GWM Haval H7 pricing announced for South Africa ahead of official release | Network News

Announced for South Africa in May before making a surprise showing at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring three months later, Great Wall Motors (GWM) has released pricing of the second-generation Haval H7 ahead of its market debut this week, reports the Citizen.

A model entirely different from the previous H7 that went on sale two years ago, the newcomer uses the Haval Raptor Menglong Plus as a base instead of the outgoing variant spun off from the Haval Big Dog.

Available in China since 2023, the Raptor Menglong Plus variant, as previously speculated, loses the seven-seat option offered in Australia and will provide seating for five in South Africa.

Still riding on a unibody platform, the new H7 sports a boxier design and, for the local market, keeps the previous petrol and self-charging hybrid powertrains, but introduces a plug-in hybrid.

Teased extensively on social media after its Kyalami unveiling, the H7’s official dimensions are as follows:

These make it 107 mm longer, 42 mm wider and 63 mm taller than the Big Dog-based H7, with its wheelbase contracting by 72 mm.

Its spare wheel now affixed to the tailgate, boot space increases from 483 to 586-litres, and from 1 362 to 1 404-litres with the rear seats folded flat.

As with the Big Dog variant, the Raptor Menglong Plus-based H7 has a claimed 210 mm of ground clearance, but with the now-confirmed ability to tow 2 000 kg or 1 500 kg in the case of the hybrids. The claimed wading depth is 580 mm.

On the model front, the local H7 range grows from three to six spread across the three powertrains.

Starting off, the combustion option carries over unchanged from the outgoing H7 with outputs of 170kW/380Nm from the 2.0 T-GDI engine.

Also similar is the option of front-or four-wheel drive, as well as the nine-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Fuel consumption is eight-litres per 100 km for the former and 8.8 L/100 km for the latter.

Up next, the self-charging hybrid or HEV has, in fact, been detuned, but develops more grunt overall as a result of a bigger battery pack.

Now displacing 1.53-kWh, the front-axle mounted electric motor outputs 130kW/295Nm on its own and, when combined with the 110kW/240Nm made by the 1.5 T-GDI engine, a total of 182kW/540Nm.

This represents an increase of three kilowatts and 10 Nm. Drive is again routed to the front wheels through a two-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT). The fuel consumption claim is 5.3 L/100 km.

On the plug-in hybrid side, the HEV’s 1.5 T-GDI has been paired with a 23.7-kWh battery driving a single electric motor worth the same 130kW/295Nm.

The combined result, though, is 240kW/540Nm, which GWM says translates to an all-electric range of 130 km. As with the HEV, the two-speed DHT is the only available option.

Presented at Kyalami, the dual-motor debuts under the Hi4 banner and, while fitted with the same battery and combustion engine as the single-motor, has been equipped with more powerful electric motors, 80kW/170Nm at the front and 150kW/260Nm at the rear.

Combined, the Hi4 outputs 280kW/670Nm, which makes for an all-electric range of 115 km and a claimed 0-100 km/h sprint of 5.8 seconds.

In terms of specification, the Super Luxury starts the range off on both the combustion model, the HEV and the single-motor plug-in hybrid.

Aesthetically, though, the former differentiates itself by featuring a vertical slat slotted grille, whereas the latter, and the pair of plug-in hybrids, receive a horizontal “studded” grille.

Also included is a drive mode selector with four settings: Eco, Standard, Sport, and Snow, and three modes for the steering: Light, Comfort, and Sport. An Auto mode on the former is standard only on petrol variants.

Bizarrely, only the Hi4 gets an electrically adjustable passenger seat. For the pair of four-wheel drive models, an electronically locking rear diff lock is standard, along with five additional driving modes: Auto, Grass/Gravel, Rough Road, Mud and Sand.

Included with H7’s price tag is a seven-year/200 000 km warranty, a seven-year/75 000 km service plan, and in the case of the HEV and plug-in hybrid, an eight-year/195 000 km battery warranty.

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