Great Wall Steed 5: Made in China but Assembled in Bulgaria

The Great Wall Motor Company was established in 1976. It is a Chinese motor company which has produced trucks but for a few years it has been producing passenger cars, SUV and pickups - the main production. The most important thing about Great Wall is that they make exclusively cheap vehicles. In 2012 The Great Wall Motor Company opened a new factory in Bahovitza village, to the north of Lovech – a town in Bulgaria.

Let me present you Great Wall Steed 5 which is made in China but assembled in Bulgaria. The base price for this pickup is about 14.000 EUR and here is what you receive: a brand new 4x4 pickup with double cabin, 5 seats, 5-speed manual gear box, 2.4L petrol engine from Mitsubishi with 122 hp, a precisely round steering-wheel, instrumental cluster – integrated in the dashboard, air conditioner, turn indicators, head and tail lights, wipers and side mirrors. Actually a lot of things for 14.000 EUR!

However, when you enter the Steed 5 there is a lot of space but only for the people in front seats. The backseat space is a little bit narrow especially for three passengers. There are full power windows. The seats are manually adjusted. The dashboard is simple, clean and square. There are three buttons on the middle console with inscriptions on them: 2H – for rear-wheel drive; 4H- 4x4 wheel drive with high gears; and 4L – 4x4 wheel drive whit low gears. The last two options are required to be used only on off-road or any unpaved 'roads'. In the test model next to these buttons is a LPG switch.

Yes, this car was equipped with Liquid Petrol Gas system. This alternative fuel is very popular in Bulgaria because it's almost at half price of gasoline. The computer of this LPG system, equipped on Steed 5, is very smart. That's because the system calculates the cycles of the fuel load in the cylinders. There are a set number of cycles – on three LPG injections the fourth is gasoline, for example. This helps the engine to be well oiled because the LPG doesn’t have such good oil characteristics as gasoline. Unfortunately, the LPG bottle is put on the place of the reserve tire. I think this isn’t so good because you don’t have a reserve tire. 

Here is a table with the available engines:

	Petrol	Diesel
Volume ccm	2378	1996
Max. hp	122	139
Max. torque (Nm)	200	305
Acceleration (sec)	12.7	12.5
Average fuel consumption l/100 km	11.5	8.6
CO2 emissions 4x2/4x4 (g/km)	272/282	222

This car is on frame platform which gives opportunities to load a heavy cargo. Also the rear suspension is attached to semi-elliptic leaf springs. The producer insures us that there is 1050 kg load capability. I consider it is useful. Despite the length of the pickup is 5040 mm, it is very maneuverable and driving is easy. The change of the gears is very smooth but the gear stick is a little bit huge which gives the feeling as if you are driving an old truck. The pickup has huge mirrors giving more visibility while driving on reverse.  

The exterior design is simple, nothing special. This is normal for a commercial vehicle. You can buy side steps, a front bar, and different covers for the cargo space as additional equipment. There is also a special model for mining work. Another positive thing is that the pickup has a very good clearance -194 mm, full loaded.

Great Wall Steed 5 has ABS and EBD systems. The front disc brakes are ventilated and there are rear drum brakes. There are air bags for the driver and the passenger next to him. The body of the car is deformation proof and there is reinforcement in the door. The bumpers can absorb deformation up to 8 km/h. There are three-point safety seat belts for all seats. Only for the diesel models there is: an ESP system; HHC is system, which help us to drive off on steep slope; and HBA is a hydraulic brake assist.

The most important question is why this pickup is so cheap. I don't know but there are a few options: low quality of suspension (when I did the test it looked good) or the body work. But if there is a low quality of the body work this means that in case of crash the safety is too low. Actually, I have tried to find information about crash tests in Euro NCAP and C-NCAP but there isn't information yet. It's obvious that they use cheap materials. Another reason why the car is so cheap can be the decision that they sell it at a minimum profit. I don't know. The time will show.

Dimensions:

Wheel-base:  3050 mm (app. 120 in)

Length:  5040 mm (app. 198 in)

Wide (with mirrors): 1800 mm (app. 71 in)

High: 1730 mm (app. 68 in).