Great Wall Motors X240 4WD
October 28, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
Since June Great Wall Motors has been doing better than most had expected. Last month the Chinese owned company sold 76 V240s and 56 SA220 twin cab utilities. Today sees the introduction of the first 4WD model from the brand.
The X240 4WD sports utility vehicle will go on sale from a low price of $23,990 drive away. Although many might suspect a cheap Chinese car to be lacking in features, the X240 4WD comes with; electric driver’s seat; leather trimmed seats, power steering, air conditioning, central locking, eight speaker CD/MP3 sound system, alloy wheels and four wheel disc brakes.
Powering the X240 is a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 100 kW (5,250 rpm) and 200 Nm of torque (2,500-3,000 rpm) mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. It will drink around 10.4L/100km on the combined fuel cycle.
Although the X240 4WD comes with dual air bags, anti-lock brakes and electronic brake force distribution, going by the recent Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) crash test results, it’s two brothers only scored two out of a maximum five points.
Like all other Great Wall Motor vehicles, a three year/100,000km warranty is standard. Colours available are white, black, silver and red. A sun roof is a $1000 option.
X 240 Technical Specifications
| Drive |
4×4 |
||||
| Vehicle curb weight (kg) |
1830 |
||||
| GVM (kg) |
2305 |
||||
|
Axle load |
Unload |
Front (kg) |
970 |
||
| Rear (kg) |
860 |
||||
|
Fully load |
Front (kg) |
1070 |
|||
| Rear (kg) |
1235 |
||||
| Dimensions | Length (mm) |
4620 |
|||
| Width (mm) |
1800 |
||||
| Height (mm) |
1800 |
||||
| Wheel base (mm) |
2700 |
||||
| Track | Front (mm) |
1515 |
|||
| Rear (mm) |
1520 |
||||
| Min. ground clearance (full load) (mm) |
≥175 |
||||
| Min. tuning diameter (m) |
≤12 |
||||
| Front suspension (mm) |
850 |
||||
| Rear suspension (mm) |
1070 |
||||
| Approach angle (°) |
≥28 |
||||
| Departure angle (°) |
≥27.5 |
||||
| Power performance: | |||||
| Acceleration time 0 – 100km/h (S) | ≤20 | ||||
| Max speed(full load) (km/h) |
160 |
||||
| Fuel consumption | |||||
| Fuel consumption – Urban (L/100km) | 13.6 | ||||
| Fuel consumption – Extra Urban (L/100km) |
8.5 |
||||
| Combined fuel consumption (L/100km) |
10.4 |
||||
| Braking performance: | |||||
| Braking distance at initial brake speed of 50km/h (m) |
≤20.0(full load), ≤19.0 (unload) |
||||
| Emergency braking distance at initial speed of 50km/h (m) |
≤38.0 |
||||
| Noise: | |||||
| External noise at acceleration dB(A) |
≤74 |
||||
| Internal noise at constant velocity of 50km/h dB(A) |
≤79 |
||||
Engine specifications
|
Item |
Specification |
| Model |
4G69S4N |
| Type |
4-cylinder in-line, four-stroke, water cooled, overhead valve, Multi-point Sequential Injection |
| Displace (L) |
2.378 |
| Cylinder × stroke (mmXmm) |
87×100 |
| Rated power/rotational speed (kW/rpm) |
100/5250 |
| Max. torque/rotational speed (Nm/rpm) |
200/2500-3000 |
| Compression ratio |
9.8:1 |
Tyre specifications
|
Tyre size |
235/65 R17 104H |
|
Rim size |
5°Deep trough rim 17×7J |
|
Pressure (Kpa) |
230 |
|
Rolling radius (mm) |
358 |
Steering
| Type |
Rack and pinion steering gear, power-steering, power-absorbing steering column |
Brakes
| Type | Drive | Dual-line vacuum Braking Systems, Anti-lock brake system |
| Park | Mechanical | |
| Front | Ventilated disk brake | |
| Rear | Disk Brake | |
Suspension
|
Front |
torsion bar spring, hydraulic shock absorber, stabilizer bar, double wishbone arm type independent suspension |
|
Rear |
Four-bar, screw spring, hydraulic shock absorber, stabilizer bar, dependent suspension |
Transmission
|
Model |
ZM001DF |
||
|
Gear Ratio |
1st gear |
3.992 |
|
|
2nd gear |
2.150 |
||
|
3rd gear |
1.334 |
||
|
4th gear |
1.000 |
||
|
5th gear |
0.857 |
||
|
R gear |
4.220 |
||
|
H gear |
1.000 |
||
|
L gear |
2.480 |
||












Holy hell – did I read that right? 20 seconds to 100km/h!
Even a 3 cylinder diesel Hyundai accent is quicker (19 seconds).
A car this slow can never be safe on Aussie roads!
It says LESS THAN 20sec.. could be 1sec or 19.99sec :)
what does a Landrover Defender do 0 – 100km/hr in I wonder?
with all the money you save on buying the car you can afford to put petrol into it. 10.4 litres per 100.
Personally I wouldn’t buy one but I must say I was surprised that it actually doesn’t look to bad. What is it with alot of the figures (ie. Acceleration) using the less than or equal to symbol?
wow – 100kw frm a 2.4L engine! that too petrol!
thats gotta be really old tech…
MY GOD THATS CHEAP!!!
=O
But I wouldnt want to have a reverse parking incident in it… i’d die.
At under $24,000 drive-away, I hate to think how poorly the workers who build these cars are being paid. Not to mention how many environmentally damaging shortcuts the factory is taking.
I’d never, ever, EVER buy one.
When I was in China at a large well known car manufacturer, a leading hand was being paid $10,000AUD per year. He earned an extra $5000AUD through bonuses and this put him on a good wage. The cars that they were making (for the Chinese market)are being sold for the same price as other equivalent cars sold here in Australia.
I’ve stayed in China for more then 6 years and the reason their wages are low is because the prices of every day items are low. $0.30 AUD for a Bus trip distance of around 40km, and rent for nice 2-room apartment 10 min bus travel from CBD is around $50 a week.
Car is not a A-B tool for most Chinese who lives in cities, push Bikes are.
Car is a status symbol for them. Imported cars can have up to 40% import tax on them, thats why even Mercedes, Bmw, Audi have factories in China.(in the early 90’s Import tax is 150% for a 3.0L+ car!)
That said, the basic run-about cars in China is really cheap. Things like the local built Jazz, Mazda 2, Swift, 207, fiesta,Skoda Fabia’s RRP are all around the $10000-13000. Example: A brand new local built Toyota Yaris 1.3 manual (actual Toyota, not a fake look alike) is around $10300 AUD before bargaining, (and when it comes to bargain, Chinese would go mad) after negotiation, people have got it as low as $8800 AUD.
push bikes are no more the main method for commuters due to fast growth of cars. Because main roads are all occupied by cars in all major cities in China, it is just too dangerous to ride a push bike to get to work SAFELY. So people have to switch to public transport.
Then you might as well don’t buy ipods, mp3s, laptops, computers, mobile phones, radios, tvs, set top boxes, washing machine, fridges, microwave, blankets, quilts, bed sheets, tools, clothings and most of the other stuffs. Not many things are not made in China these days ~
I read on some other website that the local spec current gen Hover(Chinese Name of X240) received a 3 star crash rating on C-NCAP. C stands for Chinese I believe??
and the Hover gen 3, those that get exported to European market received 4 star Euro-NCAP rating.
That said… I would want one…
I would pay the extra $10,000 for a RAV4, X-trail or the face lifted CX-7.
unfortunately c-ncap is not very reliable, I will only trust ancap or euro ncap.
I Wouldn’t want one*
C-NCAP probably carry out crash tests at 5km/h.
looks good but I hate alpha-numeric names like this X240, cars are an emotional purchase, how the heck do you form a bond with a car which has a name like a barcode?
Umm You’d seriously want to form a bond with this????? :p
hmm..lol .. .so you must have issues with 335 – x5 – m3 – C63 / E63 -Rs6…
I must say , looks are quite passable, neither offensive or dreadfully dull.
Though whether it’s a good car or not is a whole lot of different matter.
Agree Hmm Ferrari F40 or Ferrari Scagliatelli……?????? (LOL):-)
yeah I also think those 318i and C200 names suck as well, but at least there is a history and reasoning for the German naming nomenclature. But all the new upstarts which name the cars like computer serial numbers are just trying too hard to copy the Germans and it seems a bit lame. Look at the top 10 near-luxury cars in the US, its like alphabet soup with Lexus, Infiniti, Acura and others all naming the cars like X45QLSE. Ahhh whatever happened to names like Mustang and Couger, wild animal names…?
Completely agree. That is why I am angry that Hyundai is ditching real names like Tuscon and Elantra for the growing ‘i’ culture. I don’t know why putting a lower case i in front of a word makes it cool, but that’s just me.
I recon the “i” prefix is just a passing fashion. give it a year or so of been applyed to every thing and the coolness will be gone. If the government get in on it and call the 09/10 Tax Pac “iTax” that should do it in one go!
Thats a handsome looking car…
Go Chinese cars!!! haha
???
Comparitively low power + lousy economy + Chinese build quality = why bother?
There must be 2 models – on Carsales.com.au the engine puts out 91Kw, this one is 100Kw. Who’s wrong?
For a true 4WD this is pretty cheap, on a par performance wise with the 1988 2.6l Jackaroos I should think. They were pretty capable off road as well.
Ground clearance is a bit poor for off-roading, nothing a bit of a crank on the torsion bars and a pair of new springs at the back wouldn’t fix.
Pretty well equipped for the price too, and not enough power to really stress the rest of the mechanicals, so the chances of high reliability are pretty good.
Nearest vehicles to this are the just superseded Kia Sorento, the base model of which was about $35000 plus on-roads, albeit with a 3.8V6 or a 2.5 diesel so a bit more vehicle for the extra money, or the Suzuki GV 2.4 at around $32000 D/A. The Suzuki is 200kg lighter with a more powerful 2.4 engine…..
Come on guys, there is no need to compare well-established car brands against new ones. If you really want to, compare chinese brand with 1970s’ toyota or 1980s’ korean.
It is their choice to compete in the current car market, so all of the cars will be compared with the current competitors. Whats the logic in comparing a 70’s or 80’s car with a brand new car?
These will sell for the same reason i see so many tradies driving around in the Duel cab utes, price.
they might find a market with farmers who need to go off road can’t justify paying 40k for somthing they are going to beat up.
That would be interesting. 2 utes stand off at 400m with the survivor the winner! I don’t know how else you could ‘duel’ a ute! TVFPIC. ;-)
That is a valid point WRT tradies Toxic. However I am a little surprised they only have a dual cab ute as I am sure the Farmers you mentioned for the 4WD would also buy more of the utes if they also had a single or ‘xtra’ cab version.
Wasn’t the FWD Hyundai Tucson similarly priced? Wouldn’t that be a safer, smarter buy?
I say the engine is the same Mitsubishi one used in the ute, with cars of this size and smallish engines look at the torque and at what rpms produced. With a kerb weight similar to a much larger AWD this little engine will have its hand full but I am sure GWM will have a diesel option on the way. Out of the 4 cylinder soft roaders the X-trail has always had the most decent driveline.
An asthmatic 4 cyl pulling 2300kg – are we in 1982?
Yea but this has a low range gear box and probally real 4×4 ability.
not saying i would buy one but i just think they will sell like the duel cab that everyone bagged out.
Great wall don’t care what you’re personal opinion is, as long as they sell units.
How is this different to any car company these days? Its just a business after all.
It’s what i said for 20 years – put a go-kart on the floor with a canopy and someone will buy it – no accounting for taste and safety
Come here to see How this Great affordable SUV drive all the way from South China to Thailand. Realiable and affordable. They will sell like hot cakes esp in regional Oz!
http://club.autohome.com.cn/bb.....140-1.html
If you are going to advertise, have the decency to pay for it.
Thanks for the holiday snaps, the food looks good and the weather crap!
It’s an old Toyota 4-Runner chassis, with a Mitsubishi 2.4L Petrol motor which was from the pre-V6 Pajero’s and Magna’s and the body is from an Isuzu SUV we don’t get here (The Axiom). I don’t see a problem with it. The 2.4 engine was a good, reliable unit and well the 4-Runner (Read Hilux) chassis including transfer case and diffs is from Toyota so what’s to go wrong? Chuck an off the shelf lift kit, some big tyres, front and rear diff locks and turbo the motor (or for the adventurous, swap in a 2.8 Pajero turbo diesel) and you’d have a great car.
“The body is from an Isuzu SUV we don’t get here (The Axiom)”
Correction: a COPY “from an Isuzu SUV we don’t get here (The Axiom)”.
Who cares…
It’s tonnes better than the 4-Runner body the chassis used to be attached to.
Even though it has only 3 star, 2 star or 1 star for safey, I bet you that if you have a colision with your 5 star safety VW Polo, Fiesta, Festiva, Mazda 2, NEW Mini, Yaris you gonna get flattened while the occupants in this 4wd will most likely walk away.
An acquaintance of mine bought one. (not in OZ though)
This car REALLY is that slow. Doesn’t look as bad as some Tata’s I saw, but this thing is NOT built for speed. It’s built for CHEAP.
Actually its built to go off road. thats what 4×4’s are for . i think people forget this.
Why do they allow crap like this on the road………..its cheap its nasty and its unsafe………and its a disgrace.
It’s Cheap. It’s not ‘Nasty’. It’s not ‘Unsafe’. It’s definitely NOT a disgrace. people are so quick to jump to conclusions when they see the price and see it’s made in China.
I think people need to have a look at the price – $24k Drive Away!!
It may be slow compared to current SUV’s, but why do you need to go fast. I’ve read elsewhere that it does 0-100km/h in 12 seconds. That’s plenty fast enough. If it’s not, put a turbo kit on it.
12sec 0-100kmh is more like it for a 2.4 litre 100KW/200NW/5sp manual and 1800kg vehicle ~
rather under-spec’d for a 2.4 L.
ols technology with 2 star death trap rating. No thanks
Buy it if you must, but if 6 months later you then whinge to A Current Affair that it has fallen apart or has killed your family, don’t expect any sympathy.
Hmmm, Brand new, 3 year, 100,000km warranty, ABS, EBD and airbags or a second hand 10 year old 1 star rated, soft-roader from Toyonissabishi? Tough choice. I wonder if all these people knocking the X240 would consider driving an older car without even ABS or 4 wheel discs, let alone airbags. What the X240 has is MUCH better and safer than what many people drive as 4 wheel drives. Older 90’s model 100 series Toyota’s and GU Nissan’s have nowhere near the safety ‘rating’ or features of the X240 yet people flock to them to go ‘offroad’. Think about it!
ouch you got told.
In 20 years later I may consider buying a Chinese car, if they constantly prove their quality, safety and reliability. But now, no thanks.I would rather work harder to get the proper car.
Some people just don’t appreciate what “Made IN CHINA” means to them! It is not always cheap and nasty! I think it is very good value for money actually! It is definitely better than a second hand thing. The sales figure is going to show it later just like the Utes on sale now. If there is Auto, it is even better!
Ppl ppl……we Aussies like to give ppl a fair go….RIGHT? NONE of us here has seen it in the flesh, open it’s doors, checked out it’s quality…and driven the thing yet right? So let’s not be so negative about. For 24K & 3 yr factory warranty, you really can’t ask for too much….and lets be honest….it does look pretty ok. If it had a Jap badge….I’m sure ppl wouldn’t pounce on it & say it looks nasty.
It is low on power……so we can expect leisurely performance…..but let’s remind ourselves it’s 24K driveaway! You get a brand new car & 3 yr warranty & 24hr roadside assist…
Back 10-15 yrs ago…that’s how Hyundai started….and look at them now…they’re embraced by so many ppl…
I didn’t think there would be a new car slower than my 300TD. I was wrong.
Ohhhh yeah. You’re my Chinese Lois
I am the sales manager for a NSW Great Wall Dealership. The response we have had to our great wall utes is fantastic – they are selling great and people love them; Not to mention the x240 – the enquiries we have had on them is phenomonal.
I personally love the vehicles Ateco/Great Wall are providing us with, they are all packed with so many features and the prices are great. The x240 is a fantastic product as the sales will tell in the coming months.
There is no need to be scared of the products as all components are from well known brands; Toyota, Mitsubishi and Isuzu and the vehicles are backed with a great warranty.
This is no different to when Hyundai first came to Australia, everyone criticised them and look at Hyundai now – I guarantee you Great Wall will be the same!!
Fantastic…More competition the better. Soon I will be able to buy my first “new” car. I don’t think it will be one of the GW X240 but good luck to them. I prefer Toyota- Done me good for over 1,000,000 on second car now.
i just bought one for one family..we love it…it sit high and drive well…the price is so good too…
HI Im interested in getting one – can you give me your non carsalesmen opinions of it – thanks
Look at the facts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_Hover
toyota 4runner chassis
mitsubishi donk
Isuzu shell
Can anybody tell me if this is a different motor to the utes, as they have only 100 hp
Well its has a proven chassis, proven 4G64 Mitsubishi engine, pretty good results for the crash test (Euro NCAP 4stars), roomy and proper off road capability for $23990 drive away! At that price you cannot bag its minor shortfalls but where is an auto and diesel version? I think it will sell well……eventually!
who has test driven this yet ??? look at all the crap cars most aussies drive heaps of rust held together with duct tape
And 30 years ago Ford and Chev drivers were laughing at the small ”dinky toy” Toyota utes.
u typically dumb aussies, everything u buy is made in China and it wont be long before the beloved Toyota ( very overated and extremely overpriced) will expand further from Thailand into China.
I saw it with Datsun and Hyundai, GWM will consume our motor industry a lot quicker than u think.
People complain about performance? most city streets are 50kmh and the max speed on the highway is 110kmh…..
Really? Cause my car was built in South Africa, my computer in U.S, camcorder in Japan and Vacuum in Malaysia, even most of my kids stuffed toys were made in the UK. Not many Chinese products in my house.
Car Fanatic
Looks like you’ll believe anything
Car built in South Africa from imported components from where?
Computer made in the US, ha ha probably in Mexico from Chinese components
Vacuum Cleaner again the same and as for your stuffed toy where are the textiles imported from?
You’ll never get away from the big powerhouse of China and because us westerners are basically lazy and laid back it wont belong before our next generations will be listening to a Chinese Australian Prime Minister on their Chinese Made LCD TVs……
Ha Ha Funny you say that, was buying an LCD telly teh other month when the Sunday sales pleb said buy the LG because it’s Korean and theya re the best at LCD tellies at the moment, Don’t buy the identical looking National one as it is made in China and the Chinese stuff not as good as the Korean….. he went on and on about hte Korean quality, the whole time I’m standing at the side of the LG looking at a large sticker proudly anouncing “BUILT IN CHINA”…….. Let him ramble for ten minutes before bringing it to his notice…… :p
I have had a good test drive of the 4 wd ute today and then this SUV, I was impressed by both of these vehicles. Yes they both seem a tad underpowerd, but niether of them had been fully run in obviously.
At present I drive a Falcon ute and for 4 years have owned a 1999 3.2 v6 Rodeo, both of which have plenty of grunt, so of course a 2.4 4 cyl doesn’t compare in power terms.
After driving the X240 I have signed up for one, pending finance.
They come with black leather as standard, electric drivers seat, lumbar supprt for both front seats and a very impressive sound system.
They come with lots of other goodies too as mentioned in this article.
I have owned many cars in my life and driven lots of cars too, and I can tell anyone that cares that these seem to be fantastic value.
Of all the SUVs on the market this is one of the nicest looking out there, no question about it.
It drives fine with good all-round vision, the rear 60-40 seats fold completely flat for impressive practicality and versatility.
The build quality is great, it has a very solid feel to it and it suits the purpose of my needs at this stage of my life, at a phenominal low price.
We are looking forward to taking delivery of it and hopefully it will meet our expectaions. I will keep you posted regarding reliability e.t.c.
I am not a badge snob nor a racist, nor a Great Wall employee.
Please dont bother to knock me with any uninformed criticism as I am over all the nonsense that goes on on this site.
It is a car web-site for intelligent discussion, not a site for immature slanging matches.
If anyone would like me to answer any genuine questions please feel free to ask and I will do my best to reply.
Regards to all, Agro-nup. XXX
Really want to see your opinion of the car. I hope it wil meet your exceptations. I like to know how reliable it is.
No problem flank, will be happy to report good or bad ( hopefully good ).
I suspect some of these posters are employees of GWM
on the topic of speed, 0-100 in 20 seconds?
I cant imagine entering a freeway
If you close your eyes and try hard enough you will be able to imagine entering a freeway, ha ha.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/40.....gust-2009/
they are coming 21st in selling new UTES, imagine them selling the Hover in AUTO ALSO the new Turbo utes are coming out. Let see how many they will sell mid next year. 5000?
Test drove the X240 this week, great looking car, a little under powered but gets going on the open road, leather interior very nice, brakes great, on the run 2×4 to 4×4, its definatly not an X-trail or Kluger but for the Price $23990 on road its an option for all us poor people. My 96 Nissan Patrol although a reliable 4X4 has no airbags, no ABS, what would its safety rating be???