Find Used Cars for Sale: gwm

Showing posts with label gwm. Show all posts

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Driven: Great Wall Haval M4 AMT - The most affordable mini SUV in Malaysia now shifts gears by itself

Admin 9:39 AM 0

I was recently invited over to Gurun, Kedah by Go Auto to take a look at their automobile assembly facility and to test drive the Great Wall Motors Haval M4 AMT which they distribute. If you folks remember, I managed to spend some time with a Manual transmission M4 in October of 2014 and came away pretty impressed with it.

The GWM Haval M4 is a B segment SUV and possibly the most affordable high riding car in its price range. The standard manual comes in at RM49,739.59 up to RM59,755.19 for the Premium specced manual. The standard AMT is priced to sell at RM51,716.71 and the top spec Premium is RM62,759.87. There is a comfort spec that comes in between, splitting the already super affordable prices that GWM is asking.

So if you had read the previous review, I mentioned that the GWM Haval M4 is an affordable, decently put together, pretty good looking mini SUV that actually saves petrol coupled with the fact that everything from China is technically built to last horrendous traffic jams that may last for days if not weeks as well as other ridiculous conditions in China like super dense drivers and blind pedestrians. Its affordability, practicality and predictable handling may be a good buy for most people who want something high riding instead of the usual Proton and Perodua offerings. What you need to do is throw away the prejudice for anything 'Made in China' and try the darn thing.

Of course, now GWM / Go Auto has the Automatic transmission variant for sale (production of the M4 AMT started in April 2015 with the first delivery sometime after that). The M4 has a 6 speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) in place of the 5 speed manual. Everything else about the M4 is the same as the manual variant with the exception of trim in the vehicle. This time I was driving the Premium specced version which can be differentiated just by looking at the front and rear bumpers (which have more silver paint or trim on them compared to the more basic models), a full screen infotainment system with navigation and the different pattern alloy wheels of the same size (15inches).

The drive experience of the AMT M4 is slightly different from what a standard torque converter or DSG type transmission in auto mode. The AMT is obviously a manual transmission with something to help it clutch and de-clutch for you. It uses electronic sensors, pneumatics/motor, an ECU and actuators to shift a gear on input from the driver (via flappy pedals or the gear lever) or by a computer (the AMT's full automatic mode). The motor operates the clutch pedal which the driver otherwise needs to depress before making a gear change. According to the people at Go Auto, the M4 AMT gearbox is based on a system made by Getrag, the renowned transmission specialist.

Leave the M4 AMT in full auto you can tell that it is shifting its gears when you will feel a sudden lull in power just when it upshifts. There is no harsh jerk at all. Just a feeling when power is cut before coming back when the gear shift is completed. Downshifts in auto mode are smooth and you do not notice it too much. The sudden lull or drop in power which is felt during upshifts can be negated by using the gear shifter yourself. If you want to lessen the lull or dip in power, shift manually, lifting off very slightly when you change up or down and progress is quite smooth. It takes a slightly different driving style to be smooth in one of these M4 AMT compared to a manual or a traditional automatic. It is not jerky or rough at all. The setup of the gear lever is easy for this. From N or neutral, you pull down for reverse or you push it to the left for D or Drive. If you want control, you push up or down to shift whilst in D. Quite straightforward and easy actually. The only real thing about the AMT is that like a manual, you would actually need to press on the accelerator when you are on a slope to keep it from going backwards. There is no creep forward function like most normal automatics.

The best thing about heading out of town to test drive a car is the places I get to try out the car is totally different. I got to take the M4 AMT through Gurun's paddy field dirt roads. It was raining and it was therefore muddy out there. The M4's suspension was not even worried about the usual dirt, sand, earth and small stones of the roads around the paddy fields. I was actually doing a good 50kmh on the dirt (and mud). No rattling from the dash or my teeth. The suspension coped well with the road conditions.

We also headed up and the down Gunung Jerai with the M4 AMT. It was actually fun taking it up Gunung Jerai. The road up to the Jerai Regency Resort has a lot of tight switchbacks and steep 45degree angles up. Much like Genting but instead of a three lane per side wide road this is a two lane road with one lane for each direction with parts that narrow to something like one and three quarter of a lane road. Mighty fun up and down. The AMT has one extra gear. It has a 6 speed gearbox – the fifth gear is direct 1:1 which allows it to pull to about 170kmh and the sixth is an overdrive that would not allow the car to hit over 135kmh but would save a whole lot of fuel doing to. The first five gears are close, allowing some nice second and third gear action with the use of first on the switchbacks (there are about six to seven really sharp switchbacks on that road minimum). The AMT isn't VW DSG rapid. I don't think anything is as rapid as a VW DSG but if you time it correctly, you can make decent progress even with that 103hp / 138Nm 1.5liter 4 cylinder VVT equipped engine driving the front wheels.

Somehow everything works well. The front end does not wash out in sharp corners and you can point it where you want it to be. It's rear isn't as mobile as I would have liked as it does not actually pivot out like something overtly sporty would. Of course, this is a small affordable SUV. It isn't a small affordable warm hatch that you can punt around. But I did just that and the darn thing actually performed well up and down a mountain road. Reaching 984 meters above sea level was actually done in about 15 minutes or so. Going down was a great deal faster. The brakes, were a tad bit over servoed but I got used to it sometime before going up the mountain. So it wasn't an issue. So again, if you drive it at normal city and highway speeds and don't decide to corner like it is a Honda Civic Type R then this M4 AMT will perform as well as it should. Even with an automotive journalist behind the wheel.

The only issue I had with the burnt orange M4 AMT was there was quite some tyre noise. The GWM Haval M4 AMT will come with Continental CC5 tyres. This orange car is actually the test mule for Go Auto so the tyres have some mileage under them and were about half worn. In fact the car had over 205,000km of testing kilometers piled onto it. It was the test bed for the AMT to see how reliable the transmission is/was. The promising thing is that the M4 AMT with over 200,000km is still running strongly with the same engine and transmission unit. There have been periodic adjustments to the AMT clutch as recommended by GWM and the usual fluid changes. The AMT has held up to some abuse. And then I came to Gurun and used it to climb Gunung Jerai. Redlining the engine, upshifting and downshifting pretty hard too.

And as for the rest of the car, there were no rattles whatsoever. The burnt orange test mule was well screwed together (granted aside from the leather trim and premium infotainment system everything is in the budget airline class). The white M4 AMT shown above, which I also drove, had about 13,500km on it and that had two tiny squeaks. One on the front passenger door trim and another one on the driver's side seatbelt brackett. Both very minor and have been brought up to the people who assembled the car directly after the test drive. As a matter of fact, the visit to the assembly plant was an eye opener. The levels of Quality Control and Assurance processes are actually higher than most other vehicle assembly plants in the country even though it is small. This is something I will write about sometime soon.

So the GWM Haval M4 AMT is again something you can buy if you're looking for an affordable mini SUV something other than a Proton Saga or Perodua Myvi sized Hatchback. I have to say that recent transmission technology has made the AMT Gearbox into something that is actually liveable on a day to day basis (with the caveat – you got to get used to it first). It seems to be reliable too unlike what we used to hear about the last affordable AMT sold here (the late Proton Savvy AMT). According to Go Auto, spare parts for the M4 are reasonably priced. No sky high prices for a car that is priced under RM62.759.87. One reason for this could be that GWM and Go Auto also trade in China's RMB currency instead of only in USD.

Go try one first before you make any decision. Quite a bargain these days. And these days where the Malaysian economy is getting hammered we need more bargains like the GWM Haval M4.

Pros: AMT allows us to relax in traffic, high equipment levels, all round disc brakes, traction control (ESP) not intrusive, ABS, 185mm ground clearance, comfy ride, confident handling up and down a steep windy road, good build quality, Land Rover-like looks (some like the opportunity to buy an affordable lookalike), affordability, cheapest high riding car in the market

Cons: B segment SUV means a tad bit heavy for its 1.5liter engine, AMT still requires drive input to be properly smooth, tyre noise from the half worn tyres, some may still find the AMT to be a chore (especially on slopes), Land Rover-like looks (hey, some may not like cloning)

Conclusion: It may be from China but it actually is a tidy performer which offers super value for money and quality too. AMT offers more traffic jam friendly operation. Prejudice must be put aside and a test drive is warranted before you head out and buy some local brands. Made in China cars have moved forward a fair bit.

Beautiful place, this Gunung Jerai

Great Wall M4 specifications:
Length x Width x Height (mm) 3961x1728x1617
Wheelbase (mm)2383
Ground Clearance (mm)185

Transmission Type5MT / 6AT (AMT)
205/60 R16
Water-cooled 4 stroke inline four-cylinder DOHC electronic throttle VVT MPI gasoline engine
1497CC
103HP/6000
138/4200
6 ltrs/100 kms
Euro IV
Ventilated Disc Brake (4 wheels)
McPherson Type Independent Suspension/Trail Arm Type Torsion Bar Composite Suspension

The Great Wall M4 - Chunky looks & EEV Tax break status equals to asurprisingly good drive against its local rivals

m4 haval

Admin 9:16 AM 0

We have something cheap and reasonably cheery on our roads soon and the surprising thing is that this car is coming from China. The car, the Great Wall M4 (also called the M4 Haval) compact SUV has been previewed and will soon be on sale throughout Malaysia. According to the distributors, Go Auto, the Great Wall M4 has garnered about 1,500 bookings since its preview in July of 2014 and it will be seen on our roads by November if all goes well. Quite a feat. It got me really curious too. So when I was invited to spend some time with the M4 as well as some time with the people who are bringing it in I jumped at the opportunity.

So what the heck is a Great Wall M4? Sounds epic doesn't it? Imagine someone asking you what do you drive and you tell them “I drive a Great Wall”. It does sound quite preposterous doesn't it? Yup. And then you realise that BMW also uses the M4 moniker for its hot M4 coupe. But note that this Great Wall M4 is not a coupe but a compact SUV and it sits in the B segment, the same category that the very, very popular Perodua Myvi sits proudly in. It is also the same category where the Proton Saga sedan and the newly launched Myvi competitor, the Proton Iriz are placed within. So how does such a car compete against the current category champion and the others?

Quite well I say as the Great Wall M4 was truly a surprise. I tested two M4 Comfort spec cars in manual, one with about over 30,000km on the clock and another with around 1,000km or so. The compact SUV is a 5 door hatchback that is powered by a 1.5liter 4 cylinder engine that sends its power to the front wheels via a 5 speed manual transmission. Of course this isn't the transmission of choice for most urban Malaysians, and there is an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) that will be on sale some time after the first manuals have been delivered. On the AMT, they claim that the M4 AMT will undergo more than 100,000km of continuous testing on Malaysian roads – Basically there will be a few teams of testers going up and down the Peninsular non-stop according to the folks at Great Wall Malaysia.

Anyway, at the first glance, the Great Wall M4 especially in the funky orange looks like an amalgam of brands. On its 205/55/16 sized wheel and tyre combo it portrays the chunky mini SUV guise quite well. The front looks like a Land Rover Freelander, from the side it looks like it takes after a Suzy SX4 (or a Fiat Panda) and the rear, especially the tail lights looked like the came from a Volkswagen Golf. As a whole, the design looks pretty cohesive even though you know that the Chinese usually do a lot of copy and paste. But you can tell that this M4 has more effort put into it. You could purchase some 18 inch wheels and tyres and it'll look like you're driving a Land Rover (or believe you're doing so). Take a look at the Great Wall lettering on the bonnet and you can tell where their inspiration came from.

On the inside, it does not feel bad at all. In fact, it feels totally livable. The Great Wall M4 has about 185mm of ground clearance where most small compacts have about 150mm at the very most. You don't really have to climb up but rather just a small step up into the driver's seat. The high pivot point make it a breeze for most people to enter and exit the M4. Once seated there aren't many things to adjust. The seat only moves fore and aft as well as the usual reclining backrest and a steering wheel that just adjusts for tilt and not reach. Even with the basic adjustments I managed to find a comfortable enough driving position.

Check out the LCD readout on the audio system in the middle of the dashboard!!!! No reading glasses needed folks.

The interior plastics are typically hard as even the best in category with the exception of a leather wrapped steering wheel. The quality seems to be quite decent but gets the material quality gets cheaper when you arrive at the glovebox level. It usually is in most B segment cars but even on the 30,000km M4, there were no unwanted rattles or squeaks. The switchgear and controls feel quite good to operate too. Even the manual gearshifter feels slick whilst shifting. Proton could learn a fair bit on how to make a shifter that isn't so notchy, as I found out when driving the Iriz.

However there was the super large digital readout for the audio system. It totally reminded me of those extra large sized calculators with those super large LCD readout. Pensioners and truly old people would not have any problems telling whether the radio is set to hitz.fm or lite.fm. The speedometer is digital too so there isn't any problem figuring out how fast (or slow) you're travelling. As for space, I was quite comfortable up front and even with the front seat adjusted to a guy who is 5foot 8inch tall there is adequate legroom. Headroom is good as it is a compact SUV and not a compact hatchback. I would say that the M4 has nearly as much space as the Myvi and more than the Iriz (especially at the rear).

Leather seats are non-standard for this M4 Comfort. It will only be available in the Premium variant.

Now before we continue, the reason why I am bringing up both the Perodua Myvi and the Proton Iriz is that the M4 is priced and sized like the two compact hatchbacks mentioned. The M4 manual is tentatively priced at RM46,990 (for Standard), RM51,990 (for Comfort) and RM56,990 (for Premium which adds leather seats and navigation). The AMT comes in at RM48,990, RM54,990 and RM59,990 for the same specs. You also get ABS, EBD, brake assist, dual airbags and 4 disc brakes.

The base Myvi XT manual comes in at slightly over RM42,000, XT Auto at RM46,000+. The Proton Iriz comes in at RM42,000 to RM53,000 for the 1.3 manual and auto and until RM62,000 for the 1.6 premium. The so far decent looking, livable interior M4 splits the two right in the middle and adds a bonus of being a 1.5liter at the same price range as the 1.3 Myvi and Iriz 1.3. Yes, there is the RM50,000+Myvi 1.5SE. And if you add that in you have a fight on your hands.

And the M4 puts up a heck of a fight. On the move the 1.5liter variable valve timing equipped engine is torquey. According to some research, it makes 103hp and around 138Nm torque and it is based on Mitsubishi technology (Some claim that its Toyota, but I spoke the the head of marketing and he states that it is Mitsu tech). Anyway, you could actually leave it in fourth gear for cornering and let the torque pull the car through at around 30-40kmh. Drop a gear and the engine responds well too. The manual transmission's close ratios and the engine's breadth allows for smooth progress on city streets. There is one drawback though, a slightly whistling sound which I believe comes from the VVT system's hydraulics. But the overall effect does not make the car unrefined. Overall engine refinement is actually quite good as the whistling sound isn't harsh or irritating. What can be clearly said is that the M4's engine sounds so much smoother (even close to its redline) than the one fitted in the Iriz 1.3 manual I drove recently. In fact, the 1.5liter engine is the actual reason why Great Wall are able to sell the M4 at such an affordable price. It is locally assembled under the Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) scheme and this allows Great Wall tax breaks due to its efficient fuel consumption (Great Wall claim something like 6liters per 100km fuel consumption for the M4 in their brochures). China builds a quieter and more economical engine than Malaysia. Honestly.

The other aspects of the M4's NVH is good too. Road noise is well damped and the suspension soaks up most of the bumps that Malaysian roads can throw at it. It is all SUV in terms of damping and feel, in that the slow body movements feel like the car is loping along an undulating road with small up and down movements. Those that have experience in other small SUVs that come from Japan would note the similar body movements in the M4.

However do note that the M4 isn't sporty It will roll and lurch if you suddenly think that this isn't a Great Wall M4 but a BMW M4 instead. If you drive it at normal city and highway speeds and don't decide to corner like a Civic Type R then this M4 performs as well as it should. The steering is devoid of feel but it does its job and so does the rest of the car's handling. I suppose the whole car does its job of being a compact SUV (AND not sports hatchback) pretty well. As a car, the Great Wall M4 is actually quite good.

The M4 is quite good as a total affordable car package as it beats the Iriz in all aspects except for maybe outright performance (as it is designed as a compact SUV) and in corners (as in handling). In every other detail, the M4 beats the heck out of the Iriz, especially if you keep harping on that coarse and rough engine that Proton has stuffed in the Iriz and the all important fact of fuel economy in light of increasing fuel prices. Which affordable car buyer actually puts handling over space, fuel economy and value for money in the first place?

The M4 takes on the fight to Perodua as it does not meet the Myvi head on but enters the ring with something that is similar in size to the Perodua but isn't just a small hatchback. It comes as a small SUV. The mistake I believe that Proton is currently in the process of making with the Iriz is try going head on with the Myvi with a clone of sorts.

The Great Wall M4 however takes the fight by playing by a slightly different set of rules. What the M4 brings to the compact car fight is that it is an affordable, decently put together, good looking mini SUV that actually saves petrol (due to its EEV status) coupled with the fact that everything from China is built to last horrendous traffic jams (that may last for days) and other ridiculous conditions in China (like dense drivers and blind pedestrians) may just work. as some would want something that looks different).

Buy the M4 without prejudice or without any worry about low resale value as it already is dirt cheap in the Malaysian sense anyway. For the price offered, it is good enough to own and drive around in.