VEHICLE REVIEW
When I told my fiancée I was coming home with a spaceship. She probably thought I was joking, or that I had finally lost the plot after spending too much time around cars.
Then I arrived in the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV, and judging by the way it looks, I wasn’ t completely wrong.
There are cars you drive for a week and hand back without much emotion. Then there are those that make you stare at the driveway after you hand back the keys and think,“ OK, so what exactly am I supposed to drive now?”
The H6 GT PHEV is definitely the latter. Because this is not your ordinary family SUV.
The H6 GT PHEV looks like it has been designed by someone who was told to build a practical SUV, then quietly added a sportscar brief when nobody was watching. The coupe-inspired roofline, aggressive grille, sharp lighting, and muscular stance give it serious road presence.
And then you start it … Well, technically, you don’ t really hear much.
That’ s because underneath that sporty exterior sits a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol-electric plugin hybrid drivetrain producing a whopping 321kW and 762Nm. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a large family SUV capable of launching from 0 to 100 km / h in just 4.9 seconds.
For context, that’ s quick.
Put your foot down, and the H6 GT PHEV doesn’ t politely gather momentum. It launches. There is an immediate shove as the electric motors get involved, followed by the petrol engine joining the party.
And because it is 4WD, you don’ t have to spend your time worrying about where all that power is going. The system gives you selectable driving modes including Standard, Eco, Sport, Snow, Mud, Sand, and 4WD.
For me, sport mode was the one that made the most sense. Because if GWM is going to give you 321kW, you may as well have some fun with it.
NOVEMBER 2026 / INBOUND SA 69