SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
Posted: 12 January 2015
The cheat sheet
Price: R319 900
Engine: 1996 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder, turbodiesel
Power: 105 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 305 Nm between 1800 and 2800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 17,0 seconds
Maximum speed: About 150 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9,3 l/100 km
Tank: 70 litres
Ground clearance: 188 mm
Approach/Departure angles: 27/19 degrees
Warranty: 5 years/100 000 km; with 2 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: Optional – for 5 years/60 000 km; at annual or 10 000 km intervals
What is it with those thick, chromed roll bars that owners love to bolt onto the load bins of their pickups? They don’t look as though they would be much help if you did manage to flip the truck over onto its roof, but…
The 2015 GWM Steed 6, 2.0 VGT Xscape double-cab has one as original equipment and despite lingering uncertainty about its effectiveness for stated use, my inner "Grey" person looked at it and mused: A little light bondage out in the woods perhaps? The load area is long enough; just over 2.1 metres with the tailgate down and a smidgen over a metre wide between the wheel arches, so there’s enough space…
But enough of that: Practical considerations include a loading height of 76 centimetres, a useful gap between bin floor and opened tailgate so small stones and debris should be easy to sweep out, four lashing eyelets and a set of eight drainage holes in the front end of the bin. Two are big, with plastic covers, while the remaining six are small and permanently open. They would make it easier to hose everything down after a weekend’s entertainment or prevent puddles forming after a rain shower.
Because this is GWM’s flagship leisure pickup, other original equipment includes running boards, fog lamps front and rear, ABS brakes (discs all ‘round), EBD and ESP, six airbags, powered windows and mirrors (folding on the outside), central locking with autolock, ISOFix anchors, kiddie locks, single channel climate control, and automatic wipers and headlamps.
Then there’s hill start assistance, reversing alarm and a competent radio/CD player with MP3 capability on its USB and auxiliary plugs. Bluetooth, satellite buttons, cruise control, trip computer, combination leather upholstery, powered adjusters for the driver’s chair and an automatically dipping interior mirror are fitted too. The radio aerial is incorporated into the front windscreen.
At only R320 000, it’s little wonder that “Bakkie and Truck” magazine voted it Bakkie of the Year for 2015. While accepting the award local GWM MD, Tony Pinfold, said: “The great thing about Steed 6 is that it’s an immediate perception changer – once you’ve sat in its cabin, your opinion about GWM will never be the same again,”
That brings me to my next point: Chinese cars and pickups started out a little ropey but have progressively improved in terms of engines, build quality and standards of fit and finish. I reckon this thing is actually pretty decent – as good as most Japanese rivals at any rate.
Everything is neat and tidy with dash and door trims featuring a mix of hard and soft surfaces. Coincidentally, VW’s Amarok is mostly hard plastic inside. Its PR people said double-cab owners expect to put their feet up on the dash; hence that material choice. (Feet up on the dash? Light bondage? Don’t show your mother this review – she wouldn’t understand.)
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed something missing from the details above – no differential lock. When selecting kit for South African models, the importers chose to give this one ESP instead, but if it’s an issue, all you have to do is buy down. The SX version has a locking diff. but does without certain fancy items.
Size-wise, Steed 6 is a whisker longer than the new Isuzu double-cabs but slenderer and lower. If you’re feeling picky, its bin is 5 millimetres shorter than that of the Japanese product and 70 mm narrower, but it’s 15 mm deeper - not that most buyers would care much. The Steed has slightly less knee room in the back than the KB, but head- and foot space is about the same. I also felt that the Isuzu had slightly wider rear doors, making it easier to get in and out.
GWM’s 2.0 diesel develops 105 kW and 305 Nm; quite close to the previously mentioned Amarok diesel’s 103 kW/340 Nm in its lower output form. Neither one is a whirlwind, although both get the job done. Steed 6 is geared at 2400 rpm for 120 km/h in top (sixth). That’s comfortably within its maximum torque band that runs from 1800 – 2800 rpm, so roll-on acceleration and hill climbing is quite acceptable. Unfortunately, it rides more harshly than Steeds I drove a few years ago.
GWM still makes working vehicles, but decided to try for the burgeoning leisure market as well, with Steed 5E and 6 leading its assaults on two perceived layers of what buyers want. GWM also went back to its original value-for-money approach, so these new products should shake things up considerably.
Right price, decent kit, good build quality and attractive looks – sounds like motivation for SA buyers to look beyond their traditional choices.
Evaluation unit from GWMSA press fleet
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8