OF the 20 Chinese brands that have launched vehicles in SA since
2006, Great Wall Motors, or GWM, is among the six brands that not only survived,
but have prospered both internationally and locally.
In South Africa, GWM stands out as the only Chinese brand that
sells its vehicles through branded, instead of multi-franchise, dealerships.
There are 70 of these dealerships throughout South Africa, backed by a warehouse
stocking of over R150 million worth of parts in Durban.
Having built a reputation on the back of its Steed bakkies, the
Chinese upstart in January this year also impressed everyone at the 2013 Dakar,
not so much with its sixth place overall, but for daring to take part in a race
that is known for mercilessly exposing any weakness.
GWM next aims to sell more than 1,5 million cars by 2015 and
because people buy cars on how they look, the group had in 2011 appointed German
designer Andreas Deufel as director of design at GWM.
Deufel told Car
Design magazine his vehicles will look more German, which is a
philosophy that can already be seen in the taut lines and hinted bulges of the
C20R crossover.
Witness
Wheels were first in KwaZulu-Natal to test drive the crossover, which
privilege came with the drawback of a brand new engine that was not yet run in.
As the revolutions climb, the driver can follow the input changes
made by GWM’s variable valve timing on the 1,5 four-cylinder, petrol engine
motor, which managed to accelerate the C20R’s loaded weight of more than 1,2
tons, only if kept at 4 000 rpm.
Driving at these revolutions will not help attempts to equal the
claimed combined fuel consumption of 12 km to a litre. In the corners, the
crossover will show its leanings towards being driven more sedately when riding
over rougher roads. On dirt roads in the Midlands, the C20R came into its own,
with a decent ground clearance of 172 mm and relatively high tyres (195/60R16)
that comfortably absorbed the bumps.
The high-seated interior of the C20R will also stand up to its
competitors, like the longer Daihatsu Terios 1,5 (watch out for the soon-to-be
launched Terios Diva) and the shorter Fiat Panda 1,2 Lounge.
A range of soft plastics clad the GWM’s panels and big, ergonomic
buttons are all within fingertip reach. Like in a Citroën, a USB port and
auxiliary jack has been placed next to the handbrake. The rear folds down to
create a load bin that rivals that of a Nissan 1400 bakkie.
The headlights are bright and their range can be adjusted up or
down, as can the driver’s seat and steering wheel. The air conditioner works
quickly, there is enough space inside in which to dump cellphones and keys, and
a design detail worth noting on the outside is the gap between the bonnet and
the windscreen. This gap is covered flush by a plastic panel, which apart from
being more aerodynamic, prevents leaves from accumulating in the engine bay’s
crevices, a problem in the likes of older Golf and Clios.
Like its half-twin C10, the C20R comes with two airbags up front,
disk brakes all round and ABS, EBD and EBA.
The stiff engine aside, we can nitpick on only two issues. The
first is the leather seats all round, which look more like plastic, and the
second is the radio’s equaliser, for which we could only find preset options —
none of which quite matched these old toppies’ preferred bass and treble
settings while playing Dire Straits from the USB port.
Park assist and electrically-powered windows and mirrors all round
sweeten the deal in this price range.
Price: R154
900
Engine:
1,5-litre petrol
Power: 77 kW
at 6 000 rpm
Torque: 138
at 4200 rpm
Service
intervals: 15 000
Warrantee:
Three year/100 000 km
Service plan:
3/45 000 km
Roadside
assistance: Two years
Daihatsu Terios 1,5
(77 kW/140 Nm) R234 995
Fiat Panda 1,2 Lounge
(51 kW/102 Nm) R154 990
WITH its cherry-red paintwork, high stance, grey roof rails and
Ranger-style grille, our petite GWM CR20 resembled a pixie on steroids.
It certainly is one of the more attractive crossovers. The good
news continues inside with a neat and mostly well-finished interior.
But if a car’s heart is its engine, this one seemed to have a
dickey ticker. For a 1,5 VVT, with a claimed 77 kw and 138 Nm, it was
disappointingly gutless and rather unrefined at higher revs.
Perhaps the motor was still too tight. Nonetheless, unless I am
persuaded otherwise, this is one crossover I would cross off my
list.
