Updated already?! 2026 Haval H7 gets a deep facelift in China but will these tweaks come to the Australian version of this rugged-looking Subaru Forester rival?

The Haval H7, also known as the Big Dog in China, has just arrived in Australia but has already been heavily updated overseas.

Dubbed the Big Dog Plus overseas, this new version of the H7 has a range of new powertrain options, tweaked styling and a significantly updated interior and multimedia tech to bring it in line with other more rugged Haval models, the Raptor and H9 offered in the Chinese market.

Styling-wise, the new car gets a revised front grille with a gloss silver Haval logo, while the rear is largely the same as the current vehicle delivered to Australia.

On the inside it scores the brand’s latest two-spoke steering wheel design, and the centre console has been re-designed with additional storage thanks to the shifter moving to a wheel-column mounted stalk.

The multimedia screen remains 14.6-inches, while the digital dash is 12.3-inches. It also scores familiar-looking 19-inch alloy wheels.

New engines in China include a 1.5-litre turbo and a 2.0-litre turbo in front-wheel drive with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, or a 2.0-litre turbo in all-wheel drive and a nine-speed dual-clutch, complete with a rear differential lock and specific off-road driving modes.

At the top of the range are a pair of plug-in hybrids using the brand’s latest Hi4 electrified driving set-up.

This pairs a 1.5-litre turbo engine with two electric motors on the front axle in a hybrid transmission and an electric motor on the rear axle, with total power outputs of 268kW/750Nm. It is offered with either an 18.74kWh battery good for a 105km range, or a 27.54kWh battery good for a 150km range, both to the more lenient CLTC standard.

The plug-in hybrid variants are also capable of vehicle-to-load at up to 3.3kW.

The H7 currently offered in Australia is a 1.5-litre turbo plugless hybrid driving the front wheels via a dedicated hybrid transmission, producing 179kW/350Nm.

A GWM Australia representative confirmed the brand would be sticking with the version it recently launched in Australia for the foreseeable future, with the current version the only one earmarked for export in right-hand drive. GWM did note the new H7 or Big Dog was a fair indication of where the brand intended to move in the future when it comes to power options.

GWM announced at the Shanghai motor show that going forward, all of its hybrid SUVs would move to its latest ‘Hi4’ system, which will be all-wheel drive only. While Hi4 is specifically for plug-in hybrids presently, the brand also confirmed the system was scalable to include plugless hybrids if need be.

The incoming new version of the brand’s H6 mid-size SUV will be the first to use the brand’s Hi4 system in Australia, which supersedes its current hybrid systems.

Meanwhile the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 PHEVs already use the ladder frame Hi4-T system, which maintains a proper transmission, low range gearing and mechanical links to both axles.

The brand has confirmed more Hi4 systems will proliferate across its range in the near future.

The current H7 is available in a single top Vanta spec, priced at $46,990 drive-away. The new version in China is priced from between $28,600 and $40,000, but usually a roughly 15 - 20 per cent premium is added to Chinese vehicles by the time they arrive in Australia.