Newly arrived Chinese SUV maker Haval will have to overcome preconceived prejudices if it's to succeed in Australia - and it might have the hardest job convincing buyers to buy its H9 off-roader.
That's not a knock for the H9; it's just that reliability plays a major part when buying a car you plan to take out to Woop Woop and the H9 - and Haval - hasn't had time to earn that trust in this country.
With only a short period with the H9 at my disposal, I was unable to take it out bush and see if it could be trusted in testing conditions. 
So we're omitting a major part of what the H9 is intended to do, but there was enough time to make a few observations about the big SUV.
Unlike other fledgling brands, Haval hasn't gone for obvious low-cost appeal with its range. At $50,990, the H9 might be a bit cheaper than other mainstream brands' offerings - particularly petrol models - but not by much.
It's important to remember most ranges start in the low- $50,000s, whereas the LUX is the flagship H9 variant. That means a lot more gear for your buck, including heated, ventilated and massaging leather seats up front, heated seats in the middle row and electrically folding third-row seats.
As in most seven-seater SUVs, the third row is pretty cramped, but everyone else will be very comfortable: there's lots of leg and headroom and the middle row gets its own air-conditioning controls.
The interior finishes and switchgear are quite simple and are aimed to be hard wearing, but don't come across as too utilitarian. Infotainment and digital instrument displays look slick enough and are pretty simple to use.
The cargo space isn't great even with the third-row seats folded, thanks to the raised cargo-area floor, but there are roof racks to help out.
Around town, the H9 feels like many off-road-biased SUVs: the gears are fairly short low down, engine noise is quite noticeable and the turning circle and rather heavy steering don't do wonders for parking the big beast. It's not really much different to driving, say, a Mitsubishi Pajero.
But its sluggishness off the mark mostly undermines the point of having a petrol engine rather than a diesel, and even though it's a small 2.0-litre unit it clearly struggles to haul the H9's heft: a fuel economy of 12.1L100km isn't great, and you'll be nudging 20L100km in heavy traffic.
But the biggest issue was the transmission. It could sometimes get lost, was a bit clunky and on one occasion got stuck in sixth gear. 
One gets the feeling the brand might have been better served focusing on establishing its luxury credibility before it tried to sell itself as an off-road warrior- especially in a place as unforgiving as Australia. 
VERDICT  
The H9 has a lot of quality bells and whistles for its price tag - time will tell whether it's enough for off-road buyers to take a chance.
 TOYOTA PRADO  
Model  GXL
Price  $54,990
Engine  4.0-litre V6 petrol
Outputs  207kW381Nm
Transmission  Six-speed automatic
Thirst  11.6L100km
MITSUBISHI PAJERO  
Model  GLX
Price  $53,990
Engine  3.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Outputs  147kW441Nm
Transmission  Five-speed automatic
Thirst  9.0L100km
FORD EVEREST  
Model  Ambient
Price  $60,990
Engine  3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel
Outputs  143kW470Nm
Transmission  Six-speed automatic
Thirst  8.5L100km
HAVAL H9 
Model  LUX
Price  $50,990
Engine  2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Outputs  160kW324Nm
Transmission  Six-speed automatic
Thirst  12.1L100km