Midway through the Haval Jolion’s three-month test period with CAR Magazine, Digital Editor Alex Shahini took the keys to the Ultra Luxury guise model and embarked on a 1 600 km round trip between Johannesburg and the North Coast. 
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December in South Africa signals the start of annual shutdown for many. It is a time of year when most can head to greener pastures, visit family and friends while simultaneously recuperating and recharging. The serenity of this festive month would be emulated in a vehicle that was already familiar to me as my long-term test unit. With the keys in my arsenal ahead of the festive season, Haval’s Jolion Pro in Ultra Luxury guise proved to be a fine choice for what the following weeks would have in store.
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Aside from the odd outing between Johannesburg and Pretoria or the Magalieburg, the Jolion Pro performed almost exclusively in its urban confines but considering modern SUVs need to tick a plethora of boxes for their contemporary consumers, factors like long-distance comfort, fuel efficiency and off-road ability would now be put to the test. A 700 km journey one way to the North Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, along with thousands of other Johannesburg holidaymakers, allowed the Chinese SUV to put its best foot forward in the cruising department. Adaptive cruise control enabled, the long straight highways across the neverending fields of the Free State were easily dispatched, aided by the inclusion of lane keep assist.
Previous gripes with throttle and transmission calibration were another aspect that could be further investigated across the hundreds of kilometres worth of road. Manual mode engaged, it was an opportunity to explore full throttle throughout the rev range and despite momentary turbo lag during pull-aways, there is sufficient torque throughout to warrant keeping in the highest of the seven DCT cogs as opposed to the constant shuffling for dual carriageway overtakes and slight uphills at the slightest of accelerator pedal inputs. In my mind, this was the certainty that this imperfect calibration delivering all 105 kW and 210 N.m to the front wheels could be remedied and refined through a simple dealership update.
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The open road also enabled the half-laden Jolion Pro to yield its best live fuel consumption, registering just under 7.5 L/100 km at just under the national limit and between much slower average speed zones well within it. Despite this, an additional 200 km milling around the North Coast as well as the uphill return trip back to Johannesburg meant that the overall consumption after almost 4 000 km was now sitting at a prohibitively high 8.9 L/100 km. With many feathers in its cap, this real-world figure, slightly higher than the claimed 8.1 L/100 km, finds it scrapping against more frugal competitors that deliver real-world economy in the late 6s and across the 7s.
Despite this, an amalgam of dirt road dust and perpetual rainfall resulted in a thick layer of humid grime which the Jolion Pro wore as a medal of honour. Precarious road infrastructure and a few kilometres worth of rutted dirt roads (and some technical sections) yielded a pliant ride throughout with the chunky 18-inch rims soaking up every bit of adversity in its way but the near 12 000 km worth of mileage in addition to this has spawned a very slight noise in the front suspension.
Serving as the holiday mule, it was used by some other family members and because of this, a fairly frequent gripe was the omission of memory settings to the electronically adjustable seats. But for a product offering at around R430 000 it was resolved that its leather interior, panoramic sunroof, wireless charging bay and smartphone replication are more than enough to justify it as a true value-for-money offering in the bustling segment.
Ticking a long-distance drive off of the checklist, its final stint with the CAR Magazine team will be spent back in the confines of the city with a keen eye on the overall fuel consumption.
