A top seller in Australia but quietly entering the UK market, the GWM Haval Jolion Pro is a family-sized, self charging, petrol-electric hybrid that instantly shouts great value for money, with prices starting at just £23,995 otr. And for those who raise eyebrows at the arrival of yet another Chinese marque, I’m pleased to report that with this one, quality can only be described as good. Put brand badges from established marques on one of these and you would pay thousands of pounds more.
Haval is a sub brand of the huge Great Wall Motors (GWM). Oddly named (Jolion means ‘first love’ in Foreign) It certainly brings fresh and sparkling vigour to the SUV market and with bright appeal delivers a package of pleasing attributes with no noticeable compromises. The excellent engineering is allied to attractive styling and represents a handshake between the sciences and the arts. Firmly planted in the twenty-first century, you get a good standard of active and passive safety thanks to sturdy construction and electronic guardian angels that put the Jolion Pro on an equal footing with European rivals.
On test I challenged the car to disappoint: it never did. The cabin is roomy enough for five, attending to all needs while affording good comfort. The boot is quite small but adequate for most needs. For the driver, Up-to-date necessities of the computer age are there – connectivity is at your fingertips but sadly mostly via the 12 inch touchscreen with no reassuring knobs and levers. There’s all that is best in up-to-the-minute assistance too: all in the service of performance, safety and manoeuvrability. Even your aged correspondent who is just getting used to ‘blow up’ tyres and electric lighting felt at home and at ease. Visibility all round is good and it’s easy to place the car when manoeuvering with the additional help of an excellent camera system..
Once underway it’s a smooth, quiet and effortless experience. A 4 cylinder 1.5 petrol engine combines with a powerful 148PS electric motor to give a very healthy joint output of 189PS. It’s one of the better hybrid systems which is seamless in operation when switching between petrol and electric. Driving through a seven speed dual clutch automatic transmission, progress is quiet, smooth and effortless. Fuel consumption is claimed to be about 47 mpg overall. At speed ( To well over 100 mph) you hum along effortlessly. Steering is accurate and well weighted but naturally (as in all cars today) there is interference from the accursed lane keeping ‘beep, boing and twitch’ assistance. Fortunately this can be switched off electronically without having to switch it off with a hammer.
The ride keeps you cosseted yet firmly attached to the tarmac with no vices whatsoever: I relished the solidity and the good driving experience in this manoeuvrable, comfortable, and reassuring SUV that will certainly make rival manufacturers sit up and look to their laurels.
Sadly, cynics abound in our care-laden world though, seeing only dullness. If a car doesn’t match their expectations of supersonic performance or gold plated opulence it is dismissed as lacking in merit. Unfortunately this car has not received the welcome it deserves. Unrealistic expectations from cowboy reviewers in such organs as Top Gun Magazine have failed to grasp just what this GWM Haval Jolion Pro is about. It is a well made ( 5 year warranty) functional car that drives very well and is excellent for family needs – all at a bargain price. It does what it sets out to do very well.
To naysayers, I offer, in defence of virtuous motoring, a new car that represents so much that is good that only the blinkered will contend to the contrary. The Haval Jolion Pro is a smooth, well-styled SUV purveyor of multi-purpose motoring that encapsulates all that today’s technology can deliver. A car like this shows us just how lucky we are.
You don’t find reliability, economy, five star safety and performance interesting? Sorry, but sensible folk do. The Jolion Pro is modern looking and designed for no hassle. Well proportioned without and well appointed within, with quality fixtures and fittings where comfort and security meet in a marriage of sensible mindfulness. It’s a fine example of what is possible today when it comes to meeting the needs of contemporary motoring.
As 2026 is about to unfold we ‘look to the future’ and consider what lies in store for motoring tomorrows. Let the pundits ponder, the fortune tellers ‘fink’, the oracles opinionate’ – nothing really matters but the here and now. And right here and now I’m certain of one thing: the driving seat of an accommodating and appealing Haval Jolion Pro is a good place to be. I turn the wheel: it responds well. I touch the throttle and it powers forward with urgency. I brake and swiftly momentum is cancelled. Throw in that comfortable and roomy accommodation and a compliant and quiet ride and there you have it. A jolly good car.
