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By Jonathan Crouch

GWM's Haval Jolion Pro Hybrid could just be the best value Qashqai-class SUV you've never heard of. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 66

Chinese maker GWM expands its reach in the UK market substantially with this lower mid-sized SUV, the Haval Jolion Pro Hybrid. It competes in an over-crowded Qashqai class for family crossovers, but costs thousands less than some of its more commonly-chosen segment rivals. Yet includes plenty of cabin space and decent equipment levels for your money, along with a long warranty. Is it worth a look?

Backgroundword count: 190

GWM - Great Wall Motors - was one of the very first Chinese brands to enter our market back in 2022 with a small electric supermini, the ORA Funky Cat. ORA is just one of GWM's various sub-brands, the others being Wey, Tank, Poer and the conglomerate's most successful global nameplate, Haval. And it's Haval who provide the second of GWM's offerings in the UK - the Jolion Pro Hybrid mid-sized SUV. It was a sign of the times that the ORA Funky Cat (more recently re-named the 'ORA 03') was an EV. And it's probably also a sign of the times that this Haval model isn't. Power comes instead from a full-Hybrid petrol engine better suited to those still unconvinced by the EV revolution. This combination has worked well for the Haval brand in other markets - the Jolion Pro is the third best seller in its class in Australia for instance. As for what that class is, for rivals, think frugally-focused lower mid-sized crossovers like the Nissan Qashqai e-POWER or the Citroen C5 Aircross Hybrid 145 and you won't be too far out. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 373

In some ways, this Haval model is a lemon. That's the unfortunate name given to the platform it rides on, but it's also what most of the motoring press have dismissed it as. But with realistic expectations, you might take a brief drive in this car and come away, as we did, thinking that it's actually not too bad. Don't misunderstand us. There's nothing very class-competitive about either the ride and handling or the engineering here. But since likely Jolian Pro customers won't really care very much about either, it's arguable that this doesn't matter very much. The engine in use here is a 1.5-litre petrol unit with a 147bhp electric motor contributing to a 188bhp total output. And drive is through a seven-speed dual clutch auto transmission handling 210Nm of torque. This powerplant is full-Hybrid, rather than one of those ineffectual mild hybrid set-ups. Something you could guess not only from the neat little powerflow graphic ahead of you in the instrument cluster but also from the lethargic moo-ing of the drivetrain every time you flex your right foot with any force in search of more urgent forward motion. So you quickly learn not to drive in that way but instead get with the relaxed, easy gait this Jolian much prefers. It would be nice to say that this demeanour is appropriately accompanied by the kind of supple ride that likely customers will want, but that's not really true. Unwisely, GWM has set the car up a little stiffly, so your feel speed humps and potholes more keenly than you should. But normal surface imperfections are reasonably well dealt with by the MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension arrangement. And the firm set-up does at least mean that body control doesn't fall to pieces through the corners. The overly light steering and the feeble grip limits of the Kumho tyres won't encourage you to put this attribute to the test. And by the same token, the coarse engine note under heavy load will discourage you from replicating the claimed 8.5s 0-62mph sprint time. Lots of ADAS driving aids are included as standard but you'll be frequently tempted to turn many of them off, so overly bothersome in the technology implementation.

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