Good, better, best – Part 2
There’s some stiff competition in the diesel 4X4 double-cab arena. We compare the GWM Steed 5, Toyota Hilux and Foton Tunland.
Read Part 1 of the Double-cab shoot-out here.
Read Part 3 of the Double-cab shoot-out here
Read Part 4 of the Double-cab shoot-out here
Double cab shootout in partnership with CAR mag
GWM Steed 5: cheaper, but not nasty
South Africans are still wary of the Chinese product six years after it was imported to our local shores. Editor Cameron Ewart-Smith is currently driving the GWM Steed as a long-term test for Getaway and at R259 900 it’s the cheapest of the bunch. You can’t help but be curious, yet the question remains: quality or affordability?
The GWM Steed
The GWM Steed is sleek, but still looks hardy and plays the bakkie part well without any modern fuss. It has a two-litre engine with a six-speed, manual gearbox (the only six-speed manual in the test fleet) and comes with leather seats. The interior layout is simple layout compared to some of the fancier-looking bakkies and gives it a hardier, old-school feel.
The GWM Steed is currently being tested by our Editor Cameron Smith
It trundled up the ascents of the 4×4 course without qualms, despite having the least powerful motor at 110 kilowatts. The ride was comfortable and Hannes Grobler (South African off-road rally champ) noted the vehicle had better suspension than the Foton and even beat off the Hilux in terms of a softer ride, which you’ll want if you have the family in the car.
The Steed has two 12-volt power outlet in the front, perfect for a GPS or cellphone on your travels. Cameron found the cup-holder size to be awkward, especially if you have a travel mug with a handle. Another thing to consider is the fuel tank. At 70 litres, it has the lowest capacity compared to the 80-litre tanks of the Hilux, Mazda, Isuzu, Ranger and Amarok and you do not want to come short on fuel when overlanding in Africa.
On that note, the CAR fuel index has the Steed with the best fuel consumption of the lot, an important consideration with fuel prices sitting so high.
The GWM Steed tackling the articulation exercise
The low ride height of the vehicle can make passengers squirm as you navigate over bigger rocks and hear ‘crunch’ from the car’s underbelly, but this problem can be solved with Old Man Emu suspension and bigger tyres, which significantly increase the ground clearance. The GWM branch in Montana, Pretoria, recommends a chunky set of mud-terrain tyres sized 265/75 R16 and offers a fully kitted-out vehicle ready for an overlanding adventure from about R300 000.
Toyota Hilux: the benchmark
The easily recognisable Hilux is still heralded as the benchmark of South African bakkies due its reliability and good resale value – Hannes G. even dubbed it Old Faithful and all bakkies are measured against it.
The Toyota Hilux remains the benchmark bakkie
The model made its debut in 2005 and is powered by a five-speed, three-litre engine and delivers great torque at a maximum of 343 Newton metres at 3 200 revs a minute.
Call me a biased Toyota loyalist or old-fashioned nostalgic, but I prefer the simple interior design of the car with fewer buttons and lights. It still has the luxuries with a USB and auxiliary plug, steering wheel with audio controls, and an audio interface with all the bells and whistles including a radio data system.
The cabin is spacious with comfortable leg- and headroom in the rear seats, so your passengers won’t feel cramped on long journeys. Cruise control is standard, which is a godsend when you have kilometre after kilometre of highway between you and your destination. Another great road-trip feature is the integrated USB and iPod inputs, so you can connect an MP3 player or iPod to the audio system for on-the-go music.
The Toyota Hilux trundles up the incline without issue
The second transfer lever for engaging low range is a traditional approach to 4X4ing and I found it more reassuring than pressing a button to engage low range and hoping for the best. The Hilux’s off-road capabilities are second to none with great engine compression despite being the oldest model in the troop.
CAR road-test engineer Peter Palm said he would buy a Hilux. ‘It’s ultra reliable, rugged and will outlast the rest. It will have the best resale value for the same reasons.’ The Hilux has proved itself again and again to be a great travel car and off-road contender with many devotees looking forward to the next model.
Toyota Hilux
Foton Tunland: diff-lock makes a difference
The Foton Tunland is another intriguing newcomer from China, but at R339 950 it isn’t as affordable as the GWM Steed and it doesn’t have diff-lock. It’s a good-looking car though (quite similar to the Hilux), as big as the other contenders and has a stylish up-to-date interior. It also has a 2,8-litre engine made by American diesel specialists Cummins.
The Foton Tunland
On the course, most of the vehicles nailed the axle-articulation exercises, leaving only the Foton Tunland stranded mid-air.
Foton Tunland got stuck on the articulation obstacle
It took three CAR journos a lot of jumping and strategic rock placement to eventually claim back some traction and off it went again.
CAR journalists getting the Tunland moving again
The other hitch with the Tunland is making the switch to 4X4 and low range. Once you’ve pressed the 4X4 button for the desired gear and it lights up on the dashboard, it takes a while to engage and isn’t ideal on a steep descent. However, despite lacking a diff-lock, the Tunland did tackle the Baboons Pass successfully with Leisure Wheels last year and Hannes G. advises drivers to keep up momentum to compensate.
Hannes Grobler played the Stig for our shootout
The centre console was a lot smaller than in the other cars and there was muttering among the drivers that the air conditioning wasn’t up to scratch (it seemed significantly weaker than the other bakkies in the fleet) and that it also had the lowest top speed at 160 km/h, but was a good comfortable ride.
Read Part 1 of the Double cab shootout here.
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