chinese and indian 4 wheel drives

Mate of mine had the 4 door wagon great wall. Had it for 3 years and drove on some very rough roads. Didn't have a problem with it and I think he covered about 50,000 in the 3 years. He went to trade it in but was offered bugger all. Gave the car to his son instead. Bought a 4 door ute. Once again a great wall. He lived in Arnhem land and often travelled bush roads. Even the suspension held up fine. He was a carefull driver ..i.e..didnt flog the bejeesus out of it. Most of us Toyota/Nissan blokes were expecting a major breakdown from him. We got disappointed!!

Gday,
Ive got a Mahindra tractor and have a mate who has one too.....
Both have had no trouble with them other than they have a bleep paint job.
Mine has a Mitsubishi motor.
I would assume the cars are built to the same sort of standard, but I do believe at the end of the day you get what you pay for.


Cheers

"but it wasn't that long ago we thought Toyota and Nissan were a waste of time"

If you call 30-40 years ago then yes it wasn't that long ago.......sort of maybe.

Both are definitly not world class build, quality or standards, we have a few customers who have them and their biggest complaint is comfort, how they drive, the headlights, air conditioning and after sales suport.

There is good reason why they are a good amount cheaper then the mainstream brands.

Two things to look at is resale ( how much and how quick) and safety..... Or lack of it.

If you want a good work hack thats going to get knocked around and drive agricultural then they are value for money.

They will get better over development time but when who knows.

Best thing to do is drive a 3-4 year old one and compare it to 3-4 year old from the other manufactures.

I met a bloke in Yepoon who had a Great Wall petrol wagon and had done 40KK with no problems.
However my local mechanic is the NRMA agent and has had bad experiences with the diesel overheating and the agents having no clue and unable to fix it.
Oh and my best mate bought a Great wall Chassis cab petrol for his son and no problems.
I understand the running gear is Mitsubishi , with the early 2.4 from the Outlander.

Regards Philip A

Some of the properties are using them as they are fed up with the cheap priced land cruisers. Ha.Ha. I know of two that are based a long way apart, one in western Qld and the other on the coast, neither of these have had a problem. I drove the western one with an aftermarket exhaust and it went ok, basic but did the job.

hi all
i have a great wall x240 nearly 4 years old and never had a problem. no rust and no issues

we did the telegraph track last year . dont know how to post a link but if you google search "telegraph track great wall 1" you will find 19 clips of the tele track.

done a lot of the high country and it goes wherever i point it

i have done a lot to it but then most of members cars are modified. there is a write up on 4x4 earth http://www.4x4earth.com.au/forum/my-4wd/27162-not-great-wall-x240-2010-a.html.
hope that link works

only problem is a lack of power, that might be the next project

had quite a few laughs when i joined the local 4wd club but i think we are pretty well accepted now and do all that the big boys do

dennis

Looking at the Foton Tunland which has a cummins motor, gertrag gearbox, borg warner transfer case and dana diffs. rear diff is LSD.
Had a test drive and very impressed.
Only issue is no stability control available so no 5 star

Honky

Don't forget the Tata Xenon. It's in that class and has a decent motor. Tata own Land Rover.

Hi, Have had a Mahindra cab chassis for just on 3 years now. No problems at all. Never had to call roadside assist. Will agree with the resale value point but being over 70 & having major health issues this will be the last vehicle for me so why not try something new.
Have driven all the older 4x4's & this one beats them hands down. Could never justify the price of a new Toyota or Nissan so owned smaller SUV. The Mahindra fits the gap nicely. Was not happy with the Triton so went looking for a replacement. The cook objected to the mobile home I wanted so went for another twin cab ute. With the level of fit out that I wanted ( bulbar winch etc) most were way over 50K. Checked the Mahindra & with all the goodies , plus a canopy & custom roof cage came in just under 40K. Seemed good value for money.
Only complaint from the cook is that the seat belt sticks into her bum. Makes for some interesting conversations.
I get the stated 9l per 100km on normal running & around 12l when towing. Tows our 2T van OK. Doesn"t fly over the hills but it takes a really steep one to have to change down to 3rd. No sign of rust yet but we live inland & rust is never a problem so can't say what they would be like on the coast.
Looked all over the web before buying & couldn't find any really bad reviews from owners. Some had small complaints lights etc but nothing major & it seems that most of the major manufacturers have those. Read the different forums.
The resale value will be problematical but that will be my sons problem.So far more than happy . Bill

These videos should give you a big hint.

Crash test Great wall

Mahindra crash test

Previous poster is being VERY selective in his videos.
The X240 is a 4 star vehicle.
My understanding is that the difference between 4 star and 5 star is a little light on the dash in front of the passenger saying "fasten seat belt"

http://www.ancap.com.au/crashtestrecord?Id=356
Regards Philip A

These guys should release a model that is already modified. Standard bigger tyres (33"??), 300mm clearance, winch, bar, snorkel, diff locks. They would stand the market on it's head if the price was right. People spend a fortune to add all those things to already expensive cars. Everyone tells me that most 4wds never see dirt but all I see are more and more out on the tracks and ARB doing very well (rightly so, their gear is good but priced to match).

Yes I have a built up Mahindra Pikup -- with a few mods

Have documented the build up, and what's it like to live with on both the Myswag forum and 4x4Eartth forum
MySwag: 4x4 Mahindra Pik-up UTE build
and
4x4 Earth: Mahindra Pik-up Dual Cab

Might as well have a photo of it


Nice thing with the Mahindra's they come with a factory rear locker, and they are simple to modify, and it's quite a capable 4WD vehicle.

Cheers