By Khulekani Dumisa

Haval is doing well in South Africa and one of the stalwarts of their success is the H2 SUV pushing out an average of 400 units per month in the congested compact SUV segment. The H2 is not short of competitors and that is what makes the Chinese SUV’s success story even more impressive.

Consumers will now have an updated H2 to look forward to. Recently we traveled to the Western Cape to sample it and we were impressed at how far the brand and the H2, in particular, has come.

Exterior

In terms of looks, the refreshed H2 gets a revised hexagon front grille; arrow shaped lights and updated front bumper. The vehicle’s bonnet and fenders are also updated.

At the back, the bumper has also been revised and now spots redesigned reflectors, raised black protection strip, larger twin exhaust pipes and a new splitter-plater. The 18 inch wheels are retained in the updated H2 but a new 5 spoke star wheel design has been adopted to make the vehicle appear sportier.

Interior

The interior of the refreshed H2 features Apple CarPlay as standard. All models come standard with a sunroof whilst the Luxury model features a panoramic roof. The interior is largely made up on hard plastics but is well designed and laid out, and frankly a pleasant place to be in. The seats are comfortable and provide occupants with a lot of support.

Choice…

The Haval H2 facelift will be available in four derivatives with manual and automatic drivetrains.  Consumers have two different levels of specification to choose from namely City and Luxury. Exterior colour options are plenty with eight colours to choose from. These include Classical Black, Hamilton White, Pittsburgh Silver, Datura Red, Atlantis Blue, Brown, Red with black roof and Brown with White roof.

Drive

The Haval H2 range is powered by a 4 cylinder 1.5L turbo charged engine that is paired with either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission, and pushes out 105kW of power and 202Nm of torque. This is not by any measure fast or the most refined but it is more than adequate in the H2. Take off is decent and the car is able to keep its power even on some steep inclines. The engine is also responsive and does not require much when you put foot to metal for overtaking or maintaining highway speeds. The ride quality is decent. The car is comfortable and keeps most road noise out although the engine can intrude at times when you hasten it. We drove the car in rain conditions along some twisty roads in the Western Cape. The Chinese SUV was able to execute corners without any fuss. Even when hurried along, the car remained stable although some whiney noise was detected with regular throttle input.

Final Word

With the ride being decent and the standard features being so generous, and now looks having been enhanced, we struggled to think of something that would beat the H2 package during our short stint with it at the coast.

Pricing

2019 new H2 2WD City 6MT             R269,900

2019 new H2 2WD Luxury 6MT         R294,900

2019 new H2 2WD City 6AT              R304,900

2019 new H2 2WD Luxury 6AT         R329,900

The H2 range is sold with a 5 year/100,000 kilometer warranty, 5 year/unlimited kilometer road side assistance and a 5 year / 60,000 kilometer service plan.