'Great Wall' - the Chinese car manufacture

[Pvapour]

new one on me, father drops me a mail to say he's looking at one of these http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/g... and asks me if they're any good, buggered if I know, never new this manufacturer existed never mind for sale in UK.

anyone got any experience with them?

[SystemParanoia]

[Pvapour]

must admit, I thought the same, been manufacturing since 1976 though.

[TheHeretic]

They have them over here. My mum has the little family car from them. Good MPG, seems solidly built, nice interior, goes along well enough for a 1.5, and is cheap.

The Steed is also here a lot, and seems to be popular. haven't heard anything bad about them.

[Dog Star]

Regardless of quality etc I have to admit that looks quite smart - every bit as good as any Japanese pickup.

Any crash test videos or YouTube?

[pad58]

Takes a long time to get to 60 though, then put a load of builders blocks in the back, It will take 17sec to get to 30.

[wemorgan]

In the balance of probability it will be rubbish.
Hand made (not in the way we associate with hand craft bespoke cars) to the lowest possible cost to the lowest standards.
An older Japanese equivalent will most likely be better,

[Quhet]

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/great-wall/ste...
Doesn't look too bad. Well equipped and dirt cheap. No crash yet as yet though...

[Pvapour]

I was surprised at how good it looked to, not sure he'll be that bothered by straight line speed tbh, he's coming from a grand voyager which hardly sets the world alight performance wise.

poor reliability would annoy him though and as yet I cant see anything out there to give an idea, cheap doesn't always mean an unreliable car, is it built poorly or just built cheaply which they can at their labour rates.

after seeing some of the offering from Hyundai and daewoo lately (although korean) I have more confidence than previously.

[SystemParanoia]

Goodluck finding spare parts in a timely fashion. This is why most chinese scooters and bikes die young

[TheHeretic]

SystemParanoia said:

Goodluck finding spare parts in a timely fashion. This is why most chinese scooters and bikes die young

Well, my mum can go to the Great Wall showroom, and service centre. Not difficult. Lots of UK dealers spread out.

http://greatwallmotor.co.uk/dealers/

[elephantstone]

Im in australia at the moment and have noticed a few roadwork pickups have been Great Walls. I noticed them a while back, seem to be pretty good value...

[Truckosaurus]

The 13k of that pre-reg Great Wall will get you a 5yr old Hilux double cab with 60k miles on it.

I know which one I'd wager on lasting longer.

[Fire99]

You never know, they might take up the Hyundai / Kia mantle where these two have moved their game (and prices) up to the mainstream.

[Fire99]

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/great-wall/ste...

Looks a pretty good package for the money. Probably best not dismiss out of hand.