2024 Haval Jolion

China’s Great Wall Motors debuted several brands in the Middle East at the start of the region’s Chinese car boom. One of those brands is Haval, an SUV-only nameplate with a handful of focused models. The smallest one of those is the rather cute Jolion, a subcompact SUV that punches above its weight when it comes to value.

It’s about as long as a Toyota Yaris sedan, but being a crossover, the Jolion a fair bit taller with a more generous wheelbase. More astoundingly, they cost about the same too.

Aside from the usual white, silver and black, a selection of bright paint options such as Azure blue, Vivid green and Mars red make it abundantly clear that they’re aiming for younger buyers.

The Haval Jolion stands out in its price bracket with its generous features list, even before we step inside the car. The base model gets 17-inch alloy wheels, while the rest get 18-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, auto LED headlights and roof rails. All models get LED running lights and tail lights.

Once you step inside the low-riding car, you’re greeted by a very fancy-looking interior, with padded stitched-leatherette dash panels and door inserts as well as bronze inserts breaking up the black hard plastics that is customary in this segment. A 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system sits atop the dash in our top-spec model, and the gauge cluster is digital. And the leather seats look like they belong in a car three times as expensive.

Space up front is great, with mixed-size cup holders and very handy slots for loose items such as phones, wallets and keys. There is a wireless charging tray in front of the shifter, and there’s a large open caddy below the dashboard, housing USB ports and the 12-volt outlet.

The rear-seat space is a major highlight, with generous legroom and a flat floor. Dual ISOFIX points and three top-tether mounts make it easy to secure child seats. Combined with the glass roof, it feels rather airy for a small car.

Door pockets with bottle holders, a good-sized centre console bin, seatback pockets and rear centre-armrest cupholders round out the in-car storage options. The 430-litre boot is practical, but the aforementioned generous legroom means the boot volume is average compared to some rivals. Fold down the second row and it opens up more than 1100 litres of space. There is a space-saver spare wheel and a couple of storage spots alongside the boot floor.

The touchscreen supports wired Apple CarPlay, and acts as the control interface for a variety of features, including the 6-speaker stereo and the dual-zone auto a/c (with rear vents and two more USB ports below). Both are decent in terms of functionality, but the a/c could’ve used extra physical buttons. As is, the separate buttons below the screen only has on/off and ventilation functionality as you’re expected to leave the a/c in “auto,” and fiddle with onscreen menus for temperature settings.

Other features include a 6-way power driver’s seat, 7-inch digital gauge cluster, smart keyless entry and start, electronic parking brake and a 360-degree camera system with parking sensors.

Even more impressive is the suite of available safety features that includes 6 airbags, ESP, tyre-pressure monitor, autonomous emergency braking with forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitoring, semi-automatic parking assist, and adaptive cruise control with intelligent cruise assist and turning.

The Jolion range is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. Available in two forms, the base model makes 147 hp at 5600 rpm and 220 Nm of torque from 2000 to 4400 rpm, while the higher-spec models make 181 hp at 6000 rpm and 275 Nm of torque from 1500 to 4000 rpm. Paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with paddle-shifters and front-wheel-drive, the 181 hp version is the one to go for if you want to keep up with other small crossovers.

We drove both engine variants at different times. Our as-tested 0-100 kph time for the base-engined car was 11 seconds, while the 181 hp car did it in 9.3 seconds in the Dubai summer afternoon. Oddly enough, both clocked in a fuel consumption figure of 9 litres/100 km (11.1 km/litre), probably because the larger engine is slightly more relaxed.

The suspension is well-tuned to handle various road conditions, providing a comfortable ride even on bumpy roads. While there is some body roll, the overall ride quality is fairly cushy and noise levels are kept under control at legal speeds, making it ideal as a long-distance commuter car.

The steering lacks feedback and the brake pedal can feel spongy at times, though both can be managed after some days with the car. Overall handling at the limit is geared towards early understeer.

Around town, when moving off from idle, the dual-clutch transmission and turbo engine can feel laggy, especially when you are in a hurry. But at higher speeds, the automatic performs better although it can still be overactive, swapping gears frequently. The engine itself is punchy enough in most cases.

In an age where small Japanese crossovers suddenly command premium prices “due to inflation,” the Haval Jolion continues to keep it real and offers a compelling package at an affordable price. While it still has some areas that could be improved, they are not top priority for people shopping in this segment. The little Haval wins on comfort, cabin space, safety features and affordability, with a premium-looking interior that is just icing on the cake.

Photos by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury.