Kia Sportage vs Haval H9

What's the difference?

Okay, this is pretty easy. That SX Hybrid is excellent - it’s fuel efficient, it drives really nicely, it’s practical, but it’s not great value when you consider it’s more than $8000 pricier than the SX petrol. If you want good value, get the GT-Line hybrid. It comes with more features for not that much more money compared to the petrol version. 

Oh, and if you’re reading this in three years time and thinking about buying a second-hand Sportage SX Hybrid, then do it.

There's a lot to like about the Havel H9 - it's great value, practical and spacious, packed with advanced safety tech, and also darn good looking. More comfortable seats would be an improvement and so would a better feel to the cabin materials and switchgear. 

As for the H9's on-road performance - the 2.0-litre engine isn't the most responsive and the ladder frame chassis limits its dynamics.

So, unless you need an off-road SUV the H9 is borderline overkill in the city, where you could step into something without four-wheel drive and with more car-like comfort and handling. 

The Sportage Hybrid SX is almost identical in looks to the petrol Sportage, which is why I mistook somebody else's car for mine. There’s a small badge on the tailgate of the hybrid which says HEV for Hybrid Electric Vehicle, but that’s really the only giveaway.

The Sportage is a more interesting looking SUV compared to less avant-garde rivals like the RAV4. I love the arrow LED running lights, the wide, mesh grille, and the tail-lights.

The cabin is also differently good looking and premium, apart from the blank panels on the centre console - the ones that remind you didn’t get the Sportage with heated seats…

Still, even with the blank panels it’s a premium-looking cabin with the 12.3-inch screen and black materials. It would have been nice if the synthetic leather seats were standard on this SX Hybrid instead of the cloth.

The Haval H9 Ultra's design is not pioneering any new style standards but it’s a good looking beast and far more handsome than those rivals I’ve mentioned above.

I like the gigantic grille and chunky front bumper, the tall, flat roofline and even those tall tail-lights. I also like the fact the red background of the Haval badge hasn't been kept in this update.

There are some nice touches you won’t find on rivals at this price such as the puddle lamps which burn a laser projected ‘Haval’ into the footpath.

Okay, it’s not burnt into the ground, but it’s intense. There are also the illuminated door sills. Small things that make the experience a bit special and match the tough but premium exterior looks – like its insides.  

The cabin looks plush and high-end from the floor mats to the panoramic sunroof, but some elements lack a high-quality feel such as the shifter and switchgear for the windows and climate control.

Haval has obviously worked hard to get the look right, now it would be good to see if the touch and feel points can also be bettered.

The H9 is the king of the Haval line-up and it’s also the biggest at 4856mm long, 1926mm wide and 1900mm tall.

The Sportage is a mid-sized SUV - it’s not as big as a Kia Sorento, but it is larger than a Kia Seltos. 

There’s plenty of room up front with storage in the centre console, cupholders and door pockets.

The second row has directional air vents and great legroom and headroom even for me at 189cm tall. My nine-year old son reckons the window sill is too high to see out of.

He’s out of his booster seat now but he’s a tall kid and doesn’t have this visibility issue very often as we move from test car to test car.

The boot is also big at 586 litres (VDA) behind the second row. It’ll fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with room to spare.

The Haval H9 Ultra is super practical and that's not just because it's big. There are larger SUVs with far less practicality. It's the way the Haval H9 is packaged that's impressive.

For starters, I can sit in all three rows without my knees touching the seatbacks, and I'm 191cm tall. Headroom is getting tighter in the third row, but that's normal in a seven-seat SUV and there's more than enough space for my noggin when in the pilot's seat and middle row.

Cabin storage is great with six cupholders on board (two up front, two in the middle row and two for the back seats). There's a large bin under the centre console armrest up front and more hidey holes around the gear shifter, a flip-out tray for those in the second row and big bottle holders in the doors.

Entry and exit to the second row is made easy thanks to the wide-opening, tall doors and my four-year old son could climb into his seat by himself thanks to the rugged and grippy side steps.

Third-row seats are powered to lower and raise them into position, too.

There are air vents for all three rows, and controls for the climate in the second row.

Cargo storage is also impressive. With all three rows of seats in place there's enough room in the boot for a few small bags, but fold the third row down and you'll be given much more space.

We picked up a 3.0-metre long roll of synthetic turf and it fit in easily with the right side second-row seat folded, still leaving us with plenty of room for our son to sit in his child seat on the left.

Now the drawbacks. Access to the third row is affected by the 60/40 split of the second row with the larger folding section being on the road side.

Also the side-hinged tailgate makes it impossible to fully open if somebody parks too close behind you.  

And there's a lack of charging points on board - with only one USB port and no wireless charging pad.

The Ultra is the top grade in the Haval H9 line-up and lists for $44,990, before on-road costs.

At the time of writing you could have the H9 for $45,990 drive-away,  and depending on when you’re reading this that offer may still be in place, so check with the dealer.

As a point of reference, the Lux is the base grade H9 and lists for $40,990 before on-road costs.

Coming standard in the H9 is an 8.0-inch screen, ‘eco-leather’ seats, nine-speaker Infinity sound system, rear privacy glass, xenon headlights, laser puddle lights, proximity unlocking, three-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats (with massage function), heated second row seats, panoramic sunroof, illuminated scuff plates, aluminium pedals, matt alloy roof rails, side steps and 18-inch alloys.

That’s a stack of standard features for this price, but you’re not getting a whole lot more by going for the Ultra compared to the Lux.

Really, it comes down to brighter headlights, heated second row seats, power front seats and a better stereo. My advice is if the Ultra is too expensive, fear not because the Lux is extremely well kitted out.

Rivals to the Haval H9 Ultra include the SsangYong Rexton ELX, Toyota Fortuner GX, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GLX or Isuzu MU-X LS-M. All list for around that $45K mark.

Normally we cover the design and practicality before we get under the bonnet but you’re on a fact-finding mission and I’m your guide, your guide to cars. That would be a good website name.

Okay, the Sportage SX Hybrid has a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol sporty and fuel-efficient engine making 132kW and 265Nm. There’s also an electric motor producing 44kW and 264Nm. Their combined output is 169kW/350Nm.  

The hybrid variants are front-wheel drive only and have a six-speed automatic transmission. 

It’s a great engine, smooth transmission and the way the motor interacts is almost seamless. 

This isn’t a plug-in hybrid, either. The batteries recharge automatically through regenerative braking. Really, for Australia, this type of hybrid is the way to go, offering superb range and no anxiety about charging.

The Haval H9 Ultra is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 180kW/350Nm. That's the only engine in the line-up and if you're wondering why a diesel isn't offered, then you're not the only one.

If you're asking where the diesel is you're probably wondering how much petrol the H9 uses, and I have the answers for you under the next heading.

Shifting gears smoothly is an eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF, the same company chosen by brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and BMW. 

The H9's ladder frame chassis and four-wheel drive system (with low range) are the right ingredients for a capable off-roader. During my time with the H9, however, I stayed on the bitumen. 

The H9 comes with selectable drive modes including 'Sport', 'Sand', 'Snow' and 'Mud'. There's a hill descent feature, too. 

The braked towing capacity of the H9 is 2500kg and Haval says the maximum fording depth is 700mm.

Kia says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Sportage SX Hybrid will use 4.9L/100km. The petrol SX with the 2.0-litre engine and front-wheel drive uses 8.1L/100km.

In our own fuel test we recorded 6.9L/100km which was mostly urban with a couple of motorway trips during the week.

Getting back to our earlier question regarding the money you’ll save in fuel. I’ve worked it out using actual maths.

So, using Kia’s official fuel economy of 4.9L/00km, that’s 3.2L/100km less than the 2.0-litre petrol SX and if fuel is $2 per litre you’re saving $6.40 for every 100km you drive in comparison.

Now, $6.40 goes into $8400 (the extra you’ve paid for the hybrid) 1312.5 times. Multiply that by 100 to get the number of kilometres you’ll need to travel. So, that’s 131,250km you’ll need to go to save the $8400 in fuel. 

Most Aussies do 10,000 kays a years on average. That means you’re looking at over 13 years. Tell you what, the person who buys it second hand will get the best deal because they really will save money on fuel. 

It’s true the Sportage Hybrid is fuel efficient and I’ve scored it very well for that, but if it was me I’d be looking to buy one second hand so I wasn’t getting hit hard with the new car hybrid price premium.

I travelled 171.5km in the H9 but in my 55km loop of motorways and urban roads I used 6.22 litres of petrol, which comes to 11.3L/100km (the on-board read-out said 11.1L/100km).  

That's not terrible for a seven-seat SUV. Admittedly, I was the only person on board and the vehicle wasn't loaded up. You can expect that fuel figure to rise with more cargo and people piling in.

The official combined cycle fuel consumption claim for the H9 is 10.9L/100km, while the tank has an 80-litre capacity.

A pleasant surprise is that the H9 has a fuel-saving stop-start system, but a not-so pleasant surprise is that it needs to be fed a minimum of 95 RON premium fuel.

The Sportage SX Hybrid is better to drive than the petrol SX with the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine. It starts silently thanks to the electric motor and will coast away serenely until you need to move faster and come to a hill where you need the power of the engine.

The brake pedal feel is better than I’ve experienced in many hybrid cars and the transition from engine to motor is almost seamless.

The ride is comfortable, there’s no jiggle over potholes and handling isn’t bad for this type of family SUV. 

The only negative point to report is that because the hybrid Sportage is front-wheel drive, there can be a loss of traction if you accelerate hard from a standstill on a wet road or while climbing a steep hill.

If you’ve never driven a hybrid before, you’ll be absolutely fine - the only thing you'll need to get used to is turning the key and not detecting any engine noise.

The H9's ladder frame chassis will work to its advantage off the road, providing good rigidity, but as with any body-on-frame vehicle on-road dynamics aren't going to be its forte.

So, the ride is soft and comfortable (the rear multi-link suspension set up would be a major part of that) the overall driving experience can be a little agricultural. These aren't show-stopping issues, and you'll find the same in a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport or Isuzu MU-X.

More disappointing are the things Haval could easily fix. The seats are flat and not the most comfortable, the steering is a little slow, and that engine has to work hard and isn't particularly responsive.

There are also some strange quirks, too. The altimeter read-out said I was at 8180m driving through Marrickville in Sydney (Everest is 8848m) and the auto parking system is more of a guide which tells you how to park rather than doing it for you.

Imagine being 16 again and being coached by your mum or dad and you've got the idea.

That said the H9 handled life with my family without breaking a sweat. It's easy to drive, with good visibility, great insulation from the outside world and excellent headlights (the Ultra gets the brighter 35-watt xenons).

So while it's not the most adept and comfortable car on the road, I feel the H9 could be better suited to off-roading adventures. As I mentioned earlier, I only tested it's on-road performance, but keep an eye out for any future off-road tests we do with the H9.

When the Haval H9 was tested by ANCAP in 2015 it received a four-star rating from a possible five. In 2018 Haval updated the safety tech on board and all H9s now come standard with lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane changing assist, AEB and adaptive cruise control.

It's great to see that this equipment has been added, although the H9 has not yet been re-tested and we're yet to see how it would score with the updated tech.

Also coming standard are front and rear parking sensors.

For child seats you'll find three top tether points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row.

A full-sized alloy wheel is located under the car - as you can see in the images.