China’s latest challenger to the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 will be in Australia during the second quarter of 2021.
The 2021 Haval H6 will arrive in showrooms in the coming months, with power from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 150kW and 320Nm.
It’s sent to the wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
All-wheel drive and front-wheel drive options will be offered.
Measuring up at 4653mm long and 1886mm wide with a 2738mm wheelbase, the 2021 H6 is 23mm longer and 21mm wider than the larger new Hyundai Tucson, although it rides on a wheelbase that’s 17mm shorter.
Standard safety equipment will include autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and driver fatigue monitoring.
The cabin packs wireless phone charging, a digital instrument cluster, and a heated steering wheel as options, and automatic parking and a surround-view camera will also feature.
Despite being larger and more feature-laden than the current Haval H6, the new model weighs just 1555kg, down from 1715kg.
That’s because it uses the Great Wall Motors LEMON platform.
An acronym for Lightweight, Electrification, Multi-purpose, Omni-protection and Network, the new platform supports everything from light crossovers up to large crossovers as well as sedans and MPVs.
The 2021 H6 promises to be a big step forward from the model currently offered in Australia, which has already been superseded in China.
Haval has continued to sell the current H2 and H6 despite newer models being introduced in China, including a second-generation H6.
The second-generation H6, however, continued to use the existing car’s platform, with Haval’s local arm effectively waiting until an all-new version was available.
Haval also scrapped plans to bring the H7 here in 2018 despite having it locally certified and presenting it to local media.
A three-row crossover SUV, it would have given Haval’s local arm a seven-seater option smaller than the H9.
Plans to offer it were scuttled around the same time Haval pulled the plug on its slow-selling H8, a larger crossover that offered only two rows of seating.
