An offshoot of Great Wall Motors, Haval is trying to establish itself as a maker of desirable SUVs for the Chinese market and (eventually) beyond. They don’t yet seem to have a clear direction for the brand, whose models all look quite different to one another, hinting at a lack of cohesion and maturity.
The shapes you see in the Haval lineup range from vehicles that have the face of an Audi, but the body of a Range Rover Evoque to a VW Touareg ripoff to the H9, which is suspiciously similar to a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Their most original looking model is the H2, a vehicle that promises extensive customization options and a front fascia that doesn’t immediately strike one as having drawn a little too much inspiration from somebody else’s design…
Showcased at the Beijing motor show, it can be had in a variety of color/trim combinations and with either two- or four-wheel drive.
Sporting a 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, its makers promise the H2 “is powerful, maneuverable and light,” but without stating what the horsepower or weight figures are.
Expect to see this model hit the local Chinese market in July, though it’s been suggested in the past that the H2 and the H6 could migrate to Europe, where Great Wall already sells its dirt-cheap pickups.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
