The GWM Haval H6 has scored a decent upgrade for 2025 with a revised look, more equipment and a solid hybrid driving experience.

The latest iteration of the medium SUV has big hopes of boosting its market share in a highly competitive slice of the market.

GWM is currently a smaller player against heavy hitters such as the Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson. But it believes it can boost that with the updated Haval H6.

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The company refers to the latest H6 as “a bold evolution”. Less chrome, black wheels, a new grille and new tail lights give it a fresh look.

For the trainspotters, there’s also a new logo (it’s gone from italic to a regular bold font).

Inside, too, there are changes, including a new 14.6-inch infotainment screen and more upmarket finishes.

The gear selector has moved to a stalk on the steering wheel, freeing up more space in the centre console.

While it’s the regular hybrid we’ve tested here, the H6 is also available as a PHEV, or plug-in hybrid (yep, we’ll get behind the wheel of that when it arrives). It has a claimed range of up to 106km using the optimistic NEDC cycle (we haven’t tested it but would expect something like 80km in the real world).

2025 GWM Haval H6 price and equipment

As part of the 2025 update to the Haval H6 GWM has trimmed down the model choices from four to two.

There’s now only the Lux or Ultra, each generously appointed, the Ultra more so.

The price of entry is up but value has also headed in the right direction with the remaining variants cheaper than before.

The Lux is priced from $40,990 drive-away and the Ultra $43,990 drive-away. That makes them $5000 more than the petrol only models.

It’s that Ultra Hybrid we’ve tested here.

The Lux gets 19-inch alloy wheels, leather-look trim, smart key entry, ambient lighting, dual-zone ventilation, power adjustable driver’s seat, powered tailgate, 360-degee camera and a suite of active safety features that helped earn it a five-star ANCAP rating.

There’s also a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.6-inch central screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Ultra adds tinted rear windows, power adjustment to the front passenger seat, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, head-up display and a panoramic sunroof. For $43,990 drive-away it’s a lot of mid-sized SUV for the money.

Plus there’s a reverse assist features that records the last 20 metres of driving; if you’ve driven into a tight street or driveway you can let the car trace its steps while backing out.

The Ultra can also be optioned with a light coloured interior – called Cream Comfort Tek (it sounds so much fancier!) – available at no cost.

The Ultra also gets an additional speaker – for nine in total – but don’t get too excited because it’s an underwhelming sound system; wind up the volume and the sound is thin and tinny.

It’s the first sign that the deeper you dig you can see where money has been saved.

The silver plastic finishes across the dash and doors look OK but don’t have that cool, crisp feel of metal.

And while the column-mounted drive selector is a sound idea, I often had it not selecting when it wanted it to; it pays to double check when parking before you charge off in the wrong direction.

Each model uses the same unchanged hybrid system powering only the front wheels. There’s a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo engine paired with an electric motor driving through an interesting two-speed CVT auto. Claimed combined outputs are 179kW and 530Nm, which is way higher than most rivals.

2025 GWM Haval H6 Hybrid: What we think

Good luck draining the fuel tank of the GWM H6 Hybrid. While it only holds 61 litres the relatively frugal thirst means you’ll get close to 1000km between top-ups.

We didn’t match the claimed average 5.2 litres per 100km, instead using a still-respectable 6.0L/100km in a mix or suburban and freeway running.

It also runs on regular unleaded, adding to its talents of saving owners money.

There’s decent performance, too.

Unusually for a regular hybrid (as opposed to a PHEV) the electric motor provides most of the grunt.

All up there’s 130kW and 300Nm from the electric side of the equation while the petrol engine chimes in with 110kW and 230Nm.

It’s the electric motor taking charge (sorry…) when you first push the throttle.

Even then, there’s some laziness when you first step on it. Keep your foot floored and it then brings the petrol engine in pretty quickly and it does that pretty seamlessly, providing above average mid-sized SUV acceleration.

But even on the move there’s some dullness to the throttle response.

That could be deliberate tuning to quell its tendency to spin the inside front wheel when accelerating out of corners.

Those front tyres are being asked to do plenty and they don’t always want to play ball.

It doesn’t take much accelerating out of a corner to get some wheelspin, the first hint that suspension dynamics are not the highlight with the H6.

It’s fairly soft and you get some leaning and wallowing through corners.

I’m not a huge rap for single pedal driving, which the H6 Hybrid offers. It’s an extension of the adjustable regenerative braking system (again, unusual for a regular hybrid). Hey, at least you’ve got the choice!

Elsewhere there’s loads to like with the H6.

The cabin is spacious and well laid out and there’s 560 litres of boot space with a 60/40 split-folding back seat.

A floating centre console houses a bag-swallowing binnacle beneath.

While there are only the older USB-A ports up front, a USB-A and USB-C in the rear console provides a back-up solution.

The Hybrid is rated to tow 1500kg, which is half a tonne less than non-hybrid models.

As for the $5000 premium over the petrol models, let’s crunch the numbers.

The regular H6 has a claimed average fuel use of 7.4L/100km whereas the hybrid is 5.2L/100km. Around town, though, the 2.0-litre turbo’s official claim is 9.4L/100km compared with 3.5L/100km for the hybrid.

We found that hybrid number to be unachievable (the testing is done in a laboratory, not the real world) but either way the hybrid will likely use around half the fuel in stop-start traffic.

So if the petrol is slurping 10L/100km around town and the hybrid 5L/100km and fuel is $1.80 a litre then every 10,000km will be $900 more affordable in the hybrid.

So after something like 55,000km you should have paid off the premium.

And, of course, it’s a modest price to get into one in the first place.

2025 GWM Haval H6 Hybrid: Verdict

Ultimately it’s that price tag that gives the H6 Hybrid its tempting goodness.

It’s a heck of a lot of car for the money, even if the driving experience has room for improvement.

A spacious and well appointed cabin and a bursting equipment list adds to the appeal – and makes it easier to look beyond the occasional penny pinching. 4/5

Score: 4/5

2025 GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hybrid price and specifications

Price: $43,990 drive-away
Basics: Hybrid, 5 seats, 5 doors, SUV, FWD
Range: 1215km
Battery capacity: 1.6kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/unlimited km (or 150,000km for commercial use)
Powertrain: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol with electric motor
Output: 110kW/230Nm (electric motor: 130kW/300Nm)
Combined output: 179kW/530Nm
Transmission: 2-speed CVT auto, front-wheel drive
Fuel use: 5.2L/100km
0-100km/h: NA