South African new-car buyers have really taken to the Haval Jolion. But just how safe is the Chinese firm’s popular crossover? Well, fresh crash-test results from Australia give us a fair idea…

The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) has released the results of its crash-test evaluation of the Haval Jolion, with the Chinese crossover being awarded a full 5 stars for safety (replicating the impressiveresults of the Haval H6 from earlier in 2022).

According to Australasia’s independent voice on vehicle safety, the version of the Jolion offered Down Under scored 90% for adult occupant protection, 84% for child occupant protection, 64% for vulnerable road user protection and 92% for its standard safety assistance equipment.

As is often the case, there are some specification differences between Australia and South Africa that are worth keeping in mind.For instance, the vehicle tested in Australia ships standard with a centre airbag (in addition to dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags) to mitigate occupant-to-occupant contact in side impacts. In South Africa, however, the base City derivative features only 4 airbags, with all other variants coming with 6 airbags (but none with this centre item).

Still, the Jolion offered “good” levels of protection to the driver in the full-width frontal test as well as the oblique pole test. However, the crossover had to settle for “adequate” and “marginal” protection for the driver’s chest and legs in the frontal offset test.

A “marginal” result was also recorded for the chest of the rear passenger in the full-width frontal test and pelvis of the driver in the side-impact test, with all other critical body regions in these tests rated as “good”.

Whiplash protection for front and rear occupants also scored well, as did the protection offered to child occupants in the side-impact test. Protection of the 6-year-old child dummy’s head was rated as “adequate” in the frontal offset test, as was the chest of the 10-year-old child dummy. Neck protection for both in this test was assessed as “marginal”.

ANCAP says the Jolion “particularly impressed” thanks to its active collision avoidance capability, scoring full marks for its lane support performance, while its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) functions were also rated as “very good”. Meanwhile, its ability to avoid a crash with pedestrians and cyclists was rated as “mixed”. Take note, however, that in South Africa, equivalent systems are included as standard only on the flagship Super Luxury trim level.

The Jolion has been a hit in South Africa, with as many as 6 248 units registered locally in the first 8 months of 2022 (translating to a monthly average of around 780 units). As a reminder, the Jolion range comprises 5 variants, currently priced from R342 950 to R446 950.

Watch the Haval Jolion’s ANCAP crash-test performance below…

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