2022 Haval Jolion Lux review

The small-SUV segment gets a new value-packed contender, but does its driving experience match its sharp pricing?

What we love

Spacious and nicely designed interior
Plenty of standard equipment
Value equation is hard to ignore

What we don’t

Engine feels a little underwhelming
Some hesitation from the dual-clutch auto
Ergonomic quirks can be confusing

Introduction

Chinese brand Haval might be a fledgling player in Australia, but in its homeland the brand, owned by Great Wall Motors, is a big deal. A big, big deal.

Last year, Haval ranked eighth in China’s massive new car market with sales of 701,605 vehicles. Over half of those were made up of just one model, the medium SUV Haval H6 that accounted for 364,352 sales. Further, those 364,000-odd domestic sales contributed to the annual total of 382,000 sales globally, making the H6 the fifth best-selling SUV in the world. No prizes for guessing the Toyota RAV4 came in at number one with close to one million sold in 2020.

What’s interesting about those numbers is that the overwhelming bulk of sales came domestically, with less than 20,000 of the mid-sizer sold outside of China’s burgeoning domestic market. But the SUV-only (plus one pick-up truck) brand is working to change that.

Case in point, the all-new 2022 Haval Jolion that has landed in Australia to fight it out in the hotly contested small-SUV segment. A replacement for the lacklustre and unimaginative Haval H2, the Jolion brings sleek styling and packs an equipment punch married to sharp drive-away pricing.

The simple Jolion range comprises three variants in Australia – the entry-level Premium, mid-spec Lux, and flagship Ultra.

Haval offers drive-away pricing across the range. The entry-level Premium is priced at $26,490, followed by the mid-spec Lux at $28,990 and topping out with the Ultra LE at $31,990. Those prices have recently increased by $1000 across the board, the Chinese brand citing supply chain costs as the reason. But, even with the increases, in terms of equipment, the Jolion range represents good value in a crowed segment. You can read our comprehensive rundown of the Jolion range’s equipment and specification here.

That sharp drive-away pricing presents buyers with an interesting position in terms of rivals, undercutting some contenders in the light SUV segment – such as the Mazda CX-30 and Nissan Juke – despite occupying space in the next segment up.

Its segment rivals, then, include the Hyundai Kona, Kia Seltos, Mitsubishi ASX and MG ZST.

Key details	2022 Haval Jolion Lux
Price (MSRP)	$28,990 (drive-away)
Colour of test car	Mars Red
Options	Metallic paint ($495)
Price as tested	$29,485
Rivals	Mitsubishi ASX \| Hyundai Kona \| MG ZST

Inside

The Jolion is generously sized for the segment and that means interior space is decent. It looks decent, too, with plenty of bling such as faux leather trim, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a decently sized 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen.

There are aluminium-look textured accents throughout the cabin that look classy, too, along with plenty of soft-touch surfaces, certainly within the line of sight. Look a little lower and harder plastics rule the day. Haval is not alone in this, however.

The seats are comfortable enough, although not the last word in support. They are heated, though, for those brisk winter mornings.

The steering wheel looks and feels nice, but if you’re looking for reach adjustment, you won’t find it, the Jolion’s tiller only adjustable for height. Not a deal-breaker by any stretch, but worth noting.

Storage options include a central storage bin and a pair of different-sized (one small, the other larger) cupholders in the centre stack, while the generous door pockets can swallow bottles.

The second row is spacious for the class, with plenty of room in all key areas. There are some minor amenities back there, too, most notably a pair of USB plugs that are a whole lot easier to find than their counterparts up front, which are buried down low under the centre stack on the passenger side. Some things haven’t ported across in the transition to right-hand drive.

Boot space is generous, too, measuring in at 430L, expanding to 1193L with the second row stowed away in 60:40 split fashion. There’s a space-saver spare under the floor.

The Jolion’s boot isn’t particularly well equipped, with no tie-down anchors and only a couple of teensy bag hooks capable of holding a bag or two of shopping in place, but not more.

A word on cabin quality. Yes, it looks good with its nice mix of materials and accents that add some style. But, during our week with the Jolion, the rubber surrounding the rear-view mirror fell off and plopped itself onto the centre console. Not a good look for a challenger brand.

	2022 Haval Jolion Lux
Seats	Five
Boot volume	430L seats up / 1193L seats folded
Length	4472mm
Width	1841mm
Height	1574mm
Wheelbase	2700mm

Infotainment and Connectivity

The Jolion Lux is fitted with a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen that looks and feels sharp. The graphics are crisp and clear and the colours bright. There’s Bluetooth phone connectivity as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

Using a USB cable (once you find the USB plug, which is a bit like playing ‘Where’s Wally?’ the first time out), the system is quick to fire up and seamless to use, as you’d expect.

There’s no digital radio, the Jolion range equipped only with AM/FM radio. Audio is played through a six-speaker sound system that’s pleasant enough for all but the most hardened audiophiles.

Neither does the Jolion range come equipped with sat-nav, your guidance needs solely at the discretion of your smartphone. The 7.0-inch digital driver display looks like it should be configurable, but isn’t. Still, it displays key information like speed and revs with clarity.

The big letdown is any lack of physical switches and dials for some of the Jolion’s functions. Want to activate seat heating? You’ll need to dig through the touchscreen menus. Adjust climate control? Same. There is a shortcut bar located just under the touchscreen, so that’s helpful, but it only fires up the requisite menu on the screen.

One final gripe. If you accept or make a phone call using smartphone mirroring, and you’re listening to audio via CarPlay, say, then when the call is finished, the audio you were listening to prior to the phone call doesn’t automatically resume. It requires you to yet again swipe through menus to resume playing your favourite Spotify playlist or DAB radio station. Annoying.

Safety and Technology

The Jolion range remains untested by Australian safety body ANCAP at the time of writing.

A suite of seven airbags covers both rows of occupants including, crucially, a centre airbag that prevents head clashes between passengers in the event of a side impact.

The Jolion range also comes equipped with a decent suite of active safety technology including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detector, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist, lane-keep assist with lane centring and departure alert, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, a driver-attention monitor, and tyre pressure monitoring.

Worth noting is that the Jolion’s adaptive cruise control isn’t the most refined execution of the technology going. It’s unable to maintain the set speed when climbing or descending hills, and occasionally picks up vehicles one lane over and adjusts speed accordingly, which is particularly annoying when trying to pass.

	2022 Haval Jolion Lux
ANCAP rating	Unrated
Safety report	N/A

Value for Money

Haval certainly stands behind its new small SUV with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. That’s industry-leading, matching Kia’s trailblazing surety and rival Chinese brand MG’s offering.

Additionally, Haval offers five years/100,000km of roadside assist, while scheduled servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000km, the distance interval a bit skinny. Haval offers capped-price servicing for the Jolion for the first five years or 70,000km.

The total price is $1550 over the duration, or an average $310 per visit to the workshop. For those who like to know these things, the first five intervals cost $210, $250, $350, $450 and $290. That’s competitive for the segment.

Haval claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 8.1L/100km. Our week with the Jolion bettered that by some margin, showing an indicated 7.1L/100km over the combined cycle. The Jolion can make do with regular 91RON unleaded, while its fuel tank measures in at 55L.

At a glance	2022 Haval Jolion Lux
Warranty	Seven years / unlimited km
Service intervals	12 months / 10,000km
Servicing costs	$810 (3 years) \| $1550 (5 years)
Fuel cons. (claimed)	8.1L/100km
Fuel cons. (on test)	7.1L/100km
Fuel type	91-octane petrol
Fuel tank size	55L

Driving

Powering the Jolion is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 110kW and 220Nm. Sending those outputs to the front wheels is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

It’s not the most responsive turbo four, with the 1.5-litre showing some minor signs of turbo lag, particularly around town and in traffic. Similarly, the seven-speed DCT auto isn’t the last word in refinement either, with indecision and hesitation evident.

That necessitates a heavier-than-usual throttle application to try to get the best out of the powertrain, which results in a lurching and surging experience in stop-start traffic. It’s not terrible, and to be fair we’ve experienced worse in other brands, but it’s evident and worth noting.

Once on the move, the Jolion is happy enough moving along with the traffic flow, although asking more of it in terms of acceleration – such as an overtake or motorway merge – highlights the delayed response from the DCT. The transmission is seemingly a little unsure of itself, often shifting down a ratio or two too many, the revs climbing to boy-racer levels without the commensurate acceleration.

At highway speeds, the Jolion starts to feel a little stressed, as if it’s working hard to maintain, say, 110km/h, and the engine starting to sound a little thrashy.

The Jolion’s ride is comfortable without being exceptional. It handles minor rough surfaces and abrasions with ease, although it does get a bit fidgety over larger hits. On the freeway, there is some road noise seeping into the cabin, but it’s at an acceptable level.

The small SUV handles tighter city confines nicely, too, its light steering making easy work of parking and tighter thoroughfares.

The overall experience behind the wheel is acceptable, especially in urban environments where, we’d venture, the bulk of Jolions will spend the bulk of their time.

Key details	2022 Haval Jolion Lux
Engine	1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol
Power	110kW @ 6000rpm
Torque	220Nm @ 2000-4400rpm
Drive type	Front-wheel drive
Transmission	Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power to weight ratio	78.6kW/t
Weight	1400kg (tare)
Tow rating	1500kg braked / 710kg unbraked
Turning circle	N/A

Conclusion

It’s hard to not be a little impressed by the value proposition the Haval Jolion represents. Its sharp drive-away pricing is commendable, especially in light of the equipment packaged inside its small-SUV dimensions.

And while its powertrain could do with a little more polish to iron out those moments of hesitation, for the most part the Jolion is a capable around-town conveyance.

The interior too looks classy and plush, our lone – and hopefully isolated – fitment issue aside.

The Haval Jolion is not a standout in any key area – other than value – but it does most things adequately most of the time. Is it a game-changer in the segment? Not by a long shot. But it does represent a step in the right direction for a brand keen to establish itself outside of its homeland.