2016 Great Wall Steed Review

It’s easy to make assumptions about a car based on reputation – judge a book by its cover as it were.

We normally don’t hold Chinese brands in high regard, but the 2016 Great Wall Steed was better than expected.

Sure it’s not refined and will struggle to match it against more established badges but the one tonne ute at least looks more presentable than in the past.

Great Wall presents a dual-cab ute which is a much welcome departure from the utilitarian cab-chassis, with a front grille borrowed from brand associate Haval.

I was given the keys to a diesel 4×4 model for the week which is priced from $29,990.

You can get into a 4×2 diesel for $26,990 or the petrol model for $24,990, and those are driveaway prices!

The vehicle I had was also fitted with a reverse camera and sat nav option which is an extra $1000 fitted.

I took out the Steed out for a long distance trip which was counterintuitive but turned out to be an interesting exercise.

You’ll definitely need all six of the gears in the manual transmission as the pickup is slow and laborious with no real hint of power at all. It goes from 0-100kph in about half a minute.

Acceleration requires every ounce of the 110kW, 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine.

Controlling the vehicle is easy with light steering and a long way to full lock (as is common with utes) but can be a bit vague and hard to track straight especially on the highway.

The suspension was on the hard side making over a long journey despite the high wall (235/70R) 16” aluminium wheels.

I didn’t get a chance to test it out off-road but the Steed comes with AWD and 4WD option

However, this utility won’t allow you to get too rough as the ground clearance is a bit lower than preferable at only 17cm but there is still the presence of side steps to help you get a leg up.

You can fit plenty in the tray which comes with a bed liner, bordered by the anti-roll bar and adequate hooks and rails for covering and tying off stuff.

Back seat posture is as you’d imagine – erect with limited padding. Legroom is average though headroom is lofty for all passengers.

Great Wall has thrown in a reasonably generous array of features for this class and price range.

It comes complete with a tyre pressure monitor, daytime running lights, heated and powered front seats, auto dimming mirror, leather steering wheel and door trims and Bluetooth.

And aside from the 4WD function, these are all available in all variants of the Steed.

So the 2016 Great Wall Steed still has a fair way to go to be on par with performance, suspension and all round drive comfort but it does have redeeming qualities. It comes with some extra features and of course an attractive price tag.

NUTS and BOLTS: 2016 Great Wall Steed

• Engine: 2.0 litre turbo-diesel producing 110kW and 310Nm
• Transmission: Six-speed manual
• Warranty: 3yr/100,000km
• Safety: Not tested
• Origin: China
• Price: from $29,990