The Haval Jolion burst onto the scene in mid-2021 and has been a small SUV sales success.
It’s cheap, loaded with kit and looks impressive inside and out. But is it too good to be true? Here are five things you need to know.
It’s easy to see why it’s selling well
Australians bought about 4000 Jolions in 2021, making the Chinese small SUV a significant player in our market. Why? There’s ready supply, it’s generously equipped and the price is right. A Jolion Premium is $27,490 on the road, the higher spec Lux is $29,990 and the Ultra is $32,990. All have a 10.25-inch infotainment screen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, an impressively sharp rear camera, radar cruise control and strong active safety as standard. Our Lux test vehicle featured artificial leather trim, power and heated front seats, dual-zone climate control and 360-degree camera. In the showroom the well-presented interior and attractive exterior will see many sold before they’re even driven.
The cabin’s both brilliant and disappointing
Faux-leather seats are soft to the touch, the dash is intricately designed and the giant infotainment screen, digital dashboard and near button-free centre console with rotary gear shifter feel modern. There’s white stitching everywhere, including for the hard plastic door tops, as well as ample USB ports, clever phone storage and impressive rear head and leg room. But you can’t adjust the steering wheel for reach, which means many drivers won’t find a comfortable driving position. If you’re using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and you try to change the temperature, it turns off the air con. The digital dashboard looks good but some information is difficult to find.
It’s had to live with
The sheen comes off the Jolion when you start driving. The 1.5-litre turbo engine and dual-clutch auto are a tardy pairing. Gears take an age to engage and throttle input to engine response can be glacial from low speed. There’s not a great deal of go and if you choose Sport mode, the gearbox can get jerky. Ride comfort is good, it corners quite well and the cabin’s well insulated. The driver aids are excessively intrusive, though. The lane-keep aggressively pulls you back into your lane and the radar cruise control gets confused on motorway corners. A driver-monitor camera in the front pillar constantly stares at you and chides you if you take your eyes off the road. It says “Hey! Don’t stray!” and gives you a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ option. Mystifying.
It has plenty of ownership appeal
If you can tolerate the above those drive-away prices are appealing. The first five annual services are a cheap $1550, while Haval’s seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty is up there with the best. It’s classified a small SUV but will accommodate many families with its cavernous interior and decent 433-litre boot. Advanced safety kit such as rear cross-traffic alert and auto emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection are impressive.
You get what you pay for
The Jolion’s a big leap over previous Havals, but there are better small SUVs if you can find a few extra grand. It’s not been independently crash tested, it’s thirsty (using a quoted 8.1L/100km) and the drive experience is well behind a Kia Seltos S ($29,290 drive away), Hyundai Kona ($28,990 drive away) or Mazda CX-30 ($33,460 drive away).
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7056aoaafobyoxY6mpq2nop67qHvNnq5mm5GnwHB%2Bj2tpZqCRq66tecmoo6KnnmK5tsSMq5yvoZWseqq%2FjJyfnpmgYsC2woytpqhll6S8pXnTqGSbnV2pv7axjqecsKtdqMGwvthocHKdlGywo4CRap1wbmlnsHJ9kZ%2BYn2thlrNygcKenHA%3D