Prices start at 1,539,000 rubles for a front-wheel drive with a turbo engine 15 Two-liter is 200,000 more expensive. Buyers prefer the all-wheel drive top version Premium for 1,929,000. The combination of power units with the hatchback versions is half that of the station wagon.
We tilt the C-pillar, lower the roof by three centimeters - and the Haval F7 turns into the F7x dude. Body style aside, the station wagon and the hatchback are technically identical. And after the top-end F7 was retrofitted with a digital instrument cluster and an advanced media system control unit, the line between the top trim levels of the two Hawaii was also erased. All other things being equal, the F7x is 50 thousand more expensive. Having driven on a coupe-like crossover to the Tula region, I still found several driving differences from the original five-door.
The Haval F7, criticized during the comparative test, has taken a good start. In the second half of last year, 1234 crossovers were sold. And from January to July 2020 - already 2093. Atlas, the leader among Chinese technology (2153 pieces), is just a stone's throw away. And if you add to the result of the F7 964 hatchback F7x, then Haval will be ahead. Moreover, the demand could have been higher, but it was only in June that "X" received a 1.5T engine, which made it possible to reduce the price by 100 thousand.
Should you overpay for a hatchback at all? Dressed in a tight leotard, the crossover looks differently better than a station wagon. There is in the profile of the Chinese Mr. X something from another "X", from the 2007 BMW X6. And it is no coincidence: Pierre Leclerc participated in the creation of both cars. The tilted C-pillar and raised tail are expected to spoil the view through the salon mirror, but otherwise the driver feels the same as in the F7. The front seats are amorphous, the steering column is too short, the button block at the base of the center console is overloaded with functions.
When landing on the back row, the roof beam tends to strike in the head, but, getting inside, you do not experience any special inconveniences from the low roof. The space between the crown and the ceiling is only slightly less than in the top-end F7 with panoramic roof and sunroof. In width and in front of the knees - the same limousine space.
But why does the five-seat "X" lack an average headrest, although there are seat belts for three? And also information about the volume of the trunk differs from source to source. Plausible 311 liters under the curtain (329 according to other sources) and 1254 liters with the sofa folded. The Russian-language grocery site claims that the cargo bays of the hatch and station wagon are the same: 723-1443 liters. Nonsense.
Controlling the thrust of a two-liter turbo engine is still tricky. A light touch of the accelerator at the start turns into a jerk. The crossover reacts with a delay to an insignificant fuel supply. Remembering 190 "horses", it rushes forward inappropriately to the barely opened throttle. A poorly tuned seven-speed "robot" allows strikes when switching. The recoil declared by the manufacturer is felt only during greyhound starts from traffic lights. Haval is ready to race, but in the usual urban rhythm, the possibilities are not impressive.
