Chasing opinion on the Great Wall cars.

Ive heard everything from good to bad about these cars, but what appears to be the most honest have been along the lines of

"its a $25,000 car, with 4wd, dual cab and electric everything. Its not going to be perfect, buts it damn good value."
And I have had 3 people say somthing like that.

They aparently have a Mitsibushi made engine with Isuzu Rodeo running gear. That cant be too bad as both brands have been proven over the last 20 years.
Now, the situation is this.

My Dad has decided that he needs to buuy a new car as his new lady has a caravan, and she isnt too keen on his camper bus setup he has.
She has convinced him to get a newer car than what he has currently, with towing the van in mind.

My dad is also stoney broke mostly, so a new $100,000 landcruiser is not an option. he has about $7-8000 in savings, plus two cars to sell to about the value $2500 between them. he has also seen a bank about a loan for around $20,000.

Im keen for him to get a Patrol or Landcrusier for about $20,000, but with that in mind, buying him a new car is not a bad thing as I reckon he only has about 5 years of driving left in him.

basically, what I am chasing is
What is the opinions on the Great Wall cars? Do they tow any good?
What alternatives does anyone suggest?

Better get a second hand NIssan Xtrail post 2008 as the qr25de has been upgraded from past issues. They pull like mad, very economical with great luxuries and road manner.

For a ute
2008 Toyota Hilux workmate beats any GW crap
http://www.carsguide.com.au/search/ve ... 2&pr=D_743278&nr=D_506675

just better build quality

Does anyone remember how bad the Hundai pony was? It had a Mitsubishi engine and design. Which doesn't mean much overall apparently.

great wall towing capacity 1700kg
xtrail 2000kg

both only good for small caravans (pop top) once caravan is loaded for a trip

if the caravan is decent i think the hilux may be the go but tray back may not be desired, in which case your getting to a 10year old landcruiser i'd guess for your coin

These run a borgwarner (its one of the greatwalls with mitsu engine) manual gearbox which i have seen a few get rattly and clucnking noises from them. I would seriously spend that $25000 on a second hand landcruiser with the 1fz-fe engine (seriously overbuilt and legendary motor IMO) or you could go for the cruiser with 2uz-fe v8 also great with the ifs front suspension for on road comfort instead of the 105 series rigid suspension.

you can pick a decent one for $22000 then rest can go towards lpg INJECTION installation if fuel economy is a factor.

ANCAP results for Great Wall V240 ('09 on).
Official ANCAP footage of why they're only 2 stars.

IMHO, proof is in the pudding!

how does that youtube footage tell you anything without telling you a speed

and.... on the Datsun 1200 website... doesn't really have the same effect cause we can all imagine what our cars would look like after that....

[edit] AND while im here... nothing to do with you DatsAmore... but these standard tests are BS cause the manufactures know what the tests will be and just build the cars to pass the test, not necessarily be the safest,

kinda like when they calculate the running cost of a car and they use the price of some certain spare parts. the manufactures drop the price of those spare parts and rise the price on others not included, to get a falsely cheaper running cost in the test,

AND this is why i drive a datto, i hate new cars so much!

I have worked on heaps of these and they are very rusty, even when new.

piles of #OOPS# , end of story

The footage is from ANCAP, of the standard 64km/h offset test, which is all written in the NRMA link just below the video.

I'm aware of the irony of talking safety on this site, hell my VB10 is even worse than the B110's! However the topic is for opinions on the Great Wall for R_T's old man. I love my Datto, but I sure as HELL wouldn't want my ageing parent travelling around the countryside in one! I want them in a car that's as safe as it is reliable.

No offence taken 1200RC, I know you're not aiming your venting at me. I actually respect your passionate view and totally did your love of all things old, however I feel your thoughts on these tests are slightly misguided, especially in this instance. The V240 actually failed all tests when it was first launched (i.e. zero stars) and only gained 2 stars when airbags were added.