Great Wall Steed......?

[B.J.W]

The time is fast approaching for the trusty All-Road's retirement. It's passed its MOT, but with a few advisories and a issue with the engine (Both turbo's are leaking oil due to worn bearings), money needs to be spent that doesn't really warrant the outlay given that I now need a vehicle for business use, as well as a regular off-road shooting hack.

I require a 4x4 truck (4 door configuration with separate covered load bay) and have set the budget at around the £10-12,000 mark (this will include purchasing a decent set of A/T's as they are needed). I figure the All-Road is worth around £1500 part/ex.

The field has been narrowed down to a Nissan Navarra (Aventura spec as heated seats are preferred) or a H3 spec Hilux.

However, I have seen that nearly new Great Wall Steeds are now (just) within budget. I hadn't considered one previously, but as an on-paper package they look pretty tempting - fully loaded with kit and cover all the bases for a work vehicle. I would also get the balance of a manufacturer warranty. The minor negatives are that the Great Wall is a bit slow (I will be doing some motorway mileage and a 0-60 time of 17 seconds and a top speed of 85mph doesn't hint at a pleasant experience), and the nearest dealer (should something go wrong) is 30 miles away.

I would be interested to hear if anyone on here owns/runs a Steed and how good they have found the truck on a day to day basis? My primary concern is how reliable/tough a Chinese built vehicle is going to be when compared to the Nissan and the Hilux? Depreciation is not really an issue - the truck will be a long term purchase, but I guess it's a question of weighing up how a nearly new Steed will stack up against a proven work horse in the form of a 5 year old Navarra or Hilux?

So is it a case of the Kia factor (10 years ago few people drove one, but now they are everywhere), or a case of an initial bargain, offset by an expensive and unreliable ownership experience......

[Toaster Pilot]

I like these - how "nearly new" are we talking? (they're £14k + VAT new)

One worry is that they have the "Kia factor" with servicing and parts prices - long warranty with expensive servicing/parts makes up for a cheap sale price.

[CAPP0]

Have a search, someone wrote on here earlier this year about their ownership experience, ISTR that it was quite detailed.

[B.J.W]

Toaster Pilot said:

I like these - how "nearly new" are we talking? (they're £14k + VAT new)

One worry is that they have the "Kia factor" with servicing and parts prices - long warranty with expensive servicing/parts makes up for a cheap sale price.

12-18 month old vehicles (S spec) are now under 12k (+ VAT). There is a top spec version on Autotrader with 40k on the clock at 10k (plus vat).

[Fast Bug]

There's a massive thread on here about them. They're cheap for a reason by the sounds of people who have had first hand experience of them...

[jamiebae]

My cousin had one on test for a week or two, said it was slow and felt cheaply made compared to his old L200, or the Rodeo they were looking to replace.

However, if it's 5 years newer of be tempted to go for it, an older truck is likely to have seen a lot if abuse and may well be even worse in terms of reliability.

[B.J.W]

CAPP0 said:

Have a search, someone wrote on here earlier this year about their ownership experience, ISTR that it was quite detailed.

I've had a look. It would appear that I would be better off hunting high and low for an well looked after Navarra or Hilux......

[bristolracer]

I know someone who works in dealership for one of these.

I understand parts availability may become an issue.