TOW TEST
The Chinese manufacturer GWM has launched its luxury range in South Africa. And the Haval range is indeed luxurious: The finishes and quality compare favourably with that of the European brand names. Considering the price you pay, Haval offers far more than European competitors. Just look at the Haval’s H6 C’s interior. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re going to fork out more than half a million for this vehicle, but you couldn’t be more wrong. The most expensive of the six models that are available locally costs less than R400 000, and the difference between that one and the cheapest variant in the range is a mere R60 000. The H6 C is available in three variants: the City, Premium and Luxury. The latter is the one we hitched a caravan to this month. This model has all the trimmings, and with its 2 ℓ turbocharged petrol engine and bulging 310 Nm muscles, it shows its mettle in front of a caravan. First in class The entire H6 C range has keyless entry, and judging by the remote key, GWM is very focussed on quality when it comes to this range. It’s a minor thing, but the remote is sturdy and heavy, and when you look at the rest of the vehicle it’s clear that the manufacturer didn’t take any shortcuts or the cheaper route. That includes the panoramic sunroof, which takes up almost the entire roof. There is even a blind below the sunroof that slides away with the push of a button if you don’t mind giving your bald spot a tan. Where you have to adjust the beam angle manually in the base model, the Luxury’s headlights adjust themselves according to how far the tail drops when you load and put weight on the tow bar. Even luxuries such as parking sensors, a reverse camera and electrically operated folding mirrors are standard – on all the models. One weird element is the hill descent control button. You’d expect to find it in a 4x4 but it’s highly unlikely that someone will need it in this sort of SUV. A camera lens underneath the left mirror is something you don’t see on many cars – even in luxury vehicles. But in the H6 there’s a button on the right of the steering wheel marked SVC that you press to display a bird’s-eye view of your surroundings on the screen. This is how you can check the kerb while you’re parallel parking. This camera only works if the Haval is moving slower than 15 km/h. The reverse camera obviously shows the view at the back when you’re backing up, but it also turns down the volume of the radio to help you concentrate – clever. Unfortunately, the buzzers go crazy when you reverse with a caravan on the tow bar, as if you’re going to hit something. Luckily though there is a mute button next to the gear lever that you can use to silence the alarm. The infotainment screen has an adjustment where you can choose whether a trailer has been hitched or not. Even if you choose the “yes” option the buzzers are still active. According to the brainiacs at GWM this adjustment has an effect on the sensitivity of the parking assist. >
The Haval H6 wants to make its mark in the luxury SUV market. And it looks like it’s geared for it. Text and photos Leon Botha
No shortage of luxuries In this price class you don’t see a lot of vehicles with electrically adjustable driver seats. Haval even takes it a step further: Both the front seats can be adjusted with the push of a button. It’s also not every day that you see a knob for the radio between the front seats (behind the gear lever). It’s convenient. When your left arm rests on the box between the two seats your hand is within reaching distance of this knob. So you can adjust the sound without taking your eyes off the road or smudging the touch screen with fingerprint marks. Not only does the Haval let you know when it’s time to replace the brake discs on each wheel, it also keeps an eye on all four tyres. A digital diagram in the dashboard shows the pressure and temperature of each tyre – you can therefore see if one of the tyres is too flat or too hot. The computer will also sound an alarm if the readings are high. The morning of our tow test the tyre and outside temperatures were both 19 ºC, but after 2 km on the road (en route to pick up the caravan), the tyre temperatures increased by 4 ºC. After 146 km (with the caravan in tow for 61 km), the temperature was 49 ºC, a full 14 ºC hotter than the outside temperature of 35 ºC. After the test the tyres were 40% hotter than the outside temperature, while the pressure increased by only 10% – from 2,12 bar to 2,35 bar. The three seatbelt warning lights at the bottom of the rearview mirror are for the rear seats. When there is no one in the back, all three lights are on. As soon as someone sits down on a specific seat, that light switches off so you can see which of the kids need a reminder to buckle up without you having to turn around. As expected the steering wheel can move up and down but also closer and farther away from you – another tick for Haval. Silky smooth gears The transmission, a Getrag dualclutch, shifts smoothly. (Getrag is a German transmission maker with an impressive CV in the light vehicle industry that supplies transmissions to brand names like Volkswagen, Ferrari and Volvo.) You can also change gears manually with the paddle shifts on the steering wheel. But even then (in the M mode) you can’t rev too high – the transmission will choose the right gear to protect the engine. If there’s one complaint, it’s the bonnet. It opens like a >
conventional hood that you secure with a prop rod. But this rod becomes so hot after driving for a while that you can barely touch it. The manual warns you to keep an eye on the water temperature when you’re towing up steep inclines – it’s to prevent the engine from overheating. If this does happen you should pull over immediately and let the engine idle until it’s cooled down. Gooseneck and drop plate Our test vehicle had a gooseneck tow bar with the ball part bolted onto the larger shaft with two 12 x 70 mm bolts. The ball is 48 cm above the ground but the tow bar is designed in such a way that you can’t adjust the ball height. If you want to use a drop plate to get the right height for your caravan, you can choose a tow bar with a flange.