Great Wall prices Automatic X200 SUV at $28,990

PIONEERING Chinese brand Great Wall Motors has announced the long-awaited five-speed automatic transmission variant of its X200 diesel compact SUV will become available in Australia from April, priced at $28,990 drive away.

Supplies of the $25,990 six-speed manual version, which started to trickle into the country in November, are now more plentiful and available across the brand’s Australian network of 80 dealers.

All manual and automatic X200 variants now come with the potentially life-saving electronic stability control (ESC) technology that became mandatory across Australia for new passenger cars at the end of last year.

Automatic variants will also come as standard with cruise control, which is not available on manual versions.

Also arriving in dealers are facelifted versions of the 4X2 petrol V240 and 4X4 diesel V200 single-cab ute, respectively priced at $17,990 and $22,990 drive away.

The revised single-cabs share their boxier styling with the facelifted dual-cab variants that started appearing on Australian shores last April. Despite the arrival of an automatic transmission on the X200, the V-series utes will remain a manual-only proposition for the foreseeable future.

Developing 105kW of peak power at 4000rpm and 310Nm of torque from 1800-2800rpm, the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine fitted to the X200 is claimed to consume 7.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres when paired with the standard six-speed manual gearbox.

Specifying the five-speed automatic transmission results in combined fuel usage rising to 9.2.L/100km, while the manual version’s 1700kg braked towing capacity is retained, as are the 700kg unbraked towing capacity and 170kg towball downweight.

Great Wall’s sharp pricing means the X200 is Australia’s least expensive diesel SUV – especially considering its drive away pricing – undercutting the front-drive SsangYong Korando by $2000 while offering standard all-wheel drive.

Chinese compatriot brand Chery takes the most affordable SUV title however, its petrol-powered front-drive Chery J11 coming in at just $17,990 drive away.

Considering its low price the X200 is not lacking in standard equipment, featuring leather upholstery, climate-control air-conditioning, 17-inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, a touch-screen sound system with DVD player, MP3 compatibility and Bluetooth connectivity plus electric windows and mirrors.

In addition to ESC, the X200’s safety equipment list also includes dual front air bags, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution, tyre pressure monitoring, reversing sensors and a rear camera.

The X200 was awarded a respectable four stars out of five by the ANCAP crash safety watchdog in 2010.

Great Wall, which became Australia’s first Chinese vehicle brand in 2009, now plans to introduce a light car by the fourth quarter of this year, rather than the first quarter as originally envisaged.

The VX10 hatch is available in China – where it is also known as the C10 and Phenom – with a bold chrome-straked grille or a more conservative front-end, but importer Ateco Automotive is yet to announce which style will be offered in Australia.

Great Wall enjoyed significant growth in 2011, with a sales total of 8665 units representing a 29.5 per cent climb. Having sold 868 vehicles in January it is off to a flying start already this year, up 67.6 per cent.

The diesel V200 4x4 ute led the charge with 291 sales in January and looks set to take over from the petrol V240 4x2 – of which 2758 were sold last year – as the best-selling Great Wall ute.

Overall, the X240 SUV was Great Wall’s best-selling product in Australia in 2011 with 3047 sales.

Great Wall X200pricing (driveaway):
X200	$25,990
X200 (a)	$28,990