2025 GWM Haval H6GT Plug-In Hybrid Review

After more than a decade of having the mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV market almost entirely to itself, the Mitsubishi Outlander is finally starting to get some competition.

Given the numerous Chinese brands entering the Australian market at the moment, GWM is almost considered part of the old guard – having had a presence here since mid-2009 – and quietly gaining fans along the way.

The GWM Haval H6GT PHEV is the first plug-in hybrid from the company, with the GT moniker translating to a coupe-style mid-size SUV body – but as has become customary for the GWM, the H6GT PHEV has moved the goal posts. And not by a small amount, either.

What you need to know is the H6GT PHEV has a claimed electric driving range of up to 180 kilometres – however, this is based on more lenient NEDC testing.

Even so, compared to the Outlander PHEV’s 84km electric range, the GWM will cover most people’s weekly commutes before needing to be find a plug, thanks to its 35.4kWh battery.

Its dual electric motors offer combined outputs of 321kW and 762Nm, allowing for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds.

Less than a decade ago that kind of sprint time was reserved for the likes of a twin-turbo Maserati Quattroporte or Porsche Macan Turbo. Now, you can get it in a family SUV from China for less than $60K.

The rest of the time, you have a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder to make sure you get to where you’re going, offering a combined driving range of more than 1000km.

But as we well know, a car is more than its spec sheet.

How much does the GWM Haval H6GT PHEV cost?

‍Ignoring that early birds were offered a discount for the H6GT PHEV, GWM has priced the model sharply – costing around $10,000 less than Mitsubishi’s segment leader, the Outlander PHEV.

However, it’s also $13,000 more expensive than the BYD Sealion 6 – Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid at the time of writing – though the BYD has less than half the power of the GWM and 92km of electric driving range.

Regardless, the GWM feels like a great deal, thanks to its long list of features, a stout powertrain, good looks, and a lengthy warranty.

2025 GWM Haval H6GT PHEV Pricing:

• Haval H6GT PHEV – $55,990 drive-away

Note: Prices are drive-away and subject to change.

The Strong, Quiet Type

‍Approach the GWM Haval H6GT PHEV in a dark car park and you might think you’re coming upon a BMW X6 or Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

It’s a strong design overall, with an attractive swoopy rear-end, high-tech lighting, and muscular proportions.

Is it an absolute show-stopper? Nope. But that’s also part of its appeal, it’s not going for all-out weird futuristic shapes that will age like vinegar. There’s no bad aftertaste here.

Coming in at 4727mm long, 1940mm wide, 1729mm high, and with a wheelbase of 2738mm, it’s not small – but certainly manageable dimensions by today’s standards, even when parking.

While there’s plenty of black cladding across the body, it does a good job of making the SUV appear lower and wider on the road than it really is. The 19-inch wheels fill the arches well and are modern but also not overdesigned.

Perhaps my only gripe is the shark fin on the sidesteps. You’ve only just seen it, right? Well, now you can’t unsee it. And I can’t help wonder how many teenagers are going to snap it off while enthusiastically jumping out of the back seats.

Modern Comfort‍

The same design philosophy applied to the exterior has been extended to the cabin space – that is, slick and modern, without being overdesigned.

The heated and ventilated seats I found especially comfortable, offering a plushness that is contrary to the firm seats which have been the norm from European carmakers for decades. I also appreciated the (relatively) thin steering wheel, which bucks the stupid trend of overly chunky tillers.

Ahead of the driver is a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and head-up display, while a 12.3-inch infotainment screen mounted in the centre looks after infotainment.

While the instruments were easy to read, the infotainment can be a little bit painful to use at times, with basic features buried within menus. While I’m sure owners would adapt, it’s not the most intuitive system I’ve used. The native menus were also a little slow to respond.

Surprisingly, the car only has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A deal-breaker? Not for me, but it does feel like the technology is behind the eightball.

Similarly, the switchgear isn’t exactly top-shelf, but what few buttons there are do the job adequately.

GWM appears to have been trying to avoid the use of cheap plastics at all touchpoints – which I appreciate – but the result is a bit of a mishmash of different fabrics and surfaces. Not all of which will repel grime over the long-term, I fear.

The quality though, is quite good. Very good, in fact.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for knurled metal, so I appreciated the gear selector, and the speaker covers are also reminiscent of what you’d get in a Mercedes or other high-end car.

By far one of the most surprising aspects of the H6GT was the insulation. The cabin is amazingly quiet, even at highway speeds, helping to reduce fatigue and giving the SUV a degree of luxury that’s often overlooked in more value-oriented cars.

The Right Headspace

‍The basic argument for having a coupe-SUV is that it’s more aerodynamic and it looks cooler. I personally don’t agree with the latter, but that’s personal preference.

The argument against? There’s less headroom for second-row passengers, there’s no third-row at all, and there’s a smaller luggage space in the caboose.

Despite this, there’s actually a fairly decent amount of headroom for those in the back seats of the H6GT PHEV, even with the sloping roofline. There are also air vents, USB-A ports, and a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

This is a car you could easily transport adults in, but teenagers on their way to basketball practice will be perfectly comfortable.

Just Coupe-SUV Things

‍GWM quotes 392 litres of bootspace, which isn’t as much as some, but with three people on board we had all our carry-on luggage stowed with room to spare.

For a mid-size SUV, you’d typically expect anything from 430 to 480 litres for bootspace, so there’s definitely a compromise – but I suspect most families will do fine with the 392L on offer.

The tailgate is power-operated and can be used hands-free if you’re carrying the shopping in both hands.

One of the car’s advantages is all the cubby spaces around the place, particularly in the front row. There’s a wireless smartphone charger along with multiple levels in the centre console for storage.

So much so, I suspect most owners will be saying “oh, that’s where I left that thing,” when they clean the car out to sell eventually sell it.

Thrusters on Full

‍“Very fast. Faster than anyone needs in a straight line.”

That’s a direct quote from my notes, and it was the first one I made after initially sampling the H6GT PHEV.

Remember the famous drag race in The Fast and the Furious? Brian and Dom race the orange Toyota Supra against an arrogant dude in a Ferrari F355. The point being the Toyota is on par or faster than the Italian supercar…

Well, this Chinese SUV with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder is just as fast to 100km/h as a Ferrari F355 F1 Berlinetta. Not because of the engine, but because of its dual electric motors.

As mentioned, there’s a combined 321kW and 762Nm. The same kind of power you’d expect from an HSV, and slightly more torque than a Ferrari 488 with a twin-turbo V8.

Getting the picture? On paper at least, this thing is worthy of an AMG badge.

But what’s great is GWM doesn’t pretend that this is a performance car. It’s easy to drive, quiet, and smooth. It doesn’t act like a startled cat that’s just finished a double espresso, as can be the case with high-horsepower cars.

Having said that – you want to make the kids giggle? Then find some clear road, mash the throttle, and keep one eye on the speedo. Safely, please.

Once you’re done showing off, then you can go back to saving the environment.

After you find the right menu in the infotainment screen, the car can be switched from the default ‘EV Priority’ to ‘Intelligent Hybrid’, which helps the car act more like a traditional hybrid – switching between petrol and battery depending on what is being demanded of it.

However, efficiency doesn’t seem to be the GWM’s strength. Being a jack of petrol and electric trades, it’s a master of none. Having said that, our time with the GWM was limited, so I’d like a few days in more diverse driving environments to see where the fuel consumption and EV efficiency numbers land.

But its strength comes from the many hats it wears, being able to travel far on elecric power, even farther on petrol, offering comfort for a family and performance of a supercar; not being the absolute most efficient car on the road feels like a complaint that can be easily dismissed.

Gentle Giant

‍Despite its performance – which still feels like it should be headline news to me – the H6GT PHEV remains fairly placid on the road.

Which is to say, there’s no real effort required to get from one place to another. The steering is arguably too light – I suspect to try and mask the car’s 2075kg kerb weight – but it does make hopping in the car and getting down to the shops a breeze.

At highway speeds, the suspension tune works reasonably well with the car’s weight, but poor road surfaces become more noticeable in the city and suburbia. It’s not uncomfortable – the car was never uncomfortable – but there’s a lack of sophistication, which quite simply comes from having to build the car to a cost.

Despite the brakes being upgraded on the H6GT PHEV, there’s not a lot of feedback – or travel… or much of anything, really – from the pedal, and they often felt inconsistent. On a downhill section, I also found the ABS kicked in despite there being no wheel lock-up and no great speeds involved.

Similarly, the car spiked the brakes on a couple of times on the freeway when we were using cruise control, far away from other cars and any danger.

GWM engineers took on this feedback, and I suspect they’ll be working hard to iron out these minor bugs, so there’s a good chance most owners will never encounter these gripes.

Through some winding roads (we took a wrong turn), the GWM was reasonable composed and responded well. This isn’t a canyon car – it’s not especially exciting to driving through corners – but it’s planted and does as good a job as most SUVs without sporting pedigree.

Around town, it was perfectly decent, without being exceptional.

The rest of the time, the H6GT PHEV offered a smooth, relaxing ride – finding itself particularly comfortable eating up the freeway miles.

Watch This Space

‍While the petrol and hybrid versions of the H6 and H6GT have received a five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), the H6GT PHEV remains ungraded at the time of writing.

But the safety gear that comes standard on the PHEV is very decent. It includes:

• Seven airbags (including centre airbag)
• Front and rear parking sensors
• 360-degree cameras
• Tyre-pressure monitoring system
• AEB with pedestrian, cyclist, and junction detection
• Rear cross-traffic alert with AEB
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Lane departure warning
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go
• Traffic jam assist
• Traffic sign recognition

As mentioned earlier, we noticed a few hiccups on these early cars in regards to the sensitivity of the AEB and ABS. These aren’t deal-breakers, particularly as it’s likely GWM will continue to finetune these systems.

PHEVer Dream

‍GWM has continued to build trust with the Australian market over the years, backing its products with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty – while the H6GT PHEV also gets an eight-year/160,000km warranty for its battery pack.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km – whichever comes first – with capped-price servicing to be made available for up to five years or 70,000km. However, pricing has yet to be announced.

What do you get with the GWM Haval H6GT PHEV?

• Automatic LED headlights
• LED daytime-running lights
• Front and rear LED fog-lights
• LED tail-lights
• Selectable driving modes
• Head-up display
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Hands-free voice assistant
• Eight-speaker DTS audio system
• Wireless phone charging
• Front and rear USB outlets
• Dual-zone climate control
• Comfort-tek synthetic leather upholstery
• Heated and ventilated front power seats
• Heated leather steering wheel
• Automatic rear-view mirror
• Ambient cabin lighting
• Panoramic sunroof
• Heated door mirrors
• Semi-autonomous parking
• Adaptive cruise control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver fatigue monitoring
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Adaptive cruise control with stop & go
• Traffic jam assist
• Hill descent control
• Hill start assist
• Hands-free electric tailgate
• 19-inch black alloy wheels

Final thoughts on the GWM Haval H6GT PHEV

‍Take a second to appreciate just how far we’ve come. The Nissan Leaf electric hatchback of 10 years ago had driving range of 175 kilometres (NEDC), while putting out 80kW and 280Nm. And it cost $46,990 when new – or roughly $65,000 in today’s money.

Electric cars may suit a chunk of the population, but for many individuals and families, the jump doesn’t quite make sense just yet – even if they’d like to. Which makes plug-in hybrids a great stepping-stone, offering the ability to commute using electricity, without hindering family interstate roadtrips.

For $55,990 drive-away, you can have it all: a 1000km driving range – of which 180km is electric – the performance of a supercar from the 1990s, comfort, plenty of tech, and a design frankly on-par with the Europeans.

Does it have its flaws? Sure. Is it remarkable to drive? Not especially. But the positives are significant and plentiful, and the negatives are minor and few.

The automotive industry on the whole feels a little overwhelmed right now. A new car brand launching every week, big changes in the transition to electric, new tech being introduced all the time, changes to the way we buy and service our cars – it’s all happening. 

Which means cars like the H6GT PHEV – a vehicle which would have blown minds a few short years ago – can get drowned out by the noise.

GWM even held a glitzy unveiling for the H6GT PHEV in Sydney, with influencers, media, and dancers. I didn’t really get it then, but now I do.

I think this vehicle is significant. It’s priced well, it’s powertrain is incredibly impressive, the build quality is very good, and it can carry a family of four in comfort – and on battery power throughout the working week.

Just look how far we’ve come.

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