The Great Wall Haval H3 (), also known as the Great Wall Hover, is a

compact sport utility vehicle A compact sport utility vehicle or compact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles that is larger than mini SUVs, but smaller than mid-size SUVs. However, there is no official definition of the size or dimensions for this market segment. ...

(SUV) produced by the Chinese manufacturer

Great Wall Motors Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. (GWM) is a Chinese privately owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei. Founded in 1984, it is currently the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 1.281 million sales in 2021. The co ...

from April 2005 to 2012. It was the first Chinese car to be exported in large quantities to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

in 2006, with 30,000 units shipped to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Its main advantage over established European, North American and Asian rivals is its low comparative cost. A six-speed automatic concept version called the Great Wall Hover H7 was made and can reach speeds of up to 225 km/h or 140 mph. In Australia, it was badged as the Great Wall X240 until 2011, when the X240 nameplate was used on the

Haval H5 The Haval H5, also known as the Great Wall Haval H5 and Hover H5, is a Compact SUV, compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by the Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motor from June 2010 to 2020. It uses a body-on-frame construction, with rear-w ...

Design and engineering

One of the reasons for the comparatively low retail price of the Great Wall Haval H3 is that it is based heavily on older models by other manufacturers. The entry-level engine is the 4G64 2.4 litre gasoline inline-four supplied by

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

, the exterior resembles the

Isuzu Axiom The Isuzu Axiom is a mid-size SUV introduced by Isuzu in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The Axiom is derived from the Isuzu Rodeo and was intended to be Isuzu's response to the popularity of car-based SUVs such as the Toyota Highlander, replacin ...

and the chassis is also Isuzu similar if not the same as the

Isuzu MU The Isuzu MU is a mid-size SUV which was produced by Japan-based manufacturer Isuzu from 1989 to 2004. The three-door MU was introduced in 1989, followed in 1990 by the five-door version called Isuzu MU Wizard. Production of these first gener ...

, contrary to media reports that it was a Toyota 4Runner Chassis. The Haval H3 has a

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

of and a wheel track of . The Haval H3 is a

sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

, with selectable

rear-wheel-drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

Gallery

File:2006 Great Wall Hover (pre-facelift).jpg, Great Wall Hover File:Great Wall Hover facelift 01 China 2012-04-15.jpg, Post-facelift Great Wall Haval H3 front File:Great Wall Hover facelift 02 China 2012-04-15.jpg, Post-facelift Great Wall Haval H3 rear File:Great Wall Hover with Sportkit.jpg, Great Wall Hover with Sportkit File:Great Wall Haval H3 2010.jpg, 2010 Haval H3

Engines and transmission

The gasoline-fuelled Great Wall Haval H3 uses the

4G69 Sirius series straight-4 automobile engine. The 4G64 engine was introduced in 1988 in the

Mitsubishi Galant The Mitsubishi Galant is an automobile which was produced by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi from 1969 until 2012. The model name was derived from the French word ''galant'', meaning "chivalrous". There have been nine distinct generations with ...

and has been used by several other car manufacturers. The

4G64 The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6/4D6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline-four automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn. The 4G6 gasoline engines were the favoured performance variant for Mitsubishi. ...

engine produces and was used in H3s from the 2005 to 2009 model year. The other Mitsubishi engine, the 2.4 litre 4G69, was used in models from 2007 to 2010. The diesel version uses a motor built by Great Wall themselves, the GW2.8TC. Both versions have a 5-gear

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

. Those models had the name Hover H3 and H5. For the Chinese market, Great Wall also offered a 2.5 litre and 2.8 litre TCI diesel engine with and respectively. These engines both use a modern

common rail Common rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system built around a high-pressure (over ) fuel rail feeding solenoid valves, as opposed to a low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors (or pump nozzles). High-pressure injection ...

system from Bosch. The 2.8 litre diesel engine was used in models from 2006 to 2009 while the 2.5 litre version was available from 2009 to 2012. Both diesel engines were turbocharged.

Environmental and safety test

One of the main problems facing exported Chinese cars was European safety and environmental regulations. The Great Wall Haval H3 complies with the Euro-III emissions standard. It was awarded three stars from C-NCAP crash testing. In the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) crash testing undertaken on 24 March 2010, the post-2009 model Haval 3 received a Four Star rating. The Great Wall Haval H3 has not yet been tested by Euro NCAP. With new engines which

Great Wall Motor Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. (GWM) is a Chinese privately owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei. Founded in 1984, it is currently the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 1.281 million sales in 2021. The co ...

installed in the Haval H3, all models now comply with Euro 4 regulations. In Italy, a version of the Hover called the EcoDual is sold equipped to run on alternatives fuels, being equipped with LPG or CNG capabilities. From 2009 year vehicle have Euro 4 engine which was also installed in Hover 5

Limousine version

Great Wall also produces a more luxurious, limousine version of the Hover, called the Great Wall Hover Pi (). Its name is also sometimes spelt Hover π. The first Hover Pi was given as a gift to

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

in 2006. The vehicle has so far been the best selling vehicle of its kind (most others originating outside China being stretched by third-party conversion outfits), being exported to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and other overseas markets. In 2008, the Hover Pi's length was extended from 6.7 meters to 6.9 meters. File:Great Wall Hover Π 01 China 2015-04-10.jpg, Great Wall Hover Π front. File:Great Wall Hover Π 03 China 2015-04-10.jpg, Great Wall Hover Π side.

References

External links

Official website
(archived) {{Great Wall Motors Compact sport utility vehicles C-NCAP small off-road

Haval H3 The Great Wall Haval H3 (), also known as the Great Wall Hover, is a compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by the Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors from April 2005 to 2012. It was the first Chinese car to be exported in large quantiti ...

Cars introduced in 2006 Cars of China 2010s cars