CarBrandLogos archive · Haval · 2014

HavalH9

A ladder-frame seven-seater aimed squarely at the Toyota Prado's territory.

Photo: User3204 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Haval history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Haval H9, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Most Chinese SUVs of the 2010s were unibody crossovers built for tarmac. The H9 was not. Introduced in 2014, it uses body-on-frame construction with a four-wheel-drive layout, low-range gearing, locking differentials and a selectable terrain system, which put it in a class occupied almost exclusively by Japanese hardware.

Haval H9 China · Navigator84 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

The target was obvious: the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, at a substantially lower price. Great Wall sold it as a seven-seat family and expedition vehicle, with turbocharged petrol and diesel engines and, in later versions, a ZF eight-speed automatic. It found real customers in Australia, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa, where off-road ability is bought rather than imagined, and it gave Haval a credibility its crossovers could not. It remains in production.

Haval H9 02 China · Navigator84 · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance