GREAT WALL MOTORS has become the first-ever brand to sell a Chinese-made car in Australia, announcing today that its V240 and SA220 dual-cab utes are now on sale nationwide.
A total of 45 dealers around the country have signed up to sell Great Wall’s two utes, with Ateco Automotive the importer. Three basic variants of the two models will be on offer initially: the V240 4×2, the V240 4×4 and the SA220 4×2; with Great Wall outfitting each with a high level of standard kit.
The SA220 (known as the Sailor in its Chinese homeland) costs just $19,990 on road, while the V240 (aka Wingle) 4×2 starts from $23,990 and the V240 4×4 sells for $26,990 - also including on-road costs.
There’s some surprising value for money on offer too, with leather seats as standard along with electric windows all round, air conditioning, foglamps, alloy wheels and a CD tuner (MP3 compatible on the SA220).
The two model lines each have a single engine on offer, with the SA220 receiving a 2.2 litre petrol four-cylinder and the V240 getting a 2.4 litre petrol four cylinder.
The 2.2 pushes out 78kW and 190Nm while the 2.4 produces 100kW and 200Nm. With the SA220 weighing 1525kg and the V240 4×2 weighing 1660kg, it’s probably safe to say neither will be especially quick.
A five-speed manual is the only transmission available for the Australian Great Wall range.
The SA220 is able to haul a payload of 855kg, with the V240 range capable of carrying 1000kg. Both can tow an unbraked load of 750kg, with the addition of trailer brakes meaning the V240 can pull 2250kg and the SA220 1800kg.
With the absence of a grunty diesel engine in the line-up, Great Wall might experience some trouble getting Aussie tradies to give up their Tritons and Hiluxes.
However, with such keen pricing and strong standard equipment levels, the V240 and SA220 may find a niche among buyers looking for a budget ute who don’t want to break the bank.
All cars come with a three-year/100,000km warranty, which should allay any fears of quality control issues. Will Great Walls first foray into the Australian market be a successful one? Watch this space.
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Take one TF Rodeo, add one RA Rodeo/Dmax, cut the price by thousands, add an ugly nose job. Chinese recipe for world domination.
Haha good thing they wont be in NZ for a while!!
ahhh, chinese solution, to have more people laugh at there designs
I’m interested to see how they review it, how the sales reps view it and how they encourage ppl to buy it… Free melamine milk? cardboard pork? sounds good to me *_*
No wait, they’ll just hide that Made In China inside some microwaved dog meat hidden under the spare tyre
all jokes aside, i hope these are crash tested here in Australia before being sold because i’ve seen some youtube videos with chinese cars being crash tested and i dont think the engine is meant to come through the dash
God help us! Now we are going to have even bigger death traps on the road.
No airbags??? I thought ADR requires mandatory driver and passenger front airbags in all vehicles?
You get what you pay for
i would have thought that air bags were more important than having leather seats as standard. Ateco said they hope to sell 300 of these a month, if they do it has got to hurt Toyota and others. maybe they will have to drop their prices . ha ha
please give us a review and crash test asap
Where is my Gravatar???
If they just added a diesel engine it would make a compelling case for a lot of tradies even if the quality is not up to par. I suspect there might be a diesel not far away.
The quality and aesthetics might be crap, the brand image zero, and we laugh at them now, but you can’t ignore the way Japanese cars were panned for their quality when they were introduced globally more than 70 years ago and now look at them today. Then Korean cars came from a reputation of cruddy styling and build quality and are now among the most reliable brands based on customer satisfaction studies, and have come a very long way in terms of technology, “style”, driving dynamics etc. It might only be a matter of time for Chinese cars. Needless to say they are one of the only major global trading countries that’s actually growing at the moment…
Haha Will, don’t forget the D22 Navara headlights on the SA220!
Hans this would be classed as Commercial ,I dont think they have too.
Godspeed yes of course your right and they will do it faster than the Japanese and the Koreans “IF” they set out with the mind set now to manufacture and attain a quality reliable vehicle in the end
My word! How funny is the last image how they have PHOTOSHOPPED the car in front of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a place where the likes of BMW take promo photos from. It would make sense if the car design was inspired but this stunning Frank Ghery architecture, or if it was a car of elegance…. BUT A UTE?
I hope Aussies draw the line at buying these crappy chinese cars. It’s not a problem if your $800 LCD TV carks it or the elastic in your chinese boxers shorts goes saggy your life is not at risk. But if a sparrow flies in front of you whilst your doing 60 thats providing they can do 60 with such underpowered motors you could very well be killed. The only good thing about these cars if you need a spare part for your old Rodeo might be cheaper than GM or even a wreckers .Oh one other thing i thought the VW Polo sedan was the first chinese made car sold in Oz.
Of the 3 models launched 2 have dual air bags, ABS brakes & EBD. They work with partners such as Bosch & Delphi. Have no fear they are putting the wind up everyone else. They will sell & they will catch up & quickly. At least we the chinese buy from Australia. Go to the following link to see more.
http://www.greatwallmotors.com.au/
Capt Nemo, I don’t know why your so negative about the car? Is it that you are against all things Chinese?
Lets face it all other utes are made in Thailand so why would the build quality of this car be that much worse?
I bought a 4 x 4 V240 yesterday $26,990 (am I the first in Australia?)
whilst it was not the most stunning performing vehicular I have driven,(its got the Mitsubishi 2.4 lt engine..grunty but not very fuel efficient) you cant avoid the fact that for the specs it would have cost me $40K + to get the equivalent from the nearest rival - Dmax. or $50K + for a Hilux.
In this age of globalization country of origin is almost irrelevant.
You are about to see a lot of these cars on our roads
they are both Rodeos with a make over, TF models and the RA or Colerados RC . Isuzu must have sold some tooling
More Asian rubish brought to Australia.
I have inspected the vehcles. The suspension and steering is very under engineered.
It seems an official in our Gov has been payed off by China again.
they have dual airbags and abs brakes, stop being negative and actaully try one before jumping to conclusions
Bleadin thumb, yes i’m against chinese made products because 99.9% of stuff they make is absolute rubbbish. Quality of Thai made utes is 100 times better. And i would not be admitting that i wasted $27k on something made in China i notice your already making excuses for its poor performance & fuel economy. You should of bought 2nd hand but i’m guessing you were seduced by the stench of cheap chinese plastics. Oh BTW there are plenty of people who country of origin is very important when buying a car many people would drive nothing but Jap ,German or Aussie.
Nemo smart one!
country of origin is where prejudices come from… jap bang for buck, german quality, american size, italian breakdowns n stuff, and made-in-china melamine filled milk
A lot of things made in china do suck, but think about the thing you’re staring at right now - your computer, if its even working, chances are it’s made there too
And many ppl don’t like buying 2nd hand because of the risk and maintenance… just like me
im sorry ‘anon’ but it looks like none of us have converted to liking Made-In-China yet :/
I’m an aussie working in China right now.
The “Everything made in China” brigade are actually right on the money. Unlike Japanese workers, (Make comany very proud, very strong), Chinese workers are detached from the product, they get through the day with very low pay, and do not really care about the quality of whatever they are building bar a few RARE exceptions. They can’t upset the applecart, so quality fade is unchallenged. The factories must pay for themselves quickly, therefore R&D and QC are expensive and to them, un-necessary overheads. Go ahead, buy the car, in 5 years time the Rodeo will be just fine, the Great Wall may well be behaving like a circus car then. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, always have, always will.
Captain Nemo, you need to understand 80% of products from Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Dell, HP are made in China, and even Fiat car using the Chinese built engine now.
You got what you paid, Helix is definitely better if you can afford it.
I cannot belive this,a car from China which looks like it modelled by a blind man,I will never go for chinese products,the are the worst!!!I have seen cheap chinese imitation holden rims break in front of my very own eyes when i once went to Bob Jane!!! In the past I have had bitter experiences with chinese furniture which looks neat and clean from outside but for daily use,it wont even last for years!!!!! I wonder how the service and warranty applies for this car here in Australia…but at the end of the day you will get what you pay for,not a big fan of this car,but I am eager to see how many of these will be on road after 5 years…The Japanese and Korean automobile industry always introduce new vehicles thinking about the future which may last atleast for few decades but from what i have seen chinese products are not advisable for the long run,may be for temporary use “ONLY”…
you poor ignorant lot most makes are built in china been there lately lots of used utes dont have saftey features the $19990 is the only one without dual bags the landcruiser ute still no bags and the most expensive ute on sale think lads
garry…..maaaaate!!!
Hey! Why’d you edit my last post???
I wouldnt mind having a look at these vehicles, I too have spent
money on cars over the years, but as soon as you drive them out the gates theyre worth nothing, I’d rather spend 23 grand on a brand
new car then 50 grand on something thats not going to hold its value.
In this day n age everything we buy has some component that comes from china.
So baggin the chinese is childish.
You like it test drive it n buy it
You don’t like it your intitled to your opinion, but make sure your facts are right first.
just test drove the 4×4 version and was impressed build quality seems good and with the waranty 3years 100 000 km as good as anyother had to test it the price was just too good it is definatley not a toyota but for the specs listed your toyota would cost about 60000 . it is better to drive than the cheaper nissan alot better build quality . I do want to see an ncap test done though before i buy
Checked this car out and was advised the following buy the salesman. Body is not galvanised and recommended electronic rust protection. The 3 x child restraint anchors are not certified in australia and need to be engineered tested. Was a little concerned about the interior finish but then checked out a DMax 20 meters away in the same dealership and its intrior finish quality was very similar, for $12 - 15000 difference in price (less the diesel engine and a nose job, they are externally the same vehicle) Will be keen to see a few independant reviews and safety tests.
I would get more out of my 10 years old Hilux , then from this “master piece of chinese lego car”.Don, we have enough chinese rubish on our shelfs ??
Well folks i went out and bought one , and im sure i will be able to do a lot with the 20 grand saving i have made , these cars are put together with tried and proven components,which are in cars here in australia now, stats show that most folk resell there cars within 2.8 years on average,as far as the 3 year warranty goes i average 250000 klm per year so it will work well for me . Crash test results on these bodies are the same as ford colarados and the air conditioners are the same as installed in toyotas , so i dont mind driving chinese ,ahhhhhhh i might go and buy me a nice little caravan with my savings.
Don,
You’re playing with it!
250,000km/yr = 685km/day, seven days/week.
78kw lol, a non turbo astra is 100kw, I can`t see serious trady`s buying these , not enough Grunt from the old wingle and sailor the names alone are a bit sus and say it all LOL….
Great Wall? Great piece of junk more like it!
I have nothing against owning Chinese made electronics goods, shoes or clothing, as my life does is not in great jeopardy if they break or fall apart.
A car however? I don’t think so. I’d rather not find out at 100 km/h (assuming they are capable of such speed) that the little man in the factory not care about work today so he not going to put car together properly as some vital part of the vehicle fails.
Having had a look at them in the local dealer, I am sure this will happen to some luckless people who put money before sense and go for a new “Great Wall” before a far more sensible used Toyota.
I think that VW ute will easily blow this into pieces
ahaha
I can’t wait to hav a lil laff at this when they launch in NZ
Oh Mark grow up, you must have more money then sence, a car is a car is a car, just that these ones are 20 grand cheeper duhhhhhhhhh, i bet by the sounds of you the car you got couldnt do 100klm downhill, when you go shopping do you buy the dearest thing on the shelf just because everybody does, yep i bet you do
I actually drive a Ssangyong Don, what’s more I only paid $9000 for it. So I would not say that I have more money that sense. But I can assure you that my Musso can do far more that 100Km/h UP a hill fully laden which is more than I can say for the Great Sloth.
I mean really, a top speed of an estimated 130 km/h??? My Musso can do more than that in 3rd, and I can tow over a ton more than than a Great Weakling can.
I appreciate a bragain as much as anyone else, but there is very definitely a difference between cheap, and nasty. I am sure that time will prove the Great Ripoff to be very nasty indeed.
I am sure you will be glad of that “Toyota” airconditioner while you are struggling up the hill with you Aldis bought groceries in the back. Lol
Mark, sorry to hear you can only afford $9000 to buy a car thats got a name you cant pronounce, not only are they one of the uglyist heaps of crapp being driven by folk who dont know any better, but are bought mainly by ignorant idiots that are quick to rubbish anything chinese, at least when the chinese build and sell a car to oz they give it a english name you can pronounce.
Had a test drive of the V240 4×4 yesterday. Drives excellent. Fair enough its a bit slow n not in the same league as a hilux but what do you expect for $27000. Give it 5 years and they will have a reputation as good as toyota or nissan.
Navara made in spain and already 18 months old when delivered new from dealer. great wall is alot more comfortable on the road but i bought a hilux in the end
work on 4×4 everyday hilux is the best ute out there nothing comes close but the great wall beats everything else on price .
If you are looking for a cheap utes people, go have a look a the Ssangyong Actyon.
For not very much more money than the Great Lump you not only get airbags as standard on every model, A.B.S is also standard on every model other that the Tradie.
You also get a more economical 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine that produces 104 kw compared to a pathetic 78 kw from the 2.0 great weakling with way more torque, which means in the real world it can accelerate up hills very nicely unlike the great sloth.
What’s more, the engines and transmissions are of Mercedes Benz design and you can have the same aussie made 6 speed auto that goes in the new Falcon if you want.
I have a 10 year old Musso and have been so impressed with it’s long term reliability and quality that I had no qualms about buying the Actyon.
So, if you are looking for value for money, don’t automatically make the Great mistake. Go take a look at your local Ssangyong dealer and compare the 2. I think you will be surprised.
mark read the specs. great wall has airbags on every model, abs stand and produces 100kw not 78. they have the mitsubishi motors in the v240 an toyota engines in the sa220.
I have tested and driven all the utes on the market only drove the v240 4×4 because it was so cheap was supprised at how well it was finnised matches ford and mazda easily alot better than the cheap nissan and landrover .will have to say other than being a little bit under powered they match the other utes for comfort . and if you want more power from it this is a strong motor ralliart have been racing with this motor for years with massive power upgrades . After all my testing of utes if i had $45000 to spend i would buy the triton glxr only because it now has the superselect gearbox so you can have constant 4wd on wet roads. and the hilux sr5 but i dont have $55000 to spend . If it only lasts to the end of the waranty period well i have still saved money . as for safety it built on the same specs as the colorado . I bought it today after alot of thought i dont need to carry alot of weight for work but will test it with a full one ton load and let you guys know how it goes
Well I have owned and driven the V240 for over 6 weeks now and can honestly say that the build quality is surpringly good and the ride is OK compared to the many other cars I have owned in the past 33 years. I am happy with it especially for the amount of money I have saved and would recommend them to others.
The car does has its faults …all cars do, but dollar for dollar they are a very good buy.
Having said that I only plan on holding it for 2 -3 years and getting something else….it was very much an economic driven decision to get the Great Wall
As a tradie and an employer - cars are not assets, they are liabilities and should be thought of as such, save your emotive posturing for the sports car, boat, jet ski or other toy you can afford to buy by saving money on your work vehical(s)
The vehicle to buy if you don’t value your own life. Just try and find out some crash test information about these vehicle for yourself, and ask specifically about the safety features before buying one
Ok Ryan ,you seem to know it all , how about you fill us all in on crash test reports and all other relevent info we may need before we go and buy one , what sort of car do you drive ryan?
I’ll be waiting to see what the tests are like before we buy one.
I have a Rodeo and it has been a top 4×4.
The road tests will decide our next 4×4, Quality comes 1st.
Confushass say “man with great wall has long walk”
confushass say “my name is spelt confucious”
more importantly.. it will fail.. why would u pay nearly $27,000 when you could pay a little more for a mitsu 4×4 turbo diesel with double the power/towing capacity, aircon, cd/mp3 etc.. + mitsubishi’s 5-10 year warranty.
* confucius *
Well after looking at the Great wall, rice burner, I will be looking at the more powerful Suzuki ” Mighty Boy”.
pulled a toyota hilux out of a bog this weekend with my v240 the funny thing about it all was all the other 4×4s to scared to get a little mud on there tyres to help the poor chap. so it goes to show its not the car you drive its how you can handle it when the going gets tough.
These utes cant be too bad if they are prepared to give a 3 year 100,000Km warranty with them. If you want pretty, why are you looking to buy a ute? I have only had a quick look at the 2×4 V240 and I thought what it offered as far as room and comfort wasn’t too bad for a crew cab, better than some of the current crop with their banana crate back seats.
Reckon I might have a V240 before too much longer, especially when I can drive it off the lot for less than $24,000.
have had mine for two weeks happy with it . even the fuel figures are good about what they say. it will sit on a 140 on the freeway and is very quiet at all speeds . have not had a full load in it yet or towed any thing heavy will keep you posted
* I put this advisory at the other motorreport re Great Wall:-
The Great Wall V240 & V220 utes have as standard equipment; a “hazard-warning triangle”, constructed to European/UN standard.
An excellent safety item that is mandatory in EU and ROC (As are ’safety vests’). It’s therefore *not* a junk item either, you don’t even get this primary safety item ‘as standard’, yet, in our domestic Aussie built stuff.
In the V240 ute; the warning triangle is located BEHIND the rear seat backrest. See the yellow label.
In the V220 ute; the warning triangle is located UNDER the rear seat!
http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2009/07/14/calls-for-improved-roadside-safety/
Hi guys
Thought i would give you a South African perspective, i own a 4×4 v240 - we call it a Steed, have done 40 000km so far and cant fault it, yes it has slightly generic isuzu styling but the trim etc is very well finished, my bakkie - ute as you call it, has got a Bosch ABS/EBD combo, and dual front Siemens airbags, with isofix safety belts etc, my point being that allthough gwm has got no brand reputation yet, through working closely with established companies like Bosch and Delphi they will be up to speed sooner than you guys all think.
By the way my bakkie has got an 85kw commonrail injection tirbo diesel engine with 300nm of torque, not massive power compared to the latest hilux 3.0d4d or triton, but for the price etc perfectly acceptably.
In conclusion, i couldnt be happier with my purchase.
@ jack August 17, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Well the crash test results are out now… 2 stars. Think you can apologise to Ryan now lol
I like the utes, I believe they do have air bags, so the dealler told me, for my price range and needs (2 kids & a horse float ) I think its good value.
Well…..I’ve owned my V240 for almost 4 months and am not as enthused as I initially was. I had it on Moreton Is, the first time I had it off road…less than 4 hrs of driving and it breaks down!
This is bad enough….but uno sh!t happens….but now they are saying that the fault…..that sand damaged a sensor on the underside of the vehicle…..is not covered by warranty…..Is this a joke? A 4×4 that cant be driven off road.
I asked why the sensor wasn’t protected from damage and their reply was it was protected by a “plastic covering”
If you are thinking about buying one of these…be aware that Roadside assist, towing, hire car etc will be charged for because they will find a way of not honoring their 3 year 100K warranty!
What a joke.
ner ner ner ner ner tell somebody that cares. you probally voted for labour.
Dont know what your going on about i drive mine threw tidle saltwater creeks every time i go to the coast fishing and camping and i dont have have any problems, we drive down beaches over mudflats and up gullys and mine is great you probally got a lemon
Sorry but is this right the Holden Rodeo 2 star the same as gwc V240 i rest my case there no better built here in australia.
The latest Australian crash-test results show that the Mazda BT-50, with a less impressive three stars, and the Mahindra Pik-Up, with a poor two stars, were back among the field with those tested under Euro NCAP recently – the three-star Nissan Navara (upgraded from one star with revised airbag software now being installed in Australia) and two-star Holden Rodeo.
AUSSIE 1, so the Mazda BT50 with airbag et al has three stars, guess then my old 2005 Mazda Bravo 4000 without airbag would be 2 stars too, about equal to the Great Wall V240,- but the V240 has additional safety items; rear fogs, warning triangle,- not on the Bravo or BT-50.
REM, more to ‘road safety’ than crashing, best to avoid crashing (ESP/ABS/behaviour/airbags/rear fogs, etc) in the first place, and take measures to avoid crash incidence from occuring, say at a breakdown or other traffic’s crash scene, -(hazard lights/warning triangle/safety vest).
AND to be prepared after_an_event; phone/first aid kit etc and so on.
Hey bandaid…cant remember who I voted for…can you remember the name of your last boyfriend?
Anyway the problem was a crankshaft angle sensor which is mounted on the top of the bell housing. The mechanic in Brissy that replaced it says it was damaged by sand in the bell housing so GW is saying it was “environmental damage” that caused it to fail and its not covered by warranty.
This “environmental damage” clause is an all encompasing clause that can be used by GWMC to avoid virtually any warranty claim…uno a bit of dust got in here….a bit of water caused this etc….its total bullsh!t.
I even got my local GW dealer to look at it and both the head of service and his forman agreed that it should be a waranty claim but GW are not budging.
So a word of warning…the 3 year 100K road side assist is a smoke screen. I will now get my lawyers involved and get a big sign placed on top of the car warning people of what lemons they are, then park it outside the dealers yard.
this is stupid vehicle and company
duhhhhh amed your name sounds like a hygiene product some folk use, then again with a name like yours maybe you should be looking for an armoured personell carrier.
am interested in the dealership of your V240 and SA220 dual-cab utes both here in Europe and in Africa. please keep me posted with
the right informations. Thanks
Yorky,
>Have no fear they are putting the wind up everyone else.
Under engined, under engineered cars of low quality which aren’t that much cheaper than the competition.
In a few years all these GW cars will be littering the 2nd hand market at a tiny fraction the cost of new and dealers won’t be able to shift any stock.
All these negative comments look at the crap most australians drive around in rust buckets held together with tape and majority dont have any airbags it if it said made in japan you would praise it but as most things you own they come from china get over it ps how many of you have even seen one let alone test driven one ??? yep i guessed so all mouth
Sorry forgot to say I bought a 2009 honda jazz vti for 24,000 best trade in was 15.0000 after 8 months so just goes to show you no car is not worth what you paid for it
Its not so much just the fact that its made in China - as others have pointed out many products that are perfectly fine are made in China (”you need to understand 80% of products from Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Dell, HP are made in China”). The thing is many Chinese companies take short cuts and have no regard for quality (would you like some milk with your melamine? or lead on your child’s toys?), these others are multinationals who are using China for cheap labour but still following their normal engineering and production processes that are used in the rest of their worldwide operations.
Chinese cars will get a lot better styling wise quicker than the Japanese or Koreans did because in China they have no regard for intellectual property and are happy to knock off everyone else’s ideas (eg Geely copying Rolls Royce, iPod imitations, etc)
@ aussiebloke: For the record my car is 12 months old with 5 star safety, no rustbucket held together with tape. I have seen some Great Walls on the road but haven’t test driven one because I have no need for that type of vehicle
Matt says he has no need for this vehicle (Great Wall) yets takes the time and effort to write to us all telling us a whole lot of things that dont matter, his written a few times now his life is so boring that he needs to write to folk who read this colum trying to convince us to buy a commadore.
Thanks Matt you answered it in one you have not looked inside one or even test driven one so your comments have no relevance whatsoever
ps why if guys are not interested in the ute are they on here this is for people who are thinking of buying one not for these single minded pricks that have no interest in the first place get a life
I have a pink beetle and love it
Sorry i ment to say my Boyfriend has beetle and he loves it not me
Good to see my boredom after watching John Safran is providing something for you to do. By the way, the Beetle would be safer than both Great Walls http://www.ancap.com.au/results/76/
Blah blah blah blah blah soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring lets taks about men
both driver and passenger had marginal protection from serious chest injury. Protection from serious leg injury was marginal for the driver.
I’m not getting one but my Dad is due for a new work vehicle and was thinking about these so I started paying a bit of attention. He is looking at a Hilux instead.
By the way, where did I say anything about buying a Commodore? Good imaginations
Can I just say that having read more than half these comments it would appear that some of you out there are more interested in the cars speed than anything else. I am in a local country State Emergency Service and we do respond to road accidents and personally I would be very greatful if all cars could only go max 130km/h as if you go over that then it would not matter if you had twenty air bags in the car or any crumple zones or three engine walls between you and the motor I feel confidant that if you crash doing more than 130km/h in my area then we will be cutting your corpse out of a toyota just the same as a new great wall ute.