Great Wall Steed 2016 Review

Recently re-released after a two-year hiatus, the Chinese-built Great Wall utes are back...

With factory distribution, Great Wall is looking to grab a stake in the lucrative commercial and recreational ute market – and they just might, given the level of specification and keen drive-away pricing of the current stable of Steeds...

Make no mistake, this is a value equation, and the distributors of the Great Wall Steed are playing it that way.

The Great Wall Steed comes in just one specification level – high. There is a three-model lineup of dual-cab utes consisting of two-wheel drive petrol, two-wheel drive diesel and a four-wheel drive diesel. If you can’t or won’t drive a manual you’re out of luck, because there are no automatics in the range at this stage.

Our test vehicle was a two-wheel drive petrol which retails for $24,990 drive-away, which is extraordinary value in today’s market – but more of that later.

As mentioned, the Steed is a dual cab. And it’s a pretty big vehicle. Prior to the Steed, I had a Ford Ranger 4x4 which took up about the same space in my garage as the Steed – maybe even a little bit less! So the Steed is a full-size dual-cab ute (in our market anyway).

It’s not bad looking either. Some of the early offerings out of China were a bit dumpy-looking and out of proportion, but not so the Steed. It sits fairly handsomely on the road and save for its big door handles seems to be in nice proportion. The 16-inch alloy wheels, with 235/70R16 tyres of an indeterminable brand, sit nicely in the wheel arches and give the ute a bit of style.

Also adding to the style of the Steed is the stainless-steel bar in the tray which gives it a nice ‘sporty’ touch. And while we’re in the tray, the standard full tub liner bears mention as do the four tie-down points and the exterior tie-downs and rails. Side steps are also standard on all models.

Moving inside, and the Steed wants for little. The seats are trimmed in faux leather, the front seats are heated and the driver’s saddle is six-way electrically adjustable. The leather-clad steering wheel is adjustable for tilt only but it’s easy to get a comfortable and commanding driving position.
Vision is excellent through the broad windscreen and rear vision is as good as it can be in a dual-cab ute.

Our test vehicle was fitted with the optional Garmin GPS navigation system interfaced with Bluetooth audio and phone streaming. This seemed like good value at a thousand bucks, and although it was more tricky to use than the systems we’re used to, and it's damn hard to tune; as an owner you’d no doubt get used to its idiosyncrasies.

Other standard features included auto lights and wipers, cruise control with wheel-mounted controls, tyre pressure monitoring, hill-start assist, front fog lights and daytime running lights.

In terms of safety, there are six airbags including full-length side curtain bags, Bosch V9 ESP including ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist.

ON THE ROAD

Powering our Steed is a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.4-litre four-cylinder injected petrol engine putting out a claimed 100kW of power and 205Nm of torque. Payload is quoted at 1010kg and recommended maximum towing weight is 2000kg.

On the highway and commuting, the Steed did a pretty good job. The steering is a bit vague, doesn’t have much feel to it and there’s probably a half-turn too much in the lock-to-lock department, but hey, it’s an inexpensive commercial vehicle, not a sportscar, and we’re not going to get too hot under the collar about that.

It was nice to get back into a manual ute for a change – everything these days seems to be auto – and the Steed’s gearbox was pretty good. It’s a longish throw but quite positive and you never seem to get ‘lost’ in it unlike another inexpensive manual I drove a while back. The clutch is a light and the pedals are well aligned and nicely spaced.

While the acceleration wasn’t scintillating, it was more than enough to keep up with the traffic and for overtaking. The cruise control worked well on the freeway too. Great Wall is claiming a combined figure of around 12.0L/100km but I found I could get it down to 10.5L/100kms in during my 100km commute to and from the office. Admittedly that was on the freeway with a load, and driving pretty sedately.

Like any unladen one-tonner, the ride is best described a firm and a bit jiggly. The suspension system is traditional old-school ute with an independent double-wishbone setup on the front and leaf springs and a live axle at the rear. We stuck a bit of a load in the back to test it out and it certainly settled the vehicle down and smoothed out the jiggles.

The engine and gearbox handled the load admirably both up hill and down. The brakes stood up to the test and the fuel consumption only went up marginally. In all, not a bad test and it had me thinking that we should have put a bit more in.

VERDICT

So in the end, what have we got? A well-specced dual-cab ute for 25 grand. Sure, it may not have the glamourous name and fancy advertising spiel of the slick Japanese or European offerings, but it’s an honest and work-a-day package that any tradie should take a look at.

It’ll haul a load or tow a trailer like any other – and warm your bum on heated seats on those cold winter mornings into the bargain.

Whether it’ll last as long as some ‘unbreakable’ models remains to be seen, but the manufacturer is backing it with a three-year 100,000km warranty with roadside assist, so they seem pretty confident.

At the end of the day if you try to spec up a ute in the market leader’s line-up to the level of the Steed you’ll be probably paying about 10 grand more – so really, this is a value equation.

2016 Great Wall Steed pricing and specifications:

Price: $24,990 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol

Output: 100kW/205Nm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel: 9.0L/100km (ADR Combined)

CO2: 197g/km (ADR Combined)

Safety rating: N/A

Also consider:

>> Foton Tunland (from $30,990 plus ORCs)

>> Ssangyong Actyon (from $30,990 plus ORCs)

>> Mahindra Genio (from $25,490 plus ORCs)

What we liked:

>> Value for money

>> Roomy interior

>> Improved looks and size

Not so much:

>> Unknown longevity

>> Could do with more grunt

>> Unladen ride

Great Wall Steed 2016 Review

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