Diesel for Great Wall SUV

GREAT Wall’s X-series compact SUV is now available in Australia with diesel power, and will soon also come with an automatic transmission and electronic stability control.

Now on sale nationally at a drive-away price of $25,990 for the base six-speed manual, the X200 TDi crossover combines the facelift for the petrol-powered X240 launched in April with the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel from the Great Wall V200 TDi ute released in August.

In the compact Toyota 4Runner-based all-wheel-drive wagon, it delivers the same 105kW at 4000rpm and 310Nm of torque between 1800 and 2800rpm, but in this case combined fuel consumption is rated at just 7.6L/100km.

Official price lists obtained by GoAuto show the X200 diesel replaces the X240 petrol, which is now discontinued but was previously available for $23,990 driveaway.

However, Great Wall’s Australian spokesman Daniel Cotterill said the X200 “won’t be an immediate replacement” for the X240 and stressed that five-speed automatic versions – and models fitted with electronic stability control – would not be available initially.

“Whether the first cars have it (ESC) or not I don’t know, but after a point they’ll all have to have it,” he said.

ESC became mandatory for all new cars and SUVs sold in Australia from this month, echoing a Victorian government mandate that came into effect earlier this year. As such, like the Chery J11, the X240 is not sold in the southern state.

Despite its $2000 price premium, the sub-$26,000 X200 will be Australia’s cheapest diesel SUV – undercutting SsangYong’s Korando 2WD 2.0 diesel at $27,990 driveaway – as well as one of the most inexpensive compact SUVs available, period.

The title of cheapest SUV remains with Chery’s 2WD petrol J11 at $19,990 driveaway, but the X200 also undercuts Suzuki’s Jimny Sierra 1.3 ($20,490 plus on-roads), Nissan’s 2WD petrol Dualis ST ($24,990 plus ORCs), Mitsubishi’s 2WD petrol ASX ($25,990 plus ORCs) and Suzuki’s three-door petrol Grand Vitara ($25,990 plus ORCs).

The X200 joins Australia’s cheapest one-tonne ute in the local Great Wall range, which is currently sold through about 75 dealers nationally.

Priced at $24,990 driveaway for the dual-cab 4x2 and $27,990 for the 4x4, the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel V200 – like the X200 – carries a $2000 premium over its petrol equivalents.

As with the V200, the X200 engine is gruntier than the 100kw/200Nm 2.4-litre petrol, and its six-speed transmission gains a ratio over the petrol’s model’s five-speed manual.

The V200’s combined fuel consumption is 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres, compared with 10.7L/100km for the V240 petrol.

Automatic transmission is not yet available in the V-series ute range, and single-cab V200 utes have also yet to be released here.

As we reported last week, Great Wall’s Australian line-up will be further bolstered early next year by the arrival of the pioneering Chinese brand’s first passenger car, the five-door VX10 hatch, to rival a procession of higher-profile new entrants in the booming light-car class.

As part of the MY2011 model upgrade released in April, the X240 scored more equipment, including a reversing camera, DVD player, Bluetooth connectivity and steering wheel audio controls.

Like the X240, the X200 comes standard with twin front airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, air-conditioning, power windows/mirrors, remote central locking, foglights and 17-inch alloy wheels with 235/65 tyres.

As well as gaining ESC, the diesel version adds 80kg of weight, bringing it to 1836kg.

Some 2427 Australians have bought the X240 so far this year – more than the number of Escapes sold by Ford – giving Great Wall a 2.7 per cent share of the massive compact SUV segment.

Great Wall X200pricing (drive-away):
X200	$25,990