Great Wall Motors release two models in Australia
June 24, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Great Wall Motors will be the first Chinese manufacturer to release a vehicle in Australia when its two twin-cab utes go on sale tomorrow.
The V240 (pictured above), which is available in 4×2 and 4×4 configurations, will be priced at $23,990 and $26,990 respectively while the SA220, available in 4×2 only, will go on sale from just $19,990 on road.
The base model SA220 (pictured below) will feature a (78kW/190Nm) 2.2-litre four cylinder petrol engine that GWM claims will achieve a combined fuel economy return of 10.8 litres per 100km and offers a 855kg payload.
The upper spec V240 models on the other hand will come with a (100kW/200Nm) 2.4-litre four cylinder petrol engine that manages 10.7 litres per 100km in both 4×2 and 4×4 spec and can carry a full one-tonne.
All three models feature alloy wheels, AM/FM single CD tuner, electric windows, leather trimmed seats, disc/drum brakes and air-conditioning and will be backed by a comprehensive three year / 100,000 kilometre warranty.
Great Wall Motors have been around since 1976 and are one of the most popular manufacturers of commercial vehicles in China with an annual capacity of 800,000 units expected by 2010.
GWM vehicles are available nationally through 45 ATECO importer dealerships.
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if your complaining its underpowered why would u buy one,same as i wouldnt buy a mini to tow a boat but if yr just throwing tools etc in the back running around why run a V8 yes i bought one so far nothing fallen off,i do about 1000ks aweek getting around 8 lts per 100km guess time will tell
tony how does it drive and stuff because i really wanna talk to people who own a great wall vehicle because i need feedbacks, i just wanna know about how you think it looks and how well it drives also the power and how comfortable it is, and i’d like a rate outta 10 of the overall rating. would really love to hear a reply from you.
hi gary at the moment i have no complaints,it runs it stops everything works(slight fogging in one headlight getting fixed under warranty)as far as comfort its a ute doesnt seem to b any worse than any other utes i have been in, on the open road no problems, long inclines stretch it a bit, need to down shift,still early days just 5500ks under the belt.hope u found this of some help.
great wall is doing pretty good.
im not just buying 1 car
im buying a franchise =]
if you live in sydney it will be open next year at lansvale.
I have one, tow my Large boat, tandem trailer with over a tonne of sand at work and a full payload of tiles. If you want a race car, look elsewhere, if you want a 5 star rating, dont buy any 4wd, but if you want a comfortable, tough looking 4wd that cost you nearly half of it competitors, then buy a v240. I love it, and I cant wait for the diesel option to come out next year and I will get the business another one. Toyota was a fad that will never last , a comment that was echoed in the late 70’s, now look at the company… time will tell and I believe that my family will be better off with the savings where they can do the most good, in my hand.
Shaun – are you not concerned about safety? What good is a few grand in your hand when your family have to bury you in an early grave?
Will they bury the spare few grand with you?
What is the safety issue? It has twin airbags, it has abs, I had a 2005 falcon long reach Ute that was a 2 star rating, no one bitched about that car with my kids in it. Oh that’s right because this vehicle is from china. Remember its a RA Rodeo with a Mitsubishi engine. Its nearly done 7000km now and I’m still happy.
The safety ratings are a joke anyway. How many times are you in a accident that is front quarter at 45km/h, not many. If you are in a accident in a tank or a great wall or a commodore at 110km/h, ya still dead, they arnt going to hang a Toyota or Holden badge on your gravestone.
i took the 240 2×4 out for a test drive this morning.i’ve got to say i was mildly impressed.i went in there with the mindset of “you pays your money and you takes your chances” but it turns out they appear to be good value for money.
yes they are under powered and the gearing is a bit tall (unsure if this is diff or gear ratio related but the seats were comfortable and the seating position was good.plenty of rear legroom and headroom.the doors seemed solid as did the tailgate.
you can definatly see where the designs came from.i dont really like the frontal look,but like the old saying goes you dont stare at the mantle piece when you’re stoking the fire.
these will do well i think as long as people keep an open mind.i suppose only time will tell if they are going to cut it.like all things new,give it a chance.besides if its pedigree is based on the rodeo,how many of those are still on the road and how many 4 cylinder mitsubishis are still out there.
am i going to buy one…well that depends on the better half.she can’t drive a manual and the auto diesel doesn’t come out till next year.we’ll see.
I bought a V240 at the end of June 09. Initially I was quiet impressed and well aware that you get what you pay for, and excepted the small engine.
However I took the car off road for the first time and it broke down. Now GW is telling me that it was environmental conditions and they only will cover part failure. Sand had entered the bell housing through a flimsy rubber linkage cover and caused the crakangle sensor to fail.
This tells me that the car is not a robust 4×4, its a cheap ute that is not suitable for off road use. The 3yr 100km warranty is open to their interpretation.
The other thing that I find disturbing is that it only has one childseat attachment at the back – in the centre – which doesn’t have a suitable sash seatbelt. The NAPCAN ? test results says – “This car is unsuitable for carrying young children”. This is the reason I bought a duel cab ute.
I agree with others who say that the build quality is at least as good as any of the Thai or Japanese built utes but I am extremely ticked off at their attitude to warranty repairs.
I think we are turning into a bunch of knockers not ockers.
Give the little bugger a chance you bludgers!
Perhaps if you pried your fat behinds from your overstuffed armchair and actually went to the dealership and drove it you may be half qualified to comment on it.
Strong, simple, reliable, cheap.
Sounds like the catch-cry of a little car manufactured many years ago that was not given a lot of credence either. Has anyone heard of the Volkswagen Beetle?
Watch, listen and learn.
what do you say
I am looking at trading my Getz in for the V240 (4 door) will not be driving in the sand or go 4×4 with it. My husband already has a jeep that does that. Its actually just to travel to work and back, to a bbq at mates. I like the size of it and for the price I think its a give away. After reading your good and bad comments Im in 2 minds. Help!!!! the dealership will he be telling the truth ?
Mands, to be honest with you, many dealers in any dealership will not tell you the whole truth about their brands and cars. So, you must do you own research. And here is what I think about Great Wall Motors(GWM) and hopfully its gonna be helpful for you. Fisrtly, I dont know whether you have been travel to China or not, but I have been travel to China quite a few times and believe me I saw a lot of GWM cars running around and I been reading into Chinese cars for some time. 10 to 15 years when Chinese just start to produce cars, its not good at all, I would not even sit in a Chinese car let alone buying one. But 15 years later, they have improve alot since then. I would not said its the best car out there but its not any worse than other cars either especially for the price you pay for it. Plus what are you afraid of!!! The ute has been tested by the Chinese pulic many times over. Do you think the Chinese will buy it if it does not work??? I think not!!! This is what I know. Not only cars, Chinese friges, aircons, electronics, plasma TVS and computers so on are becoming popular day by day. This is because people (including Chinese themselve) realised you can buy expansive brand like sony but its quality is not much better than Haier(A Chinese brand famous for making electronic goods)and others and the price for sony is way above its value. And all the Japanese and other big brands in China have to reduced their prices for their products such as cars and electronic goods that I mentioned above in order to make a sale. Because, they realised that if they they dont then people are not gonna buy them. They cant rip off people anymore because there are a lot more brands to choose from, both Chinese and foreign. Its time for the big brands in Australia to realise that their products are over price for their value. And they need to reduce the price.Secondly, if you concern about the safety issues, then I got to ask you, what are the causes of most car accidents??? In my opinion, most of car accidents are cause by drink driving, rackless driving such as speeding, chasing other cars and using mobiles while driving and may be weather. Well, weather you cant control but for other cases, you can control. So, if you are not doing any of the dangerous driving techniques then you wont have a problem. And if you are really worry about it. Then I can tell you the safty test are base on the case of a car speeding at 100+km/h and drive straight into a iron wall. What is the chance of that happening to you??? Anyone sitting in any car driving at that speed straight into a iron wall will be gone with the wind. I am pretty sure of it… I think alot of people are bias against certain products. You just have to keep an open mind about these things. Finally, you are the one that is going to make the final decision. I just hope my comment is useful for you.
If you have other questions just ask, will see whether I can help you with them.
Cheers
I would said the value of GWM cars are diffinatly above their prices
Its new. Its from a devoloping country. So assume its a piece of shit, until proven otherwise.
I agree with bob. It needs some time to be tested sure, but i’m prepared to let someone else do it. I’ll tell you something whether you own one or not. A 2.4l 4cyl engine in the V240 4×4 that weighs 2.78 tonne is absolute CRAP! you will be going backwards down hill everywhere and the Torque at 200nm is nowhere near enough to take 1tonne in the back and a 2.3tonne trailer or either/or especially up any hills.
The comment in here about taking the 4X4 off road sounds like a recipe for disaster and not like any Mitsubishi (reliability)(there MIVEC engines are quite good!)
I own a new 200 series wagon (diesel) cost me about 90K and it is one of the most dissappointing 4WD’s i have ever owned. In my opinion it handles poorly, looks like a half sucked egg and is certainly not worth the money paid for it. Until recently i also owned a new V8 Landcruiser Ute and whilst both 4WD’s have heaps of power and a reasonable finish the reality is that they are just tooooooooo!!!! bloody expensive. I know the argument is that you get what you pay for, but in my mind Toyotas are just getting into the rediculous price range and unfortunately are turning into road cars. In both cases I owned the predecessor model and SHOULD HAVE KEPT THEM. So I’m all for giving these things a go….surely with some constructive feedback and a bit of pressure on the warranty department, they, that is GW will make some changes and get it right. It bewilders me that I could buy eight of these for the price i paid for 2 toyotas.