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AT A media conference held in March this year in East London, Dave Power, founder of JDPower and associates, the global marketing information company, was questioned about the Chinese motor industry’s quality status.
His response was that the Chinese are at present testing the global market and are five years behind the rest of the world, but as with Japan and Korea they would learn and could become a significant role player in future years. Prophetic words indeed as I was to discover last week when I visited the Great Wall Motor Company at its facility in Baoding City, 150km south west of Beijing.
At the recent Durban Motor Show, Great Wall Motors (GWM) SA unveiled several new models for the local market. While the Hover limousine may have stolen a fair bit of the limelight, it was the standard Hover and the urban oriented Peri that I was particularly anticipating the opportunity to test drive.
Well test drive is perhaps an overstatement — as many of you are aware China does not allow foreigners to drive on their roads — so I was restricted to a small test track within the company’s grounds.
Despite the rather limited size, the track provided high-speed banking, very tight bends, varying gradients and road surfaces from smooth to very rough.
Available immediately in SA, the Hover is a stylish but rugged looking SUV with all the right features to make it a strong contender in this sector.
Available in two or four-wheel drive versions, the Hover is powered by a Mitsubishi 2.4l petrol engine delivering 93kW at 5250r/min and 195Nm of torque at 2500r/min.
Diesel as an option should become available towards the end of the year.
The interior is spacious and well appointed featuring automatic climate control with a built-in pollen filter, electronic instrumentation, electric windows and full leather upholstery throughout with fold flat rear seats to increase the spacious cargo load.
During my short drive the Hover felt to be a solidly built vehicle with good handling and stability and a high level of comfort, and at a starting price of R197990 for the two-wheel drive version, it is going to be a very desirable alternative.
The Peri on the other hand is a compact car with a high specification level. It is also powered by a Mitsubishi derived engine, in this case a 1.3l unit, that produces 65kW at 2600r/min and 115Nm of torque between 4200 and 5200r/min.
Coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox, the Peri should prove to be a very capable little car.
Featuring hydraulically assisted power steering and ABS and EBD as well as dual front airbags, GWM claims it will meet the highest safety standards.
On the roads of the GWM facility, the Peri felt solid and easy to handle with ample power to push you along at a fair pace. Over the heavily rippled sections of the track there was no sign of shake or rattle and it even handled a thirty-degree gradient with aplomb.
Interestingly the vehicles were both taken straight off of the assembly line with no chance for any marketing or media people to prepare them before we drove them. The fit and finish of both the models showed a marked improvement over previous offerings and is likely to set a definite benchmark for other manufacturers from China.
Granted, there were one or two minor points, but overall the GWM products are very close to European and Japanese standards.
It goes along with the Great Wall Motor Company’s philosophy of “Improving little by little everyday”.
JDPower’s prediction that the Chinese industry could well be a major force in five years would appear to be an overestimate — the rate of development to bring the vehicles up to world standard by GWM is, to say the least, phenomenal, and will put the company’s target of becoming a global player by 2010 within easy reach. - John Floyd
