GWM Haval Jolion Pro Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

The trouble is, the car's handful of shortcomings really impact the overall experience of driving and owning it, and there are numerous better alternatives. Yes, it's big for the price.  Yes, it's got a hybrid system. Yes, it's well equipped. But the boot is very small, and the various software annoyances can very quickly drive you up the wall.

If you really need maximum passenger space for your money, and you're dead set on owning a hybrid, then it might be worth a look. 

All Haval Jolion Pros have the same hybrid powertrain, so there's no decision to be made there. The choice is between the three trim levels, and unless you're really keen on extra bells and whistles, we reckon the entry-level Premium trim offers the best value for money. Sure, features like larger wheels and a panoramic sunroof are nice to have, but there's a four grand rise to the mid-spec Lux and £6k to the Ultra, which we don't reckon is worth it.

If you're looking at other family cars that start around or below the £23,000 mark, then your list will comprise the likes of the MG ZS (from £19,995, but smaller than the Haval), the Dacia Duster (from £19,380, smaller but with a bigger boot) and the Suzuki S-Cross (£23,999, also smaller).

Cars around the same size will generally be considerably more expensive – a Kia Sportage starts at nearly £29,000, and a hybrid version will set you back from £34,425. Still, you could save a chunk by buying nearly new.

You don't expect top-quality materials in value-for-money brands, but the Jolion Pro's plastics are actually of a reasonable quality, with minimal brittle or scratchy elements. Build quality is reasonable – most elements feel fairly solid, but our test car, with around 7000 miles on it, had an annoying buzz from somewhere in the middle of the dashboard that would prove maddening if we didn't crank the sound system up. 

The infotainment system on the GWM Haval Jolion Pro is its biggest weakness. There are some pluses to it – the 10.25-inch touchscreen is sizeable and includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although not the wireless versions, so you'll need a USB cable to plug your phone in. 

All versions also include a rear-view camera, which is of an impressively high resolution and is useful when manoeuvring in tight spaces. If you want to use a dash cam, there's a hand USB port next to the rear-view mirror to plug it in without dangling cables.But the way that the infotainment has been designed is frustrating to use, and the list of annoyances is pretty long.

Want to adjust the volume? You can only do so on the steering wheel, with no volume knob near the screen. There's also no separate control area for the air conditioning, so changes to fan or temperature need to be done through the main touchscreen. If you've got CarPlay running, for example, that requires you to swipe through to select the Haval settings, then reach across to the top left of the screen – which is almost on the passenger side – to select the climate controls. 

Likewise, there are no shortcut buttons for jumping between different features, which can make changing any settings on the move rather challenging. Want to turn on the heated seats? Be prepared to wade through myriad screens and settings, rather than just being able to hit a button.

The graphics look old and the icons are fiddly to operate, and there are some rather howling mistakes when it comes to basic English translations. Some are just baffling – if you take your eyes off the road for too long (for example, to try and change a setting), the car will beep loudly and the screen shows the message "Hey! Don't stray!", which you can dismiss by pressing "yes" or "no", either of which seem to have the same effect.

There was no DAB radio on early cars, or our test – just FM and AM – which seems a major omission in this day and age, although GWM say it should be added to new cars by the time you read this. There's no sat-nav, however. You could make the reasonable suggestion that both those things could be accessed through your phone, and that's true, but streaming radio through your phone network could quickly rack up your data allowance.

Entry-level Premium trim cars get a four-speaker sound system, which is upgraded to a six-speaker setup in higher trims and sounds fine, without being particularly notable. The top-spec Ultra model also gets a head-up display, which beams driving information onto the windscreen, a wireless phone charger, and two USB ports in the back so passengers can charge their devices.

Practicality in the Haval Jolion Pro is a mixed bag. In the main cabin, it's rather good – it feels spacious, especially in cars with the full-length sunroof, and there's a completely flat floor in the back, which means there's decent legroom, although again, the seats aren't the softest or supportive around.

Storage options in the cabin are also reasonable, with two cupholders between the front seats (although they're different sizes) and a cubby under the central armrest. A couple of thin slots next to the gear selector can be used to keep phones, pens or other odds and ends, and there's a second storey of storage under the centre console for larger items.

Sadly, the boot is very small for this type of car. With a capacity of just 255 litres, it has considerably less space than a Volkswagen Polo or Skoda Fabia, which are far smaller vehicles. The floor is at least flat with the top of the boot aperture, which means no lip to lug stuff over, and there are little wells at each side where you can put smaller items to stop them rolling around. There's no storage under the boot floor though, as that's taken up with the puncture kit and the hybrid battery tech.

There's only one powertrain available in the GWM Haval Jolion Pro, which is a full-hybrid setup that combines a 95PS 1.6-litre petrol engine with a 149PS electric motor. This unusual combination, where there's more electric oomph than from the combustion engine, gives the car a reasonable turn of pace with 189PS of total power and 375Nm of torque. The 0-62mph time of nine seconds isn't perhaps as quick as the power figures would suggest, mostly due to the car's weight, but it's sprightly enough to make decent progress.

The power is handled by what's called a Dedictaed Hybrid Transmission, which is basically a two-speed transmission that lets the engine power the electric motor at low speeds, with the electricity driving the wheels, and then brings in the petrol engine to help drive the wheels at higher speeds. It feels much like a continuously variable transmission (CVT), in that when you put your foot down, the revs shoot skywards and stay there, with all the aural din that comes with them. Full gas in the Jolion Pro is a somewhat noisy affair.

Most of the time, noise levels in the GWM Haval Jolion Pro are acceptable. It's a car that rewards gentle progress – mash the throttle pedal and there's a lot of engine noise, but most of the time it's quite enough to be unobtrusive. Wind and road noise aren't particularly well suppressed, but neither are they particularly loud.

There's a lot of safety kit included on all versions of the GWM Haval Jolion Pro. It hasn't been tested by independent safety organisation Euro NCAP, although the closely related Haval Jolion got a maximum five-star safety rating from the equivalent Australian body, ANCAP.

Standard features include adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert with a braking function, forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking, as well as a blind-spot warning system and rear collision warning.

However, the calibration of several systems does not seem to match the conditions found on UK roads. We found that the lane-detection systems were far too sensitive on country roads, almost continually beeping and notifying us that the emergency lane keeping function had been activated. You'll need to turn it off every time you drive it, (it resets each time as mandated by UK law), because it'll drive you up the wall. The parking sensors, too, seem to be either overly sensitive or not sensitive enough. On the plus side, the parking cameras are of an impressively high resolution.

The GWM Haval Jolion Pro is brand new to the UK, so there's no reliability data to go on yet. However, GWM does offer a five-year, unlimited-mile warranty from new, which is better than you'll get from several rivals.

Insurance groups on the GWM Haval Jolion Pro range between 27 and 28 of 50, which is considerably higher than rivals like the MG ZS, Duster and Qashqai and will likely result in higher annual premiums.

The GWM Haval Jolion Pro is subject to the same flat rate of tax as any other car, which in 2025/26 is £195 a year. All models cost less than £40,000 when new, meaning they don't attract the luxury car surcharge. 

There are three trims to choose from. The entry-level GMW Haval Jolion Pro is the Premium, which is well equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors and adaptive cruise control. Infotainment is shown through a 10.25-inch screen.

Upgrade to the Lux model and you'll get 18-inch wheels, leatherette covering on the steering wheel and electrical adjustment of the driver's seat, as well as heated front seats, a larger 12.3-inch infotainment screen and a 360-degree camera. The headlights are more powerful LED units.

Go for the top-spec Ultra trim and you'll get roof rails, a panoramic sliding sunroof and wireless phone charger, with electric adjustment for the front passenger seat and ventilation for the driver's seat, as well as a head-up display and front parking sensors. Ambient lighting is also included.