Haval H6 VS Holden Equinox

The H6 is cavernous for a mid-sized SUV with large and wide seats up front and excellent leg and headroom in the second row. The H6 doesn’t come with a third row which is shame because there’s room for one.

A 600-litre cargo capacity is big for the class and cabin storage is good with two cupholders in the second row, another two up front, a large space under the floating centre console, although the door pockets could be better.

Second rowers will be pleased with directional air vents back there, plus two USB ports. There are another two USB ports either side of the floating centre console, too.

The leatherette upholstery in the Lux I tested was easy to keep clean and would suit families better than the cloth material used in the Premium.

You’re going to notice the high load lip on the boot and for people as tall as me (191cm/6'3") the opened tailgate and your head may meet occasionally. Still the H6 is super practical.  

You'll find five seats aboard the medium-sized Equinox SUV, and there’s no third-row option available in this particular shape. The US-designed and Mexican-built Equinox presents well enough when you jump aboard, with plenty of subtle and not so subtle curves, creases and folds adorning the front of the cabin. 

The ergonomics in current Holdens aren’t quite as resolved as they once were, given that its cars are now plucked from other markets rather than being designed from the wheels up for local use. The Equinox, for example, is sold in several other markets and this does lead to knock-on ergonomic differences as GM attempts to create a one-size-fits-most profile. 

For example, the indicator and wiper stalks are awkwardly positioned behind the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself is oddly parallelogrammed in its profile, and its very thick rim makes it more difficult for small hands to get comfortable with it. 

The seats themselves are very short in the base, too, and don't offer a lot in the way of lateral support. They’re also mounted high in the Equinox, pushing drivers and passengers towards the roof, while the sunroof that's fitted to the LTZ-V drops the headlining down to uncomfortably low levels, both front and rear, for taller occupants.

Luggage space is an excellent 846 litres, which beats the CX-5, Tiguan, Nissan’s X-Trail and Mitsubishi’s Outlander.

Both front and rear seaters are treated to heated and vented seats, while the second row can be dropped with the tug on the lever in the boot area. However, we found it necessary to pull out the weirdly large centre seat headrest in order to get an almost-flat cargo area of some 1798 litres (or one large mountain bike with wheels on) to work with. 

Second rowers get a pair of USB ports and a 12-volt charging point, and even though there’s a 230v household socket in the rear of centre console, we couldn't actually make it work with an Australian-spec plug. 

The door pockets are very small, and the front doors can only hold bottles in reality. It’s a similar story for the rear. There's a map pocket behind the passenger seat, but not behind the driver. There are two cupholders in a centre fold-down armrest, and there are also ISOFIX baby seat mounts on the outside seats.

A space-saver spare wheel resides under the boot floor, under what has to be noted as quite poorly executed plastic trimming. 

When it comes to rear seat occupants, three can sit across the second row quite comfortably, although as mentioned, rear headroom is a little compromised for taller passengers thanks to the sunroof.