4wd's

So you're not an owner so you don't really know. Why comment then?
You've made an assumption that "they are cheap chinese bleep " they are no good for 4WDing. Maybe they are and maybe they aren't, but if you've never driven one ....then.....

I know a lot of shearers that travel all over Aus in Kia Sportages. Cheap to buy, depreciate and pick up a new one in 3 years time. Don't give any trouble...

But it's not a Tojo or a hand grenade Pootrol eh!

I was pointing out what 4wd systems and accessories they don't have. Without being an owner I can know that. I stated I was not an owner in case I wasn't being fair to the car. I don't care if you think I shouldn't comment, my comment was more polite and useful than yours which had no information at all.

I was comparing things a while back. I noted they roughly have the power and torque of a 3 litre D22.

As far as the off road capacity......the majority of 4wds registered don't have lockers, the LSD that comes fitted to toyotas does very little.

There are plenty of places you can go in a more or less standard 4wd.

2 tonne twong capacity is more than reasonable for a small 4 cylinder 4wd.....its 200Kg more than the 04 model hilux.

They way I hear it, they are price comparable with buying a used 5 to 10 year old hilux, nad as they come probably performance comparable........but you get a new car with waranty.

I wouldn't buy one, but a tradey that is required to have a vehicle under 5 years old to access a work site might.
Or some one who is turning their vehicle over before the tyres war out would.

cheers

Bantam, this reminds me of back when I was a trainee. We had an excellent instructor for the subject of Measurements. At least once in every lesson he would tell us "if you realise the limitations of your equipment you can do useful work with it."

Amen brother.

And you who understand the limitations of your equipment will do better work than the bloke who has far more expensive and capable equipment but does not understand its limitations.

This realy goes for towing capacities.

So many of the modern vehicles have very high apparant towing capacities.......but you need to undestand the limitations that come with them.

cheers

quote "I don't think they would go far off road. There's no traction control or LSD for the Great Wall and ARB only make a canopy for them. The torque is only 310nm with 2000kg towing."

Im making an assumption from your username that you have/had a 1HZ, and all those reasons/stats apply to any 1HZ powered vehicle also I think?

No you are wrong. I don't own and never have owned a Toyota. I like Land Rovers and Jeeps so I may be a bit odd though?

My mistake, however im guessing that like Toyota, you wouldnt have to go to far back in LR history to find vehicles with very similar attributes

Landrovers and Jeeps eh.....people is glass houses should not throw stones.

I wonder what would last longer in a reliability trial.

Landies where once famous for breaking axles and their incredibly gutless motors.

Jeep like most american cars still strugle with finish and reliability issues.

As has been said, these 4wds from third string makers are comparable with how the name brands where 10 years ago....and that is what they are designed to compete with......used cars.

None of this is new...the only thing we don't seem to be seeing is the third string manufacturers buying out of date tooling from the major brands.
Like...Lada bodies where made on tooling baught from Fiat....International trucks where made on tooling baught from Dodge..and there where others.

cheers

If stating facts is throwing stones then guilty. No traction control, no lockers, nothing but a canopy from ARB and 310nm of torque. The end. Any car can't go far off road with that, not what I'd call far anyway. Maybe your definition of far is different? Other than that I said I didn't own one in case I was being unfair to them. Are you guys saying they have got all the fruit to make them a decent 4wd? On paper they would be flat out keeping up with an X-Trail....at least you can get a suspension lift for the Nissan. :-)

If you have a look the toyota landcruiser 79series dual cab ute with its V8 diesel it only produces 1/4 more power and torque from an engine that is double the size and uses double the fuel and costs 3 times as much to buy ,,,,,,Rio Tinto is starting to replace Tojo's with Mahindra for above and below ground work.......

That's the main reason I'm not interested in owning a Toyota, or an early model Land Rover for that matter. I don't want to drive a big clumsy truck, I've already done that with a Nissan Patrol. The new Landies and Jeeps are so far in front as "cars" on the road and off road ability standard, I don't care about break downs. That's why there are warranties. I'm sure the Great Walls are handy to drive and relatively frugal but the lack of options is a big drawback, for me anyway.

I dont think we were asked if we would buy one, i probably wouldnt either. Question was "Anybody actually used them?"

I think people have taken issue with your comments cause the reasons you give, would be the same ones to apply to a LR a few years old. If you really need traction control to go off road you probably need a little more training.
Youll look pretty foolish if the you have to get towed out of the bush cos the TC suffered from LRovers famous reliability issues

Fair dinkum, is English a second language or something? I simply said it WASN'T AVAILABLE along with a HOST OF OTHER OPTIONS THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE, whether you want to use them or not. That could influence some people who may also want to look foolish. It's great that you don't need lockers or traction control to go where ever it is you go. I wonder why they were invented in the first place....for untrained drivers perhaps? I must mention to the next guys I go out on the tracks with that they need some training if I see they have any of the above. :-)

The notion that you need traction controll and lockers to go places, is completely false.

Before traction controll was available and most people could afford any sort of diff lock, people went all those places...and still do without them.....in fact a lot of people went to those places in 2wd vehicles.

They rely on skill, preparation and being sensible.

In fact there are a great many who are looking for the simple, basic 4wd of the past....a vehicle without the complexities of traction controll and ABS brakes and electronic theft prevention.....a vehicle that none of the major players offer any more.

The third string vehicles supply that, at a reasonable price and with airconditioning standard.

cheers

Traction controll, dynamic stability controll, hill decent controll and any other function of the ABS system where developed for and continue to be marketed squarely at the untrained and the unskilled.

Those that know what they are doing can make advantage of them.....but...YES they where invented for those who cant drive.

The scary thing is they will be mandated in the next round of safety requirements.....soon you wont be able to buy a pasenger car without.

cheers

Mike you said "I don't think they would go far off road" for the reasons you listed
Maybe you need to reread your post cobba!

Mate, I could just about guarantee they wouldn't go far off road. Like I said in a later post, it does depend on your definition of far. I do a lot of trips with cars in that class and we pick up bits of them as we go along. Most need dragging up some of the obstacles....those without traction control or lockers that is. Must be the unskilled drivers fault. :-) Wouldn't be the extreme slope, massive ruts, mud etc combined with low clearance, small wheels. Without traction aids you just hit them at 80kph....that might work. I used to see old Falcons using that method. :-)

"Mate, I could just about guarantee they wouldn't go far off road"
Must be a very recent newcomer to off roading, nothing wrong with that except for the thinking of whats essential and whats not.
Howlong ago did LR start with traction control? Were they unusable before?

Myself, i grew up with 4wds with no traction control etc

Well live axles in the front help a lot and just about all the old 4wd's had them. But all the new cars are IFS. I never said anything was essential. I said that in my opinion (from 40 years experience) a light, low clearance class of car doesn't get very far off road. Most are gravel road only. Send one into the Vic High Country and it will probably end up sitting on it's belly with all wheels spinning freely in the ruts of the track. You'll need an escort car to pick up the bits that have fallen off....been their done that and it doesn't matter what the brand is.

Mate we aren't all hero's, and we don't all want to do "the hard tracks".

Especially on this a touring forum.

All of those vehicles will go a very long way off the road if ya not trying to be a hero.

cheers

The touring on this forum includes many posts on the Simpson Desert, Canning Stock Route, Cape York AND the Vic High Country. Doing all of those it is desirable to have a bit of extra ground clearance....sorry not available on a Great Wall. Maybe a snorkel to get the air intake higher out of he dust or in case a river is up a bit...sorry not available on a Great Wall. A bull bar for roos...not available. A winch in case you get stuck in mud on your own....not available. I don't care if you don't want any of those things, I simply stated that they weren't available.
Off road means off a road, not off the tar. All the main iconic tracks like the Birdsville Track are all roads. There's nothing heroic about driving off a road, but it helps if your car can handle it. Most cars can't go very far off a road unless they are modified to handle it. The modifications aren't available for a Great Wall. You look at the rigs on this forum that are set up to tour remote places safely and they mostly all have the modifications mentioned above. The OP wanted to know how the newer cheap brands stacked up and I told him what was not available for Great Wall. The Mahindra shown further down the page has some of the modifications and looks well set up to go off a road.

Bout time you updated you knowledge base Mikehzz , ECB do a bullbar for Great wall and you can 'lift' just the same as a Holden Rodeo /Isuzu Dmax ,,as for snorkel ok you cant buy one [yet] of the shelf [just like you can't buy one for an 011/012 Jeep Grand Cherokee] .........

hi all
i just had to reply to this post , mostly a lot of ranting from people that have never seen a great wall. i have an x240 wagon ,it goes everywhere my old hilux went. i have done billy goat bluff and zeka spur in the vic high country. didnt see any xtrails
there is plenty of after market stuff, i have a steel bar and winch, rear bar with wheel carrier, rear auto locker and front torsen locker, 2" lift ,diff drop ,bigger tyres tjm snorkel safari snorkel available to , i could go on.
no its not a patrol or a cruiser but i go anywhere anyone with ifs goes. indeed the utes are almost identical underneath to rodeo/ colorado .my wagon has the same front end with coils in the rear
yes its not the most powerful car but thers plenty available from the boy racers with its mitsubishi engine
what other wagon with low range can you get out there for 23000?

if any one want more info ask me or try www.gwownerforum.com.au

dennis

I've not seen one off road yet, to get bogged.

Well done mbw650, great you could help em out like that . . . who'd have thought Rodeo doors would have fitted a GW that well ?

Jaguar/Landrover is owned by Tata. They are also an Indian company.

Graeme

So I just read. There are some mixed reviews on the new one.

The new what???

Mahrindra release a new 7seater medium size suv some time this year. Apparently five years since they released previous model. This one apparently won the 2012 Desert Storm Rally

Hey Guys, Just to mix all this up, Jags landrover will be built under the same roof as Chery in China in the near future!....Now thats a mix.


Cheers Axle.

Lol,Wilko....You got the Agricultural bit right,They have to be the ugliest thing out there.,.........But in saying that most brands have all started that way, and in a way should have stayed like it.

What Diesel motor are they using?

Cheers Axle.

Not sure but it reminded of driving a late 70's cruiser solid dependable but rough

Gazz,

You are spot on.

Bottom of the line 1999 Hyundai excel. Resale after buying bugger all. Cost $10000 new.

But after 13 years and the grand total of $230 for a sensor and 1 timing belt at 100,000K as recommended for the mitsubishi motor, I could get around $3500 for it. You would only get the same money for a camry up here.

Gave it to my son and had to have a roadworthy. Not one thing found to be wrong with it. 180000 K on the clock.

Mate has a twin cab GW 4wd and so far has had no trouble with it at 40000K. Mitsubishi motor as well.

I don't think people should write them off just yet. They will get better as you say.

RA.

Might be heading to one of the Indian owned mines...... you know they fly their workers directly in, dig the our stuff out the ground, send it to their own port, load it on their own ship and send it home.

Hi

A chinese owned iron ore mine in Midwest WA uses Great Walls (so I'm told). Not sure of finer details.

Cheers
Greg

we met a group of journos( from some melb paper from memory) at purni bore in late august early sept 2011 taking a variety of vehicles including mercedes g wagon, a jeep, defender,a toyota something or a mitsubishi something and a mini and a great walll across the simpson east to west and they said the great wall did everything easy and as well if not better than some of the Name brands. unlike the mini which spent most of the time hooked to the g wagon.
interestingly all other manufacturers had supplied test vehicles the newspaper had to purchase the great wall.
regards
Howard

Dono - newer drove one and never will. Those testers that I mentioned said that it came in one piece (yep, brand new; my LC came in one piece being 20 y.o. with 300k+ on clock), but they complain that Grind Well was incredibly gutless. No wonder with such sh1ty engine. Also other poster in other forum open one up and saying that it looks like Grind Well made of random bits and pieces from different manufactures (usual story with chenaso stuff - they buying surplus and fit whatever and however they can), I do not remember particulars exactly though.
Anyway I would pick old Hilux or Defender anyday over Grind Well or Mahindra. People who comparing current chonoze crap with "Made In Japan" circa 1960 forget that then in Japan there was no technology, but was discipline and QA. In country where chanezo crap came from there are plenty of technology, but lack of discipline and QA multiplied on general corruption and shifty government and businessmen. They newer will catch up with proper places. Though reality is herd not demanding quality and happy to accept any rubbish as long as it cheap enough.
YMMV though.

G'day Cyberess, saw heaps of Mahindras (4bs and trucks) as well as Tatas etc in Nepal / Bhutan late last year . . . they are just about all you see over there.

Gotta ask though, is that the sump sticking out below the guard in the first pic ?
If so, you'd have to be watching lines with rocks etc pretty well.

That ain't the bottom of the sump -- Your looking at -- it's bottom of the rear tyre :D


I have a large front bash plate (sump guard) installed


Cheers

Ha yeah, see it's the tyre now.
Cheers.

In my books it still cnonize made rubbish that I personally will not touch even with stick. You welcome to your own opinion.