Haval H9 2020 review

It’s a large SUV with bulky front end and it sits high off the road with a dominating stance. There is some sense of refinement to it, but mostly it’s just enormous with everything oversized to match like the front grille (huge), the headlights (big) and the tyre cavity (spacious).

It’s a large SUV with bulky front end and it sits high off the road with a dominating stance.

Inside it’s a stylish fit-out with more elegance than competitors like the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Everest. It’s more on par with the Rexton than those two. There are fabric seats but they are smooth and comfortable and a leather covered steering wheel which always lifts things as that is your touchpoint.

I did think the centre console was a bit fussy with lots of buttons rather than a streamlined design, but everything fits nicely and it’s functional. A panoramic sunroof comes standard on this model and there are aluminium foot pedals which look great. 

The front seats are manually adjustable and you can slide the second row forward too, giving more space to the third row if you need it. To get in the third row it’s a quick push down of the second row seats and the door opens nice and wide, allowing for better access. 

There are air vents for all three rows.

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

Entry and exit of the H9 is made easy with the wide, grippy sidesteps which not just the kids, but I also appreciated. 

The downfall is that the boot opens sideways (rather than like a conventional tailgate) which means it won’t open if another vehicle parks too close to you in a carpark, or you’ve reversed in towards a wall.

It’s a very bouncy ride in the Haval H9. Bumps are easily felt, and when driving it on suburban streets it feels like it should be taken off road - which I didn’t get to do this week.

It has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.

It has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which takes a few seconds to kick in once you press your foot down but has a good amount of power behind the wheel and it gets up hills well, even if it is a bit loud and feels like an effort.

It’s not a super responsive when you touch the accelerator or brake and you need to press down for maximum effectiveness. Saying that, you do get used to doing that quickly.  

Has a good amount of power behind the wheel and it gets up hills well.

It’s a four-wheel drive, which means you can take it off road and there are driving modes including 'Sport', 'Sand', 'Snow' and 'Mud'.

Parking such a big car takes practice to learn how much space you need (note: more than you think) but it is made easier with a reverse parking camera. 

It comes with auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control. The H9 scored four ANCAP stars when it was tested in 2015, before the introduction of the advanced safety equipment a few years ago. 

There are airbags for driver and front passenger (front and side), plus side curtain airbags that extend to the back row. You’ll get two ISOFIX points and three top tether points to fix kids car seats in, but no child seat anchors in the back row.

The H9 scored four ANCAP stars when it was tested in 2015.

There’s also a full size spare tyre in the H9. 

The Haval H9 Lux costs from $41,990 driveaway. Fuel consumption is a claimed 10.9L/100km. 

The Haval H9 Lux costs from $41,990 driveaway.

It’s covered by Haval’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty which is one of the best in market. Servicing is recommended at six month/10,000km intervals.