Test drive Great Wall Steed 6: On the furrow
Content
Test of a new pickup truck in the range of a Chinese manufacturer
Evaluating the qualities of a product is of paramount importance, which means, as far as possible, awareness of its true purpose. In the case of Great Wall Steed 6 is quite simple in theory - and at the same time not so simple in practice. It would seem natural to take the Steed 6 as the successor to the Steed 5, a relatively inexpensive workhorse that offers good features for a reasonable price and is not afraid of hard work. However, the Steed 6 should be something small (and, according to Great Wall, even quite) different from the Steed 5, and this is the reason for some discrepancies between expectations and reality in the new model.
More modern style ...
In fact, after the September debut of the Steed 6 in Bulgaria, Litex Motors intends to sell both of the brand's pickups in parallel, so the new one aims to become something of a more modern and attractive version of the already famous model. ... In other words, the Steed 6 is designed to be one of those pickups that perform equally well for work and pleasure.
As for the exterior of the car, the expectations in this direction were justified - from the outside the car looks quite impressive, causing respect for the unusual shape of the headlights and the large chrome grille. Undoubtedly, the very dimensions of the body, which is 5,34 meters long and almost 1,80 meters high, inspire awe.
The feeling that “6 is more than 5” continues inside the workplace – the materials are simple but of decent quality, the infotainment system has a large touchscreen, the equipment now includes a rearview camera, and the color accents in the furniture make the atmosphere quite civil, like a representative of affordable pickups.
The pricing policy for the new model has yet to be finalized, but there is no doubt that more modern styling and richer equipment will come with some price increases over the levels known from the Steed 5.
... But with little or no change in content
The moment of truth about the essence of Steed 6 begins with the turn of the ignition key and finally comes after the first meters with the car. Starting the engine results in a lot of shaking, followed by a harsh diesel rattle and noticeable vibrations transmitted in an almost unfiltered form to the steering wheel, pedals and gear lever. In terms of maneuverability, it is more like a truck than a passenger car, and the chassis with a rigid axle and leaf springs on the rear axle has a distinctive feature - in an unloaded state, the car bounces off the asphalt even on a flat road, and bumps lead to a catapult vertical. movements accompanied by lateral tremors of the body. The comfort when driving without a load is again associated with a small truck, the same can be said about the performance of the brakes, handling that always requires you to remember that the car will stop sooner or later, but this moment will be difficult. in the blink of an eye, and often a little further in time and space than you would like in an emergency.
I can by no means dispute that the top priorities for a pickup truck are far from the refined comfort of a sedan and the dynamics of a sports car (at least this is the case with models not affected by the American trend of turning pickups into a special kind of pickup truck). huge luxury cars with not always off-road capability, but that's a completely different topic), but when it's ambitious to fight established names in the segment, the model is good to meet certain basic criteria for behavior on civilian roads. For models like the legendary Toyota Hilux, the Ford Ranger popular in Europe, the equally cool Mitsubishi L200 or the combination of pleasant and useful Nissan Navara, this has long been a fact to one degree or another. That's why I think the idea of positioning the Steed 6 as a cross between a work machine and a pleasure pickup truck is a little exaggerated - especially given the expected price increase compared to the Steed 5. However, given the outstanding worldwide market success of the "five", it is likely that the Steed 6 will also be able to establish itself as one of the big names in the pickup market, especially at more reasonable prices.
Work first, then pleasure
However, there is no doubt that the idea of a pickup truck is to work first and foremost - and here comes the high point of the Great Wall Steed 6 - with a huge cargo area and a fantastic payload of just over a ton, the model is presented as a classic workhorse. because what hard work is a mission, not an impossible task. As standard, the dual transmission has a low gear mode that is easily activated by pressing a button on the center console.
The operation of this six-speed transmission is relatively precise and does not require much physical effort, and its adaptation to the characteristics of a two-liter turbodiesel is much more successful than that of the Steed 5. The common rail direct drive unit produces 139 hp. and has a maximum torque of 305 Newton meters - values that provide it with decent road dynamics and, more importantly, confident traction at medium speeds.
Text: Bozhan Boshnakov
Photo: Miroslav Nikolov, Melania Iosifova
Evaluation
Great Wall H6
The Steed 6 is a classic old-school pickup truck - with remarkable payload capacity and serious heavy-duty equipment, it is designed to be a true performer of actions that a pseudo-SUV will ingloriously succumb to. However, driving comfort and especially the brakes are still far from competitive levels.
+ High lifting capacity
Large cargo hold
Decent salon performance
Good cross-country ability
– Poor driving comfort
Mediocre brakes
technical details
| Great Wall H6 | |
|---|---|
| Working volume | 1996 cc cm |
| Power | 102 kW (139 hp) |
| Maximum torque | 305 Nm |
| Acceleration 0-100 km / h | 13,0 with |
| Braking distances at a speed of 100 km / h | - |
| full speed | 160 km / h |
| Average consumption fuel in the test | 9,5 l / 100 km |
| Base Price | - |
