A new millennium Mustang. That’s what the front end of this new Asian SUV slash four by four reminds me of. It took me a few days to finally realise that while we were testing this new Haval H7…
This ties in quite nicely with my most recent complaint in the motoring scene, which is that it’s getting increasingly difficult to tell the latest crossover/SUV’s apart. So far, I’ve confused a Chery with a Toyota, mixed up Jolion and Jaecoo, plus I’ve easily muddled up a dozen Chinese with Koreans. And vice versa.
Haval is not only Chinese but also guilty of burping crossovers into the world at alarming rates, which is why I was initially puzzled when this Mustang façade arrived for testing. Is it a rebadged Chery, or perhaps even a disguised Mahindra? Because that’s what its bizarre stature and unconventional proportions suggested.
Nope, this is a pure Haval H7, although it bears little resemblance to the sleek first-generation we tested a few years ago. Also, a minimal amount of research on the internet reveals that, at least in its domestic market, things get even weirder with pseudonyms and relatives called Cool Dog, Dargo, H-Dog, L.E.M.O.N., and Big Dog.
How barking mad is that?
Made by parent company GWM in China, this Haval Big Dog arrived in South Africa at the beginning of the year with two trim levels, a choice of two turbo-petrol engines and the chickened-out name badge H7. I would honestly like to see what would have happened in our joyful motoring scene if they had kept its canine name…
This fairly big SUV’s butch design lines and chunky details almost sit up and beg for it. Just look at those overly flared fenders, almost like old Ponton-style classics used to have. Except that they didn’t feature large matt black plastic wheel arch trim with what looks like silver hex bolt fasteners. My apologies, I never tried turning them.
The window line is astounding (for a modern SUV), ditto for the recessed multi-part rear light clusters (complete with eye brows), and the whole look is completed with plenty of oversized items like the side mirrors, rear window spoiler, silver roof racks, bumper trim and a modern art-installation for a radiator grill.
Although, to be fair, that’s standard kit on most new cars these days. I also appreciated the shiny multi-spoke 19-inch alloys on our press vehicle, all of which were shod with generous (read: fairly comfy) 235/60 Giti Comfort road-biased tyres. Namibians will also be happy to learn that it has a spaarwiel, although it is a thinner, 17-inch version.
Inside the new Haval H7, hoh boy, the crazy design party continues. If you’re even remotely O.C.D. or averse to wild shapes, you may want to stay away from this motorised craft. However, if you’re easily bored or have been longing for an interesting and exciting place to spend your commuting hours, step right up to your new car.
The dashboard and door cards have more levels than a mid-2000’s PC game, the gear lever looks like a thrust lever, most door pockets have springy ribbons in them, there are freaky-deaky weave patterns all over the place, accented by random fake silver bolts, and the door handles look like they belong on the outside. Of a tank.
Some normalcy returns with the currently trendy tablet-style infotainment screen and (separate) digital gauge cluster. This represents one of my only personal complaints, because it shows the same nonsensical layout we’ve found in other new vehicles. Instead of gauges/clocks, it looks like a bad marriage between a mobile driving game and a PowerPoint slide.
Other sensibly normal cabin inhabitants include the seats, 480 to 1,360L of cargo area and – to some degree – the steering wheel. Blessed with manual-override shift paddles, it’s also adorned with multiple layers of cruise control and infotainment buttons. It took me a while to navigate them, but most commands seemed fairly intuitive.
Driving this 2.0T AWD Super Luxury model also unlocks a few good surprises for newcomers to this brand or genre. From a slightly concealed start button to the head-up display, the punchy nature of this 170kW and 380Nm turbo-petrol 4-cylinder, or the seemingly superfluous amount of gears (nine!) in this initially jerky DCT.
That’s pretty normal as well, by the way, that slight pull-away hesitation or mid-corner confusion from an otherwise smooth and fast box of gears. I’m also happy to reveal that the new H7 rides the way it looks: on the softer and less responsive side of handling, as is befitting of something that looks more like a 4×4 than a Tesla.
Chatting of which, this model also offered a multi-mode drive selector (including many off-road settings), a rear diff lock, downhill descent control, plus various active and passive driver aids for your peace of mind. My other favourite buttons included the two front seat heaters and that knoppie which deactivates the auto-hold mechanism.
GWM Haval doesn’t publish any performance figures so I stuck our testing equipment to the windscreen and went for a few blasts, the best of which yielded 0-100km/h in a blistering 7.07 seconds with the ¼ mile falling in 14.8 seconds at 93.91mph. Just as impressive was the single emergency stop from 100km/h in just 3.08 seconds and 40.15 meters.
Not bad for a spacious 5-seater 4WD weighing around two tons. Haval claims average fuel use of 9.1L/100km from the 61L tank and, as always, our results hovered about two litres above that figure. They also allege dimensions of 4.7m length, 1.78m height, 1.9m width, plus a very welcome 210mm of ground clearance.
In an effort to start summing up, here are a few more technical highlights for your enjoyment: autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, Apple or Android phone integration and 360° camera, power tailgate and panoramic sunroof, LED headlights and plenty of storage or charging options.
All this can be yours for the princely sum of R675,000 which also includes a 7-year/200,000km warranty and roadside assistance, plus a 7-year/75,000km service plan. Except for that last bit, all of these are excellent news for someone craving a strange but comfortable luxury 4WD SUV with the front end of a Mustang.
