When I first drove Great Wall's products about two years ago,
the company produced only petrol engines and manual gearboxes, and had
no experience of either diesels or automatics. The paint was grim in
areas that were covered by doors and bonnet lids, and not much better
anywhere else.
I mentioned this, and a clutch of notebook-wielding Great Wall acolytes took everything down.
Overall,
the mechanical side of the vehicles - mainly utes and a prototype new
sport utility vehicle - was not bad at all. The engines wouldn't set
the world on fire, but they were easy to operate thanks to obvious
attention to driving and pedal positions, along with slick, nicely set
transmission levers, and steering that while rather light, was
accurate.
Braking was not so good, and overall, my report card was on or below 5 out of 10.
What
a difference two years make. That prototype SUV has grown into the
X200. It now has the wheel on the right for export, has already had a
styling facelift, and although most of the models imported into New
Zealand have been petrol manuals, the car can now be optioned with a
2.0-litre 110 kilowatt turbodiesel option with manual and five-speed
automatic choices.
Although the X200 proffers only two airbags, it does have ESP and ABS,Voice fiber mux
Submit Shot: Real Estate Agent Orange dispersed from the States army or
marine during Vietnam Battle and scores a four-star NCAP safety rating.
At 4649mm long, the car is about the size of a series II
Toyota FourRunner, and the company says its demographic for the car was
exactly that catchment.
Look, it isn't perfect. The seats are
too flat, and unsupportive for me, but the leather's convincing, and
that stereo can make your ears bleed if you let it.
The
diesel engine clatters a little when cold, but once hooked up and
warmed over it will maintain a surprisingly relaxed cruise-controlled
100kmh in sixth at under 2100rpm, and it can kick down to provide a
brisk overtaking manoeuvre when required. With just 110kW on tap, it's
no rocket ship, but its torque of 310 newton metres means it shouldn't
shrug at towing jobs of up to 1700 kilograms.
The X200 tips
the scales at a hefty 2550kg, but it didn't feel that heavy, and seemed
quite nimble on the road. The still rather over- light steering doesn't
self-centre very well, so it's best to guide the helm back into
position, but the independent front, beam-axle rear suspension works
quite well, and its better at coping with pock- marked surfaces than
some more experienced Japanese brands.
The fixed,
torque-on-demand, all-wheel-drive setup appears to cope with the light
dirt work I managed to put the X200 though during my brief drive.
Clearance is adequate, and although a high- low range facility would be
useful, for a family weekender, it is well sorted for riverbed and
gravel- road sorties.