Chery Tiggo 8 PRO MAX vs GWM Haval H6GT

What's the difference?

This mid-sized seven-seat SUV segment is dominated by just a handful of nameplates, and it’s easy to see how some of them might be under threat by something like the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

There are a few areas where it could use some fine-tuning, but these are mainly restricted to being pedantic about the drive experience. There are no dealbreakers here as there often can be for low-cost alternatives, and so long as you’re primarily putting kids in the back seats, this Tiggo is well equipped, comfortable, plush, and surprisingly refined.

With a robust ownership proposition as well, it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t consider one of these if you’re shopping in the seven-seat SUV space - and that's why this could be Chery's shot at the big leagues.

Given the limitations of the launch drive route, we'll wait for a longer seven-day loan before giving our final verdict of the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV. But from this initial drive, it’s clear the plug-in hybrid powertrain has transformed the H6 GT. 

Compared with the petrol H6 GT, it's quieter, smoother, faster, much more efficient and has excellent real-world electric driving range, with that petrol engine to back it up nicely. 

There’s no question it’s good value, and the spacious, comfortable cabin makes it a solid family offering. It looks like GWM now has a genuine BYD Sealion 6 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV rival on its hands. 

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Tiggo 8 Pro Max just looks like a mid-size SUV. Perhaps if you calculated the average design cues of every mid-size SUV on the market, this would be what you end up with.

Of all the Chinese automakers currently in the market though, the Tiggo range of SUVs are the least controversial. There’s no weird theme to the design, there’s no bizarre light fittings or controversial angles. You could stick a badge on this car from any Korean or Japanese brand and you wouldn’t think twice about it.

It doesn’t say much for innovation, but I think it will very much work in this car's favour. It provides a much more globally appealing look when compared to the controversial design of BYD products, the crazy grilles and badging on GWM products, or the derivative style of the MG range.

For this reason it won’t turn heads at the school drop-off, but that’s perfect for families who want to run incognito and would normally buy a conservative mainstream SUV from Toyota or Mitsubishi.

Inside things get a bit more interesting. The Tiggo 8 has a contemporary design, complete with a high-riding bridge-style console, and the dual-screens are encased in a single housing that spans half the length of the dash.

It’s ambitious too, with generous amounts of soft-touch surfaces and synthetic leather finishes. Clearly, it’s inspired by others in the industry. The dual-screen layout is very Hyundai or Kia via Mercedes, while the Benz influence extends to the wood grain-look plastic inserts and even the little silver finishes covering the speakers up. Rather than a naff knock-off though, the Chery interior genuinely feels its own space.

The only areas that you can see through the facade to a car built-to-a price is in a handful of places. The steering wheel buttons, for instance, feel a bit cheap, and when it comes to those big screens, the resolution isn’t as high as you might expect, and the processing isn’t as fast as it could be, leading to a slightly laggy experience.

Still, the same can be said for many mainstream manufacturers, and at least Chery’s native software has been localised and is easy to navigate. Also, none of this stops the Chery from feeling properly plush on the inside. It was also seemingly pretty well put together, free of rattles, switchgear with too much play, or nasty hollow plastics.

First impressions are good.

Late last year GWM introduced some subtle styling changes to the H6 GT, notably a refreshed smoky tail-light design and new GWM badging that replaced the old ‘HAVAL’ across the tailgate.

Aside from that, the H6 GT is exactly as it was in 2022.

Some people love the coupe-SUV aesthetic, and to those people I say good for you. I am not one of those people.

Often that body style has compromises, and in the case of the Haval that means visibility through the rear windscreen.

I think the regular Haval H6 SUV is a handsome vehicle with a classy yet subtle look. But the GT is a little over the top for me. As I said though, horses for courses. 

Interior design in the H6 GT could be best described as fussy minimalism. You have minimal elements like the driver’s display and its lack of instrument cowl, but there are a lot of lines and different materials covering the dash and door panels, including synthetic carbon-fibre panelling. 

It won’t win any interior design awards but it’s also far from unappealing.

The interior is also thoughtfully designed, but it needs to compete with user-friendly cars like the Honda CR-V and Nissan X-Trail in this segment.

The front occupants are treated to a reasonably spacious cabin, which for the driver is quite adjustable, although the design of the dash means it sticks out into the front passenger’s knee area. Head and shoulder space is impressive, and everywhere you put your arms or knees there’s a soft-clad finish rather than hard plastic to greet you.

As already mentioned, the software isn’t half bad when it comes to ease-of-use, however the lack of tactile toggles or dials for the climate unit is a bit of a miss. It has its own dedicated set of touch controls below the screen itself, but they provide no tactile feedback, so are a little hard to use while on the move.

Storage is great, with large pockets and bottle-holders in the doors, a further two bottle holders in the centre console, a wireless phone charger, and a neat little set of drive mode buttons and a digital shift lever within easy reach.

The bridge-style console also offers a large pass-through area underneath for the storage of larger items, and there’s a deep centre armrest console box, too.

The second row is quite versatile, offering rail adjustment for the base, so you can maximise the room available to the third row if need be.

Second-row occupants (with the seats set to a decent position for myself at 182cm tall) have plenty of knee room and plenty of headroom, and the doors open nice and wide for the loading of objects or people.

Storage includes large pockets on the backs of the front seats, a bottle holder in each door, and a further two in the drop-down armrest. There is a set of adjustable air vents on the back of the centre console, with both a USB-A and USB-C port for power delivery.

The third row is a bit more challenging. I had to contort myself to get in with the second row seat either slid forward or folded flat. Once I was in there, I was surprised to find I fit, but only just.

My knees were hard up against the seat in front, while my head was touching the roof. Mercifully, I had enough room to slide my feet under the seat in front, otherwise it would’ve been too tight. It’s passable for adults then, but only in a pinch, and you wouldn’t want to be back there for long. No problem if you’re just putting kids back there though.

The third row gets air vents on either side with an independent fan speed controller on the mid-grade Elite and top-spec Ultimate, and there’s a useful storage tray, and small bottle holder on each side. You don’t get USB ports, but there’s a 12 volt outlet available just behind the rear seats in the boot.

On the topic of the boot, it is not as large as I was hoping, but then neither is the car itself.

The boot measures 479 litres with the second-row up, or just 117-litres with all seven seats deployed. It’s smaller than some mid-size rivals, but not enough for it to be a dealbreaker. We’ll get it back for a longer test to see what does and does not fit.

The floor is quite high to facilitate those fold-flat rear seats, and there’s a small under-floor storage tray where you can hide the retractable luggage cover on the Urban and Elite variants. Unfortunately the Ultimate gets a subwoofer here.

All variants get a space-saver spare wheel mounted outside underneath the car, so at least you don’t need to deal with a tyre repair kit.

The GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV is a spacious car. It’s at the top end of the medium SUV segment when it comes to interior space.

Up front the space is impacted by the chunky centre console. It is wide and sits up too high, presumably to give the cabin a sportscar cockpit feel. It ends up just impeding knee and elbow room.

It does, however, aid storage, which is already a positive in the GWM. There’s a big open space under the massive console for items. The secure central bin is also sizeable, as is the glove box, while the door storage up front is excellent. Big and wide bottles will fit alongside a few other longer items. There’s also a pair of cupholders in the console.

The USB-A ports are annoyingly housed under the console but the outlet for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is on the passenger side of the car - a result of being built in China which is a left-hand-drive market.

The front seats are very cushy but could do with a little more under thigh support. They look and feel nice to touch. You get more power adjustability on the driver's side.

GWM’s steering wheel has a nicely sized rim and feels good in the hands, but the wheel hub and top spokes are positioned more than halfway up the wheel which forces the driver to adopt a ‘10 and 2’ hold rather than the preferred ‘9 and 3’.

The multimedia system is decent in the H6 GT, and GWM has certainly come a long way on that front. There are multiple ways to access functions - swipe up, down, left or right and you’ll find what you need.

Many vehicle functions are found in the screen but like most of these set-ups, you just need to spend some time learning where everything is. Apple CarPlay works well in this format, too.

The second row is incredibly spacious, especially for a coupe-style SUV. Most models with that body style compromise on rear headroom, but there’s loads of that in the H6 GT, even with the panoramic sunroof which usually eats into space.

There’s no shortage of leg, toe and knee room, either. I had room to spare sitting behind my 184cm driving position. And with barely a hint of a transmission tunnel, the middle seat is actually usable.

The 60/40 split-fold rear seats have a flat base but are well cushioned and have a comfortable back rest. Amenities in the rear include map pockets, lower air vents with strong air con flow, two USB-A ports and fold-down armrest with two cupholders. 

The door storage is not as good as the front row so bottles don't fit as easily.

Open the powered tailgate and you'll find a high, flat space with limited under-floor storage. It can take 392 litres with all seats in place and 1390L with the second row folded.

This volume doesn’t sound huge and it trails the BYD Sealion 6 (just over 570L). But it doesn’t look small when you open the boot. And the PHEV doesn’t lose any cargo space from the petrol model, despite all of the electric elements underneath.

Sadly, the H6 GT PHEV misses out on the temporary spare wheel the petrol Ultra gets, making do instead with a tyre repair kit.

Value has been at the core of GWM’s offering since it launched as Great Wall back in 2009. Fast forward to its more recent relaunch and the Chinese giant has kept that promise across its model range.

For the 2025 version, the Haval H6 GT now comes in just one model grade - Ultra - with a choice of petrol or plug-in hybrid powertrains.

Given the petrol model isn’t new and therefore wasn’t available at the launch, we are concentrating on the PHEV for this review. But if you’re interested, the petrol Ultra costs $45,990, drive-away.

The PHEV checks in at $53,990, drive-away, which is competitive. If you order before the end of March GWM will even throw in a free home wall charger.

Plug-in hybrid rivals in the medium SUV segment include the Mitsubishi Outlander. The Japanese model starts in base ES grade from just over $57,000, but that’s before on roads and the pricing only goes up from there.

The new kid on the block is the BYD Sealion 6 and the Dual Motor version of that is $52,990, however that's before on-road costs, as well.

So far, GWM is leading the value battle. But what does it come with?

Just some of the standard gear in the Haval H6 GT includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a powered tailgate, synthetic leather and suede upholstery on the seats (heated and power-adjust front), a panoramic sunroof, push-button start, eight-speaker audio, keyless entry, a wireless smartphone charger, a heated steering wheel, heated door mirrors and a head-up display.

It also gets dual-zone air conditioning, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, a 12.3-inch digital multimedia display, ‘Hey GWM’ voice control of some functions and rear privacy glass.

Note that it is behind the times on a few things - the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wired, and the four USB ports in the car are all USB-A, not USB-C.

The only option is premium paint at $495.

So, overall the standard gear offering is great but not exceptional.

There is only one engine option in the Tiggo 8 Pro Max range, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit that produces 180kW/375Nm.

No matter which variant you choose, it’s also mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The Urban and Elite variants are front-wheel drive, while the Ultimate scores a Borg-Warner-sourced all-wheel-drive system with additional off-road drive modes.

The outputs are more than competitive with a lot of rivals, but there’s no fuel-saving hybrid option in the line-up just yet. It’s something Chery wants to add in the future.

Especially for Australia, the folks at Chery also made sure to get the Tiggo 8 Pro Max certified to tow. It can do that at up to 1300kg braked, or 750kg unbraked.

The Haval H6 GT plug-in hybrid comes with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and two electric motors - one on each axle. The GT is all-wheel drive and it comes with a two-speed electric transmission.

It has impressive outputs of 321kW of power and 762Nm of torque. This is enough to propel the big SUV from zero to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds.

The Haval also has a maximum braked trailer towing capacity of 1500kg.

The 2.0-litre turbo engine has an official/combined consumption rating of 8.1L/100km for the front-wheel drive variants, or 8.7L/100km for the all-wheel drive Ultimate.

On our drive route for the day which took place on curvy country roads and expressways, my Ultimate all-wheel-drive test example produced a figure of 9.5L/100km which seems reasonable.

Unfortunately the engine also requires mid-shelf 95RON unleaded fuel, so this will push your running costs up slightly.

The Tiggo 8 Pro Max has a 57-litre fuel tank, indicating an estimated maximum cruising range of 703km for FWD variants.

GWM’s generous 35.4kWh battery gives the H6 GT PHEV an impressive electric-only driving range of 180 kilometres. That’s about 100km more than some rivals. 

But be aware that figure is according to the more generous NEDC cycle. It is yet to be tested for a WLTP rating which is more widely accepted in Australia, so expect that figure to fall to some degree.

Combined fuel consumption is rated at just 0.8 litres per 100 kilometres when the battery is charged.

The H6 GT PHEV should be capable of travelling 1000km with a full charge and the 55-litre fuel tank at capacity. It takes 91RON petrol.

We averaged about 5.0L/100km on the drive back to the city via the motorway after the battery had drained a little and that was in 'Intelligent Hybrid' mode.

Note too that the H6 GT has vehicle-to-load charging capability, with a 3.3kW capacity.

Finally it has a CCS2 charge plug and can charge at a maximum 6.6kW for AC and 48kW for DC.

Cars from Chinese brands often fall short of expectations when it comes to the drive experience, but the Tiggo 8 Pro Max moves everything in the right direction, and importantly it doesn’t add any deal-breaking characteristics along the way.

Visibility is great out of the cabin, with large windows all-round. The wing mirrors are great, but the centre rear-vision mirror is a quirky piece with a wide viewing angle. In a way this is great for parents, because with one glance you can see both out the rear of the vehicle and the rear seats to keep an eye on kids, but it does mess with your depth perception a bit.

On multiple occasions I felt like the car behind was tailgating, only to peer in the side mirrors to find that it was actually quite far back. Odd!

The steering is very light, and a bit disconnected as a result. While this sounds like a negative, I actually think suburban buyers who often negotiate with shopping centre parking lots, apartment towers, and school drop-offs will love it. It makes a big SUV feel really easy to steer and position.

Sure, it feels a bit doughy out on the open road, meaning it's hardly a confident corner-carver, but that’s not really the point of this car.

The engine on the other hand has loads of poke. Power of 180kW sounds like a lot because it is (once upon a time not so long ago this was well into V6 territory) and actually for the front-wheel-drive versions it might be a little bit too much power. It will readily spin the front wheels with slightly too much throttle input, which brings us nicely to the dual-clutch automatic which is responsible for communicating that power to the ground.

Dual clutches rightly raise a bit of a red flag for some because they can be particularly jerky from a standstill and have some pretty questionable gear shifts once you’re rolling. For the most part though, the Tiggo 8’s dual-clutch unit is pretty good. The brand stressed that it had done significant software tuning to this transmission to try to iron out nasty characteristics, and while it's still occasionally caught off-guard, I’ve certainly driven worse. It will occasionally produce a bucking feeling rather than a full second of lag like some rivals, but its enthusiasm to deliver power to the ground quickly gives the front-drive versions that slightly skittish feel.

It is one of those rare occasions when it’s worth splashing for the all-wheel drive. I found the Ultimate to be much more sure-footed and confident on the road, able to handle the engine’s relatively mountainous torque with ease.

On the open road I was impressed by the Tiggo 8’s level of refinement. The amount of sound entering the cabin in both variants was low, with minimal tyre roar or wind noise. Thuds from the suspension and roar from the engine under load were also pleasingly distant, even at freeway speeds.

When it comes to the ride it’s built to a certain cadence. It’s soft and comfortable, matching the semi-luxurious cabin feel nicely, but it can be a bit springy and lose a bit of body control over undulations and corrugations. Again, it’s not exactly an athlete, but then for most people, it won’t have to be.

Importantly, it filters out sharper bumps like potholes, road imperfections, and speed bumps with relative ease. It’s even better in the 2WD versions thanks to larger tyres and smaller alloy wheels.

Mercifully, the active safety systems don’t intrude on the driving experience either. Chery has apparently learned some hard lessons after the feedback it received on the overbearing lane assist equipment on the smaller Omoda 5, and applied those learnings here in the Tiggo 8.

The lane systems are still there, but they only intervene when they really have to, while warning chimes from things like the traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, and driver attention alert are, at worst, background. It’s a good thing too because of all the systems, the driver attention alert is the one that triggers most often as you look away from the road to adjust the touch-based climate systems.

Where does that leave us? Actually pretty impressed. The Tiggo 8 Pro Max might not have the balancing act between ride quality and performance quite as well tuned as some of its Japanese and Korean rivals, but this is a comfortable, quiet, and refined SUV that, importantly, feels very normal. There’s no deal-breaking safety bugs, or a terrible transmission or frustrating software that takes away from the experience. Chery is learning, and it’s learning fast.

The last time I drove the GWM Haval H6 GT was not long after its mid-2022 launch. It was the petrol variant and I don’t recall what model grade it was. But it left me a little cold.

The ride quality wasn’t great and the powertrain suffered from poorly calibrated throttle response combined with a jerky transmission. It was average at best.

It's incredible the difference a powertrain can make because the plug in represents a big step up over the 2022 petrol model.

The acceleration is brisk and linear and that 0-100km/h time of 4.9secs is no joke. 

Our launch route saw us drive from Sydney’s CBD to the NSW south coast town of Kiama. At no point on that drive did the petrol engine kick in. In fact we still had some electric range left for the drive home.

In some other PHEVs, the petrol engine kicks in automatically at a particular point. That’s not the case with the GWM. If you want to only drive on electric power then depending on what mode you’ve chosen, that’s what will happen. PHEVs are more than just city-friendly cars now. You can travel decent distances on electric power only.

Of course if you want to preserve that energy, there are ‘Power’ modes like 'EV Priority' and Intelligent Hybrid. The staged regen braking helps here, too. 

The system will never let the battery dip below about 12 per cent, according to GWM. And if you are super efficient and struggle to use petrol, the CPU does something tricky to make sure some fuel is used to avoid any issues with the petrol engine.

On the drive home we switched to hybrid mode and found it hard to detect when the petrol engine kicked in. It’s one smooth powertrain.

The cabin has decent insulation, although a fair amount of road noise is noticeable on coarse chip road surfaces. It’s quieter on smooth roads, naturally.

Steering feel in the big SUV is light yet direct, but we didn’t get to test the GWM on dynamically challenging roads so no comments on handling just yet.

Similarly, the motorway-heavy launch route meant ride quality was hard to pin down, however a few bumps on the streets of Kiama and on the motorway revealed a firmer tune. There might be more work to be done on that front.

But overall, the PHEV powertrain has elevated the drive experience of the Haval H6 GT. 

The Haval H6 GT is not yet rated for safety by ANCAP but GWM is waiting on a result.

It has a lengthy list of safety features, with seven airbags, including a front centre bag.

Other gear includes auto emergency braking with junction assist, lane keeping aid, tyre pressure monitoring system, blind spot monitor, front collision warning (pedestrian and cyclist), traffic sign recognition, traffic jam assist, rear collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert with brake, a driver fatigue monitoring system, a 360-degree rearview camera and front and rear parking sensors.

There’s nothing of note missing from the standard safety features list.

On the road those functions are a mixed bag. The lane keeping aid is less aggressive than I remember from driving the petrol model a couple of years ago, however there is still some tugging of the wheel which is annoying. 

GWM Australia is working hard to improve the everyday functionality of these systems and it is starting to pay off. More improvements are coming, too, thanks to a local tuning program.

Chery offers its line-up with seven years and unlimited kilometres of warranty, seven-years of capped-price servicing, and seven years of roadside assist.

The roadside assist is topped up on a 12 monthly basis so long as you service with Chery. At the time of writing, Chery was yet to provide costings for its capped-price servicing program, but if it follows the same scheme as the Omoda 5 and Tiggo 7, it will be competitive.

The H6 GT PHEV comes with a generous seven-year, unlimited kilometre factory warranty, and an eight-year, unlimited kilometre battery warranty. It might not beat the 10-year terms from Nissan and Mitsubishi but those are conditional based on servicing at an authorised dealership. 

It comes with five years of free roadside assistance and a five-year capped price servicing plan.

GWM is yet to confirm the service schedule and pricing for the PHEV and it's unclear how much that will differ from the petrol grade.

For reference, the MY25 AWD petrol model costs an average of $416 per service over five years and the service schedule starts at every 12 months or 10,000km but ramps up to 15,000km intervals after the first year.