GWM Haval H6GT Hi4 PHEV Review: 321 kW and 183 km of EV Range for $54,990

321 kW. 0-100 km/h in 4.58 seconds. 183 km of claimed electric range. $54,990 drive-away.

The GWM Haval H6GT Hi4 is the coupe-styled flagship of the H6 family, and its 2026 update brings GWM’s Hi4 plug-in hybrid system on board. Don’t confuse it with the Hi4-T found in the Cannon Alpha and Tank range. Hi4 pairs a 1.5-litre turbo engine with one electric motor on each axle and no mechanical connection between the front and rear. That makes it a super hybrid, and it drives exactly like one.

I had the H6GT Hi4 on loan, ran it through a DC fast charge test and a USB port test, and spent hours behind the wheel. It surprised me.

Size and dimensions

The H6GT measures 4,727 mm long, 1,940 mm wide and 1,729 mm tall on a 2,738 mm wheelbase. That puts it in the same ballpark as the BYD Sealion 6: about 5 cm shorter, but a touch wider and taller.

It rides on 19-inch black alloys wrapped in 235/55 R19 Michelin Primacy 4 tyres. Suspension is MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear, with 170 mm of ground clearance.

Towing is rated at 1,500 kg braked and 750 kg unbraked, with a 454 kg payload. That’s 500 kg less braked capacity than the petrol H6GT, so keep it in mind if towing is a priority. It’s still 200 kg more than the best Sealion 6.

Price and warranty

The H6GT comes in two flavours: a non-electrified 2.0-litre turbo petrol, and the Hi4 plug-in hybrid tested here.

	H6GT Ultra	H6GT Ultra Hi4 PHEV
Powertrain	2.0L turbo petrol	1.5L turbo PHEV, two motors
Transmission	7-speed DCT	4-speed DHT
Drive	AWD	AWD
Power / torque	150 kW / 320 Nm	321 kW / 642 Nm
Braked towing	2,000 kg	1,500 kg
Price	$46,490 drive-away	$54,990 drive-away

Like every GWM, the H6GT Hi4 comes with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, backed by an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre high-voltage battery warranty. You also get five years of roadside assistance and five years of capped-price servicing.

Powertrain

Lift the bonnet and there’s no frunk. Instead you’ll find a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder making 110 kW and 240 Nm. It works with an 80 kW electric motor on the front axle and a 135 kW motor on the rear, all managed by a four-speed dedicated hybrid transmission.

Combined output is 321 kW and 642 Nm, good for 0-100 km/h in 4.58 seconds. Compared with the original H6GT PHEV, torque drops from 762 Nm, but the new four-speed DHT replaces a two-speed unit and helps trim the sprint from 4.9 seconds.

Energy comes from a 35.43 kWh ternary lithium battery, good for a claimed 183 km of electric range on the NEDC cycle. The 55 L tank takes 91 RON regular unleaded, which is more than the 95 RON Sealion 6 can say. GWM claims 1,183 km of combined range. NEDC is generous, so expect less in the real world, but the battery is big enough that a lot of owners will rarely burn petrol.

V2L output is 3.3 kW. AC charging tops out at 6.6 kW and DC at 48 kW.

Charging

I took the H6GT to a 240 kW Chargefox station and plugged in at 19 per cent. Within two minutes it was sitting at 48 to 49 kW, right on the claim. Three minutes in it had reached 26 per cent, and after 13 minutes it was at 50 per cent.

That’s 31 per cent added in 13 minutes. It’s not the fastest charging going around, but it delivers exactly what the brochure promises.

These Chargefox units are clever too. The tops glow green when a charger is free. When one is in use the top turns white and the occupied side lights up blue, so you can spot an available bay from across the car park.

Interior

Open the door and you’re greeted by Comfort-Tek suede-accented seats with the GT logo embroidered into the backrests, faux leather lower down and a faux leather steering wheel. The wheel carries media controls on the right, adaptive cruise on the left and a couple of assignable multi-function buttons. The drive selector is on the column, so the indicators sit on the left.

Behind the wheel is a 10.25-inch digital cluster with plenty of assignable screens, plus a head-up display that shows a useful amount of information. The dash is narrow and simple. Ambient lighting is a single-colour strip on the front doors only. It’s there, but that’s about all you can say for it.

The centrepiece is a 14.6-inch touchscreen running GWM’s Coffee OS. The layout is decent and the menus are easy to navigate, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A small bank of physical buttons below the screen includes a shortcut to the 360-degree camera. Image resolution isn’t great, but you get plenty of views and that’s what counts.

Below that are manually adjusted vents, a wireless phone charger, two cup holders, a coin tray and a fairly shallow centre console. The cubby underneath has two USB-A ports and a 12 V socket. There’s no USB-C up front.

The front seats are power adjustable with lumbar support, plus heating and ventilation that you can switch on by voice command. They sit right in the middle: not firm, not soft. There isn’t much bolstering, but I spent hours in them without complaint.

The design is conservative. With its layered dash and big central screen it reminds me of a Toyota or Subaru, minus the buttons everywhere. The softer materials across the top of the dash feel fine for the money.

USB charging test

Port	Front	Rear
USB-A	9 W	8 W
USB-C	None	34 to 35 W

Back seat

Slim front seatbacks free up a huge amount of rear legroom. With the driver’s seat in my position there’s acres of room behind it. The bench cushion is a little short, but there’s plenty of toe room under the front seat, so you can stretch right out.

At 178 cm I had a palm’s height of headroom, which is impressive given the sloping roofline. Rear passengers get dual air vents, USB-A and USB-C ports, map pockets, a grab handle with reading light and a coat hook. There are ISOFIX points on the outboard seats and top tethers on all three.

The centre armrest has two cup holders and folds down clear of a child seat. The windows drop about 90 per cent of the way and the glass is privacy tinted. A family of four will be comfortable, and a fifth passenger works for shorter trips.

Boot space

The power tailgate has a kick sensor and opens to 392 L of space, expanding to 1,390 L with the rear seats folded. That’s a little short of the Sealion 6’s 425 L.

There’s not much underfloor storage, just room for the warning triangle and tyre repair kit, so the charging cable lives on the boot floor. The cargo blind is one of the easiest to remove I’ve come across, and you also get side pockets, a 12 V socket and a boot light. Fold the seats and the load floor is nice and flat.

On the road

One word sums it up: unexpected. GWM has built its reputation on combustion-first powertrains, and the Hi4-T in the Cannon and Tank is essentially an engine-first system with an electric motor added. Hi4 flips that. The electric motors do most of the work, with the engine spending most of its time topping up the battery.

The result is a car that drives like an EV, even in hybrid mode. I never once felt the four-speed DHT shift during my entire loan. It simply feels like a single-speed EV.

There is one catch. When the petrol engine runs, you feel a slight vibration through the accelerator pedal. Nowhere else, not the wheel or the doors, just the pedal. It should be something GWM can calibrate out, and the engine isn’t running often enough for it to be a major issue.

Steering feels solid and slightly heavy, which adds to the planted feel. The seating position is high, so the H6GT feels taller than it is, and visibility forward and around you is good.

The suspension handles potholes and speed bumps really well and rebounds cleanly. GWM’s locally developed AT-1 suspension tune, already on the regular H6, hasn’t reached the GT yet. On this evidence it isn’t crying out for it.

The dark blue-green paint on my test car looks fantastic, especially at night.

Safety kit includes AEB with pedestrian, cyclist and crossroads detection, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, door open warning, lane centring, driver drowsiness detection and a front centre airbag. The H6’s five-star ANCAP rating from 2022 applies to petrol variants only, so the PHEV is officially unrated.

Where it fits

The H6GT Hi4 lines up against the BYD Sealion 6 and comfortably undercuts the Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid. Against the BYD it brings more power, cheaper fuel and a higher tow rating, with a slightly smaller boot.

For a mid-size family SUV that feels like an EV around town but can cover 1,000-plus kilometres without stopping, it deserves a spot on the shortlist.

If GWM calibrates out that pedal vibration and brings its AT-1 tune across, the H6GT Hi4 goes from surprise packet to the benchmark for affordable performance plug-in hybrids.