spots!
The Venue does have a boxier shape than I ordinarily like but because it’s small, it manages to get away with it and still feel sharp.
Our model’s paintwork and roof colour has been finished in Atlas White but you can customise the Venue with a two-tone roof job (either black or white, depending on main body colour), to add some more personality.
You just lose the sunroof with that option, which I actually think adds a lot of oomph to the interior and stops it from looking too plain inside.
Speaking of, the interior is pleasing but simplistic. There are a lot of traditional design elements from the gear shifter and handbrake to the easy-to-access buttons and dials. This is a no-fuss interior that is banking on having a no-fuss sort of driver.
There is some cool cred with the white painted metal accents around the air vents and gear shifter. Plus, the contrasting piping and stitching on the cloth seats adds some fun, too.
The best-looking Haval to date? I reckon so. While still not what you might describe as subtle in places, I see a bit of Germany in its exterior design – even a bit of Mercedes-Benz AMG Line, perhaps?
Part of that is down to the blacked-out design treatment on our car, with the mirrors, door handles and grille surrounds all black, which pair nicely with the more swept-back body styling. But it’s also down to the fact that it doesn’t feel like it's trying too hard, which makes a refreshing change from some Chinese automotive design philosophies.
There are some quirks, though. The first being that the huge spoilers and swollen arches make it look far sportier than it is from behind the wheel, but I also think it’s weird that the body seems so much bigger than the platform itself, so the wheels kind of vanish behind the body work – and from some angles they disappear altogether.
Inside it’s a familiar GWM Haval cabin experience, but the material choices for the seats and dash are nice, especially given the price point.
The screens are all big and clear, the wireless charging and the rotary gear selector are present and accounted for, but again there are some drawbacks.
For one, the wheel somehow feels too big for the cabin. Maybe it’s just in my head, but it feels like you’re driving a bus. And I’ve never been a fan of under-centre-console storage as a location for the USB-A ports, which require some Cirque de Soleil antics to access.
It ain't a people mover. Period.
If you plan on having regular passengers and they’re tall, look elsewhere because they won’t find much comfort (especially in the back seat).
On the back seat, I barely fit with my 168cm (5’6”) height and had to accommodate my driving position by spreading the ol’ knees apart. So ladylike.
However, kudos to the clever high roofline because headroom isn’t an issue. The 170mm ground clearance also makes this a super easy car to get in and out of.
Front passengers definitely enjoy the most room and amenities but you will be jostling for the premium position on the armrest. The storage is good for this size SUV with a glovebox, middle console, two cupholders and a cute little storage shelf in front of the passenger.
There’s also a dedicated phone tray that has the wireless charging pad, a USB-A and C port plus a 12-volt port too.
The tech is simple to use and it was easy to get my iPhone connected to the Bluetooth and wired Apple CarPlay (there’s Android Auto, too for those users). The new-for-2023 4.2-inch digital instrument panel adds some pizzazz but unfortunately, isn’t customisable.
The boot is a solid size for this class at 355L. You can adjust the floor to sit a little lower and there is a space-saver spare tyre.
No Venue grade has a powered tailgate but honestly, you don’t need it.
This GWM Haval Jolion HEV is a spacious place to spend the hours on a long road trip, even in the backseat, where, sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had more than enough head and legroom to be comfortable.
And because there’s no bulky transmission tunnel, there’s even room for three adults to sit semi-comfortably. Backseat riders also get USB-A ports and air vents, but no temperature controls.
There's a pull-down seat divider that deploys from the middle seat, and which is home to two cupholders, and there are bottle holders in all four doors.
So comfortable, yes, but somehow not as lavish-feeling as the two front seats, with the back pew of the Jolion feeling a little sparse, but plenty spacious.
The GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid’s boot is deep, but shallow. Mostly because the three-depth layout has a tyre repair kit directly below the boot floor, and then below that, there's a whole bunch of hybrid tech that eats into the usable cargo room.
Haval says you’ll get 255 litres with the rear seats in place, and 916 litres with them folded flat, while towing capacity is a braked 1300kg.
Even though the Elite is the top model for the Venue line-up, it’s just $28,500 before on-road costs.
That puts it on par with the Mazda CX-3 in Maxx Sport guise, but about $4500 cheaper than the Toyota Yaris Cross Urban.
The Elite has an okay spec sheet but is a few items short of feeling like a top model should.
For example, this has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, whereas the lower grades enjoy wireless.
This is a common trait in Hyundai and Kia products due to a quirk with the vehicle architecture. It also just makes do with halogen headlights but they stand out against the rest of the LEDs on the road.
However, the other standard equipment for the Elite still makes it a competitive player, like the tilt and slide sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, temporary space-saver spare tyre, steering wheel-mounted controls, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system and wireless charging pad.
The GWM Haval Jolion HEV, or Hybrid Electric Vehicle, can be had in three grades – the Premium, the Lux and our flagship Ultra – with drive-away pricing stepping from $32,990 to $35,990, and topping out at $38,990.
They’re all pretty well equipped, to be fair, but the Ultra gets the best stuff, building on the Lux grade’s 18-inch alloys, digital dash, 12.3-inch central screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and LED lighting by adding a big panoramic sunroof, wireless charging and ambient interior lighting.
Be warned though, some of the functionality is less than intuitive. I rang the company to figure out how to activate the heated seats, for example, which required a right-side swipe of the multimedia screen. And the driver's seat is allegedly ventilated, too, but I couldn't figure out where that functionality was hiding.
Still, once you know how to do it it's all easy enough.
All Venue grades share the same engine – a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol drivetrain with a maximum output of 90kW and 151Nm of torque. Which sounds as gutless as it feels.
The six-speed auto transmission and under-powered engine can feel a bit rough on the open-road when you need to put your foot down.
Basically, you’re not going to do Daytona 500 in this. Think the odd bit of shopping, taking your small lap dog to get trimmed and going for a coffee with your friends.
The GWM Haval Jolion HEV pairs a 1.5-litre petrol engine with a 70kW electric motor for a total 140kW and 375Nm.
It pairs with what Haval calls a hybrid transmission, a CVT, and sends its power to the front wheels.
It earns back some points with the fuel efficiency, especially considering how hard you have to drive this to wring out its power.
The official combined fuel figure is 7.2L/100km and I achieved the same according to the trip computer. Not too shabby but there are hybrid versions for the Venue’s rivals now - like the Yaris Cross - so it would be good to see one for this as well.
It has a 45L fuel tank and based off the official combined figure, you should be able to get around a 625km driving range, which means you should be able to go a couple of weeks without filling up if you’re doing shorter commutes.
It’s efficient, too, GWM reckons its 55-litre tank will deliver a total 1000kms in driving range, with the brand claiming 5.1L/100km on the combined cycle. That said, we've been getting more like 7.0L on average in the city.
Still, sticking with the claimed fuel use figure, and combining it with the big 55L fuel tank, means an impressive theoretical driving range of over 1000km on a single tank of fuel.
That's Sydney to Brisbane or Melbourne to Sydney without having to stop to fill up.
This is an urban dweller for sure. It’s happiest going under 70km/h but it handles that range very well. You have enough kick to cross traffic without too much fuss and the steering feels direct.
Those feelings disappear on the open road where it’s a struggle to maintain your speed and the engine complains so loudly, I was nervous it was going to conk out.
The cabin also gets loud at higher speeds with wind and road noise, which just reaffirms that this is a city car. At lower speeds, it’s fairly quiet and you can chat without interruption.
There’s some roll when you tackle corners but once you get used to how to drive it, it won’t bother you. The ride comfort is good until you hit bumps and then, you probably feel more connected to the road than you might like but it’s short lived because of the short wheelbase.
I really like the 10.2m turning circle and compact size - it made navigating around tight city streets an absolute breeze. Parking? Hurrah for a small car. I got into spaces that would ordinarily elude me. I just would have liked a clear reversing camera, it’s a bit blurry for a top-spec model.
The addition of an electric motor seems to have only improved the Jolion drive experience. I spent three months behind the wheel of a petrol-powered Jolion, back in 2022, and there were plenty of hard-to-live with kinks that are effectively ironed out in the hybrid.
The laggy, surging acceleration is gone, replaced by a constant flow of power, presumably because any power holes on take-off are being filled by electric grunt. Gone, too, is the fidgety gearbox, replaced by an (occasionally pretty droning) CVT that smooths out your progress.
The result of all that is a car that feels far more resolved and confident than the petrol-powered Jolion I lived with, and it means a much happier drive experience in the Jolion HEV.
It's also plenty powerful enough for everyday life, too. I know the numbers don't sound life-altering on paper, but getting to city speeds is no issue, and even travelling well beyond them – overtaking at 80km/h to 90km/h for example – is easy, with the Jolion HEV never feeling underpowered no matter where I took it.
There are still some downsides. The steering wheel feels too big in your hands, and a little doughy and vague, and the front tyres are still only too happy to break traction should you get too aggressive with the accelerator with any turning lock on.
And this might sound weird, but I really struggled at times to judge the where the edges of the vehicle are, I think because the driver's seating position meets the high vehicle edges to block the view, but I also think it might be because the body work expands out over the wheels, screwing with your judgement. Or maybe I was just having a bad day.
Still, you get used to the oddities quickly enough, and while not the most engaging drive experience, this Jolion is comfortable, easy to live with, and – though sometimes noisy in the cabin through that gearbox and tyre noise on the wrong road surface – a big step in the right direction.
This little SUV has some good safety features that come as standard, like: blind-spot monitoring, auto emergency braking (AEB) with forward collision warning - car, pedestrian and cyclist detection (operational from 5.0 – 60km/h), rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors, driver attention warning, check rear occupant alert, lane keeping aid, rear view camera with dynamic guidelines and tyre pressure monitoring.
However, the Venue was awarded a four-star ANCAP safety rating back in 2019. It missed out on that extra star because of the forward collision system, which had a lower ability to avoid rear-end impacts with vehicles in front. That dropped the Safety Assist and Vulnerable Road User scores down to just 62 per cent. That’s something to consider for the sort of traffic you’d get in an urban setting.
It only has six airbags but that does include curtain airbags covering the back row.
All Jolion Hybrids get mostly the same safety kit, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with active lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and rear parking sensors. The Lux then adds a 360-degree camera, while our Ultra adds front parking sensors.
And I'm happy to note I didn't find any of the above overly intrusive. But the same can't be said of the driver-monitoring system, which not only bongs incessantly when you take your eyes off the road, but even asks you to accept a little message that pops up on the centre screen, like you have to acknowledge your mistake and promise it won't happen again. And then, even after you do accept, it still bongs for several long seconds.
It's time we got rid of driver-monitoring systems like this one.
Ongoing costs are great as the Venue comes with Hyundai’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is a standard term for the class.
You can pre-purchase servicing plans for up to five-years or 75,000km (whichever occurs first). The five-year plan averages $315 per service, which is very competitive!
Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.
The GWM Haval Jolion hybrid is covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with five years of roadside assist and an eight-year battery warranty.
There is capped-price servicing on board, too, which limits the first five years of ownership to $1650.