By Otsile Kadiege

We recently attended the launch of Haval’s new Jolion derivative called the Jolion Pro. The newcomer introduces sporty exterior design and styling, minor interior tweaks, and a competitive asking price of just under R400,000 for the entry-level Jolion Pro grade.

Jolion Pro exterior

Outside, the newcomer elevates the Jolion’s appeal thanks to a completely redesigned front- and rear-end with sporty accentuations. Highlights of the Jolion Pro S Ultra Luxury include a new radiator grille with chrome vertical slats and gloss black surrounds. It’s flanked by slim and angular full-LED headlights and LED daytime running light on the sporty front bumper.

The Pro S is shod with gloss black 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped with tyres measuring 225/35. Unlike the regular Jolion range, the Pro sports contrasting gloss black mirror caps, door handles, side skirts and roof rails. At the rear, the Jolion Pro features an LED light-bar which connects with the LED taillights, a roof-mounted spoiler and sporty rear bumper trimmings.

While it looks sportier, the new Pro is in reality both wider and taller than the regular Jolion City it now joins on the South African range. At 4,470 metres long, 1,898 metres wide, 1,625 metres tall, and riding on a conveniently long wheelbase. It’s available in four colours – Hamilton White, Sun Black, Light Ayers Grey and the Jolion PRO exclusive HD Blue colours.

Jolion Pro interior

Inside, the Jolion Pro range’s cabin is a carbon copy of the non-Pro Jolion, with the exception of new physical climate control buttons. The cabin has a minimalist design and upmarket styling as well as generous use of soft-touch materials. Highlights include a 12.3-inch touchscreen with impressive graphics and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a digital instrument cluster, wireless smartphone charging, ample USB A ports, a large panoramic sunroof, commendable second row knee, leg and head room, as well as a sizable luggage capacity.

Jolion Pro safety and driver assistance systems

As standard, the Jolion Pro is equipped with dual front, and front side SRS airbags, while Luxury models add side curtain airbags. Front seat belts have an unfastening warning and rear seats have ISOFIX child seat tethers. Secondary Collision Mitigation, ABS brakes have brake assist, electronic distribution and Hill Descent Control. Roll Over Mitigation Vehicle Stability and Traction Control adds Hill Assist.

The Jolion Pro also comes standard with cruise control featuring driver fatigue detection, but that’s just the tip of its safety iceberg. Luxury models add Intelligent Cruise Assist+ with Intelligent Cornering and Traffic Jam Assistance and Speed Traffic Signal Recognition+ Forward Collision Warning with Automatic Emergency Braking. Ultra Luxury models add Lane Change Assist too. Lane systems include Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist, and a Lane Centering Keeping device with a Smart Dodge function. Add Blind Spot Detection with Lane Change Assistance and an Intersection Assistant, with Rear Collision Warning in flagship Jolion PRO Ultra Luxury models.

Intelligent Dodge maintains a safe overtaking distance before returning to the selected lane, while Automatic Emergency Braking activates the brakes early if confronted by an unexpected obstacle on the road ahead. Rear Collision Warning warns if another vehicle approaches from behind at a dangerous speed to avoid rear-end collisions.

Jolion Pro powertrain

It’s still powered a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine that produces 105kW and 210Nm with that power being sent to the front wheels via a 7-speed DCT. Jolion Pro Ultra Luxury and Jolion Pro S Ultra Luxury derivatives are powered by the same 1.5-litre turbo-petrol motor but with uprated outputs of 130kW and 270Nm. The range topping Ultra Luxury HEV grade gets a hybrid powertrain that’s good for combined outputs of 140kW and 370Nm thanks to electrical assistance.

Driving impressions

We spent the day on the highways and byways of Lanseria and Johannesburg sampling the Jolion Pro S Ultra Luxury. The powerplant is quite peppy and works perfectly with the 7-speed DCT gearbox. However, there’s noticeable turbo lag when you put your foot down and the driver assistance systems are intrusive when switched on.

Throughout the day, we noticed that the indicator sound is quite loud and the vehicle’s emergency lights will flicker when braking hard or when driving over uneven/harsh roads. Customers will get frustrated by this if it’s not addressed.

Pricing and warranty

Jolion Pro 1.5T Premium 7DCT – R391,150

Jolion Pro 1.5T Super Luxury 7DCT – R425,950           

Jolion Pro 1.5T Ultra Luxury 7DCT – R462,950           

Jolion Pro 1.5T S Ultra Luxury 7DCT – R495,950           

Jolion Pro 1.5 HEV Ultra Luxury DHT – R516,950

With the Jolion Pro, warranty is 7 years/200 000km whichever comes first, service plan is 5 years/75 000km whichever comes first, roadside assist 7-year unlimited mileage, high voltage parts warranty on hybrid models is 8 years/150 000km whichever comes first.

Conclusion

Value-for-money is a phrase we’d use to describe the new Jolion Pro range. After spending the some time with the newcomer, we are quite impressed with it. That said, there are a few creases which needed to be ironed out. We look forward to spending more time with it for a full, comprehensive review.