SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
Note: This vehicle is called Wingle 5 in some markets
Pics by Quickpic
The intro: Great Wall’s 2,0-litre diesel was developed in-house and reached us during November 2011, fitted to the then-newly introduced H5 SUV. It has since migrated to the Steed5 line of pickups and we got our itchy fingers on a 4x4, six-speed manual, double cab recently.
The engine: The 1996 cc, DOHC, 16-valve four-cylinder, Delphi high pressure common rail diesel uses a variable geometry Borg-Warner turbocharger, an intercooler, newly-designed glow plugs and seven-hole injectors. Even without a diesel particulate filter, it still manages to be EU4 emissions-compliant, thanks to a variety of design features. In plain English, use 500 ppm diesel if you must, but filling up with 50 ppm would be cleaner. It develops 110 kW of power at 4000 rpm and 310 Nm of torque between 1800 and 2800 rpm, which is about average for two-litre diesels, particularly commercials.
The body: It’s a conventional body on chassis design with independent, double wishbone suspension in front and a solid rear axle with variable rigidity asymmetrical leaf springs. Brakes are discs in front and drums at the back. Steering is rack and pinion, with power assistance. The vehicle is 5015 mm long, 1800 mm wide and it stands 1730 mm high. Wheelbase is 3050 mm, with front and rear tracks of 1530 and 1550 mm. Rated carrying capacity is 1050 kg and primary drive is from the back with 4x4 modes selectable as needed.
The kit: This includes single channel air-conditioning, leather seats, dual front airbags, ABS and EBD, electrically powered windows and mirrors, remote central locking with autolock, radio, CD and MP3 player with adaptor cable for USB supplied, steering mounted audio controls, front fog lamps, 16” alloy wheels with 70-profile Chinese tyres, individual bucket seats and a double insulated, square load bin with plenty of eyelets and hooks for lashing purposes.
The experience: We found the new diesel much smoother than the either the old one or the petrol engine, but definitely more “commercial” in its performance, than tar-burner. It turns over at about 2300 rpm at 120 in sixth, which is relaxed enough for cruising, but still keeps some torque in hand for emergencies. Our loose and rocky forest trail was wet and muddy that day, but with 4H selected on the Very-Isuzu row of buttons, it ambled through easily. Others, judging by their slithery tyre tracks, had not been as lucky.
Accepting that double-cabs are compromises rather than full-on SUVs, it is probably natural that accommodation in the back seat is a bit tight and that entry and exit from there is a little awkward because of narrow doorways. The Steed is average in this respect. A bit disappointing in the fit, finish and trim department was leather upholstery that didn’t appear to fit too well and the rather cheap and flimsy overhead fitting that controls interior lights. Otherwise, the quality was as we are learning to expect from GWM.
The numbers:
Price: R242 990
Engine and outputs: See text
Maximum speed: 150 km/h
Fuel consumption (SANS 20101): 8,3 l/100 km
Tank: 70 litres
Ground clearance: 198 mm
Approach and departure angles: 30/24 degrees
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km with 2 years’ roadside assistance
To see a report on the 2011 2.5 litre diesel double cab, click here
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8