Haval Raptors PHEV store review: Is "light off-road" just a shell or worth the m

tech | 2024-05-02

The internet is never short of heated debates about the Great Wall, but independent reviews on Great Wall vehicles are few and far between, even less than those for Chery, perhaps due to the scarcity of independent sources. Fortunately, Great Wall's distribution channels are much more reliable than Chery's, making it not too difficult to find the right dealership and test drive vehicles.

However, compared to the bustling BYD Dynasty Network and Ocean Network, Haval's dealerships may appear a bit desolate, with fewer salespeople and even fewer customers looking at cars, to the point where I was able to wander around for almost ten minutes before a salesperson noticed me...

But no problem, today's main attraction is the Haval Raptor.

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To be honest, it takes some courage and determination to design a mainstream family-oriented SUV to look this way. So, I personally admire the product managers at Great Wall, whether it's the Tank 300, Big Dog, or Raptor, they all dare to be the first to try, directly applying this rugged off-road style to their mainstream-priced models. Isn't this "anti-rat race" approach much better than just talking the talk at a press conference?

The boxy design style makes its body lines very straight, unlike the usual urban SUVs or sedans that have a lot of complex streamlined surfaces transitioning, with body panels that seem to be perfectly horizontal and vertical. So after looking for a long time, I couldn't find any obvious flaws in the bodywork. At least that's a good thing. Of course, with such a rugged appearance, the drag coefficient is not going to be low.Additionally, the door handle still adopts the most traditional exposed horizontal pull style, not blindly following the trend of hidden styles, which deserves a big thumbs up. By the way, the one in the picture is the latest 24th model, with the wheel rims increased to 19 inches and the style more aligned with an urbanized aesthetic. However, looking at this design, I still think the 23rd model's 18-inch rims with a large aspect ratio tires match better.

Thanks to the distinctive interior design, I believe not many people would particularly mind the large area of hard plastic used on the center console in this case. Moreover, the workmanship of the console is quite solid; after pressing in multiple places, aside from the decorative piece around the air conditioning vents, there are no areas that show significant deformation.

The design of the gear lever is arguably the most memorable one I've seen in recent new cars. Its large size allows for a very comfortable hand rest. The resistance when pulling is on the higher side, but it has a good resilience.

The surface embossing not only enriches the interior details but also effectively compensates for the issue of material quality. The deliberately exposed chrome rivets add a lot of character. The large armrest at the bottom has been sealed off, which not only gives a rugged visual effect but also provides a row of spacious storage compartments, making it very practical.

As a new car born in the last one or two years, it retains a large number of physical buttons, and the size of the buttons is quite large. Although the workmanship level is not very high, especially the air conditioning function keys arranged below the central control screen, some keys still feel slightly loose when pressed. But at least the design of the functions is "normal," without engaging in various fancy formal innovations, and the learning cost is very low. This is quite commendable for today's new cars.The design of the vehicle's infotainment system is more refreshing than the style of BYD's Dlink 4.0, and the approach of placing the Dock bar on the left side of the screen is quite similar to that of XPeng and Zero Run. In theory, this can indeed effectively reduce the displacement of the hand, making operations more convenient. However, this practice also brings about a problem: the steering wheel may block the Dock bar at certain angles, causing an unconscious moment of not seeing the function entry while driving.

Considering the abundance of physical buttons, the content in the Dock bar is relatively less compared to other models, mainly retaining the entries for air conditioning, home page, settings page, multimedia, and maps.

The smoothness of the vehicle's infotainment system is also quite good. The refresh rate is not particularly high, but the responsiveness is acceptable, at least much better than the non-Meizu infotainment systems in Geely's lineup.

In addition to the usual storage compartments, the door panel has been deliberately hollowed out to create an independent cup holder. The fixed strap also has a certain elasticity, which can be considered a thoughtful design touch.

In terms of ergonomics, the seating position in the front row can be described as a very standard SUV style, with a high bonnet and even higher hip points on the seats, allowing for a complete view of almost the entire engine hood even at the lowest H-point. The seat cushioning is thick and the softness is excellent, especially the height of the lumbar support is very appropriate, avoiding the so-called "snake waist design" issue.The performance of the rear seats is also quite excellent, with the softness and filling level of the cushions and backrests being very much on point. Moreover, the seat cushion length is ample, there is sufficient space under the front seats, and the headroom is more than adequate.

However, although the Raptor's length has reached 4800mm, which is already at the level of a mid-size SUV, the sense of lateral space inside the cabin is not much larger than that of a relatively spacious compact SUV. The same issue also appears on the Big Dog.

If you have sat in the Haval showroom in the same class but different positioning Xiaolong series, you will feel this very clearly. Obviously, the models of Haval that follow the OFFROAD style route have a thicker interior cage than those that follow the urbanization route, resulting in the interior space being encroached upon.

Due to the Hi-4 system's battery pack being arranged above the rear axle, although it reduces the risk of the battery pack scraping the bottom, the trunk space is directly taken up by a large portion, and the floor height of the trunk is also raised. Therefore, the Raptor's trunk floor is noticeably higher, and the tailgate does not have an electric suction function. Fortunately, thanks to the square body shape, the trunk volume is as high as 586L, the flatness inside is also good, and the rear seats can be folded down to achieve almost completely flat.

Next, let's talk about the dynamics. After driving for a few minutes, you will find that the driving feel of the Raptor is very much in line with the standard tuning style of a city SUV. The power output feels similar to a large-displacement 2.5L naturally aspirated engine, without overly aggressive power delivery, and the responsiveness is not as "nimble" as traditionally understood in pure electric vehicles. Fortunately, the linearity is very good, the entire power system operates very quietly, the pushback feeling is not strong, but the output is by no means weak. Since the battery pack's SOC was relatively high during the test drive, even with the throttle fully open, the sound of the engine's intervention will not be very noticeable.In terms of the chassis, it can even be considered top-notch. The electronic steering feels a bit heavy, but it is nimble and the damping sensation is sufficiently uniform with the angle. The damping style is somewhat stiff, but it has good resilience and a substantial feel, with a sense of tightness when going over rough surfaces, and even the support during cornering is not bad.

The high body of the vehicle may make you feel that the vehicle's inertia is a bit large, and there is some concern about the grip of the tires. Such performance is already much higher than the level of the Weipai VV series a few years ago.

Finally, let's briefly talk about sound insulation. The suppression of tire noise is very good, and the Chaoyang RP76+ is mainly focused on quiet comfort. The isolation from environmental noise is also excellent, even the sound of large trucks passing by on the road can be suppressed. However, there is a noticeable wind noise when cruising on the national highway, after all, the large and square body is here, and it is difficult to overcome the physical conditions.

Driving Summary

In my view, Haval's models give a solid and conservative feeling. The highlights of the products are often in the planning documents or in the design. Although they are not lacking in paper-based bragging rights, they inevitably give people a feeling of being "good at making shells". Coupled with the image in the public opinion field that is not very pleasing, Haval's product reputation may mostly stay within the owner group.Speaking of the vehicle itself, among similar models in its class, the Raptor is still quite competitive. The Jetour Shanhai T2 series comes with front-wheel drive, and the Deep Blue G318, while having a larger body size, may have slightly inferior chassis control. Overall, the Raptor tends to be more balanced.

However, the current on-road price for the 145Pro version is around 185,000 yuan, which is indeed not cheap. It can only be said that the off-road vehicle category does have some premium built into it, as evidenced by the impressive profit growth in Great Wall's recent market performance and financial reports.

Lastly, I would like to recommend this factory-installed luggage rack with a foldable ladder. Made of aluminum alloy, the material is very sturdy, and it looks very harmonious visually. However, it is not very smooth to open, and it takes some effort to pull down the ladder. But the optional price is as high as 5,000 yuan, proving that off-roading is indeed a hobby that burns money.