Green Oranges, the local distributor for Great Wall Motor vehicles, has introduced the Haval H5 in Sabah, the five-seater mid-sized diesel SUV finally making its way to East Malaysia after the brand's debut here in July last year.

To recap, the Haval H5 2.0 VGT offers 148 hp and 310 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 2,800 rpm from its commonrail mill, and this is mated to a five-speed automatic with Shiftronic. The vehicle offers part-time 4WD - changing modes from rear-driven 2WD to AWD can be done on the fly at speeds of up to 70 km/h.

Standard equipment includes leather seats, a reverse camera, cruise control, auto air con and a full-colour touchscreen factory head- unit with DVD/USB/Bluetooth compatibility. As for safety kit, there are dual airbags, ABS, EBD, traction control and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), with the readout displayed on the rear view mirror.

The locally-assembled Haval H5 is priced at RM 123,988 (US$ 40,500) in Sabah. The brand's exclusive dealer in Sabah is Fook Loi Corporation (Sabah) - its showroom is located at Sedco Industrial Estate, Kolombong, opposite the Borneo Sport Arena.