Haval Jolion 2022 review: Lux

Like the Koreans before them, Chinese brands have built their numbers by promising to undercut mainstream rivals on the value front.

Our Lux wears a drive-away price of $27,990. (Image: Tom White)

While the Jolion moves up in price compared to the H2 which it replaces, it still holds on to its value position, adding a boatload of new equipment and features quite on par with many of the more established players.

Our Lux wears a drive-away price of $27,990 (just over $2000 more than the equivalent outgoing H2), while impressing with standard equipment.

Included is 17-inch alloy wheels, a 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a 7.0-inch digital dash cluster, dual-zone climate control, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat with heated front seats, a six-speaker audio system, auto-dimming rear-vision mirror, ‘comfort-tek’ synthetic leather interior trim with a synthetic leatherbound steering wheel, paddle-shifters for the transmission, six-speaker audio system, and a 360-degree parking camera suite.

Every Jolion also scores a comprehensive suite of active safety items, improved out of sight from previous generation cars, as well as a vastly improved engine and transmission combination, which we’ll look at later in this review.

Included is a 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. (Image: Tom White)

This gear is not only competitive with its mainstream rivals, but super impressive that all of it comes in at slightly more than the outgoing car.

The Lux is by far the pick of the range, too, with the top-spec Ultra adding nice but ultimately unnecessary additions like a head-up display and wireless charging.

When it comes to rivals you can consider the Jolion Lux against the base Kia Seltos (S Auto 2WD - $28,290), base Nissan Qashqai ($30,590), and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (ES - $30,290) but as you can see the mid-spec Jolion is only asking light SUV dollars for an equivalent size and equipment level.

The GWM Haval Jolion Lux rides on 17-inch alloy wheels. (Image: Tom White)

The Jolion is big for a ‘small’ SUV. Consider it a competitor to larger and more wagon-like rivals which almost shift into the segment above like the Kia Seltos, Nissan Qashqai, and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

Cabin space is particularly impressive, the Jolion is adjustable and spacious for front passengers, and the raised console design allows for a large storage cutaway underneath. The USB ports are hosted here, and there’s a tray for your phone with convenient cable pass-throughs under the centre vents.

Cabin space is particularly impressive, the Jolion is adjustable and spacious for front passengers. (Image: Tom White)

The console offers a clean design with plenty of space for resting your arm, and it’s nice the decently sized console box has a padded top for extra comfort and ambiance. The cupholders aren’t huge and have an awkward fold-out cover, but there are also large pockets in the doors with bottle-appropriate cutaways.

While the brand has done an admirable job of cleaning up the dash design by deleting buttons, this has come at the expense of usability for the climate functions which have all moved into the touchscreen with shortcut buttons on a touch panel interface below. This is never a good move but made worse because the touch elements are a bit small and tough to reach over and use while you’re on the move.

On the topic of software, aside from the mild usability blunder of the climate system, it’s pretty impressive.

Like the GWM Cannon ute, there are a few spots where the localisation is far from perfect, but the suite itself is as fast and nearly as slick as anything you’d expect from a more mainstream manufacturer. It’s a lot sharper and more modern than equivalent systems in this car’s rivals from MG.

The rear seat deserves special mention as it offers both impressive space for adults and generous amenities, too. (Image: Tom White)

The digital dash needs a little work specifically in the Jolion though. It’s not as contemporary or functional in its design and layout, offering few real functions and generally having a clumsy layout. What’s the point of a digital screen if you can hardly customise it?

Otherwise, the seats are comfortable in all rows, and it’s quite easy to see out of the Jolion. The rear seat deserves special mention as it offers both impressive space for adults and generous amenities, too.

I fit with quite a bit of airspace for my knees behind my own driving position, and while the door doesn’t seem to open as wide as in some rivals, head room is decent, too. This seems to be helped along by the slight recline of the seat backs.

There are bottle holders in the doors, a drop-down armrest, and pockets on the backs of the front seats, but where it’s particularly impressive is a set of adjustable air vents and dual USB ports on the back of the centre console, rare additions for the small SUV segment.

Boot space comes in at 430 litres (VDA) with the seats up. (Image: Tom White)

The Jolion features dual ISOFIX and three top-tether child seat mounting points across the rear row.

Boot space comes in at 430 litres (VDA) with the seats up, which is great for the segment, and the space is easy to use, too. Under the floor there is a space-saver spare wheel.

The Jolion is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine which produces 110kW/220Nm. It’s about on par with most small SUV rivals. It drives the front wheels via a Euro-style seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

It feels more modern than a lot of its non-turbo rivals (of which there are many in this segment) and many will prefer a dual-clutch to a CVT. More on this in the driving part of the review.

Considering its engine and transmission, I would have expected a better official/combined consumption figure than 8.1L/100km. Rivals range from a bit better to a lot better, and it makes you wonder what the point of all that turbocharging and dual-clutching is if it’s going to consume similar amounts of fuel to a naturally aspirated car with a six-speed torque converter.

Over my week of testing I scored nearly 10.7L/100km, compounding the disappointment, although I did spend my entire time doing urban kilometres.

To make up for it the Jolion can consume entry-level 91RON unleaded. It has a 55-litre fuel tank.

Following the example of Korean automakers, Haval offers a warranty generally ahead of mainstream rivals, with seven years and unlimited kilometres of coverage. There is five years and 100,000km of roadside assist, as well as an affordable capped-price servicing program.

Prices range from $210 to $450 per year or 10,000km visit for the first five years, working out at an impressive average of just $310 per year. Our only note is it would be nice to see the capped-price servicing and roadside assist cover the life of the warranty, but this is an excellent ownership promise regardless.