Power to the People
Early in 2019, before going to China became a bad idea, I was invited to visit the mainland with Haval. The purpose of the trip was twofold. Firstly to visit the home city where Haval and GWM make their cars and see the mega factories that churn out thousands of vehicles daily, visit the test facility and R&D centre and test drive a few of their upcoming models and secondly, attend the Shanghai Auto Show where the new GWM P series bakkie was to be unveiled.
Related: GWM and Haval - A Chinese Journey Part 1
Once they uncovered this machine I was instantly impressed with the styling and gobsmacked with the big name technology that would be fitted to the running gear. I was also deeply impressed with the level of foreign involvement, European designers and engineers all made the list of the hands involved in putting together the P.
The vehicle has already landed in many other countries around the world and initially South Africa wasn't going to be a priority but due to obvious demand we were bumped up the delivery list.
The local launch of the P series is scheduled for the first week in December 2020, and we were incredibly lucky to receive the first test vehicle in SA, a full month before introduction. The keys to an anti-spy, camouflaged unit were handed over and with just a few hundred run-in kilometres on the clock, we set off to do our own testing, Africa style!
Styling
It should be mentioned that as we'd noted in China, there is a global design language in play as almost all double cabs on the market bear a striking resemblance to one another, not a bad thing I'd say!
Due to the early test and the need to keep things as hush hush as possible the unit that we drove was covered from bumper to bumper in an anti-spy camouflage wrap, designed to keep prying eyes at bay. This made getting a handle on the exterior styling a bit difficult to say the least.
Once you are up close, you get to see the body and crease lines and notice that the test unit is devoid of many of the features that we had seen before. The grille is different, the wheel arches are missing the bulges and the tyres look smaller than they should.
The preproduction models seen and press junkets' that we had received made mention of a number of things that were missing on the test unit, making us wonder what was up. After contacting GWM and speaking to those in charge we found out that our test unit was actually a commercial grade entry level model, which made us raise our eyebrows even more, this vehicle was trimmed to the hilt with convenience and tech!
The Drive
If we were to scale GWM's offerings from 1-10, the Steed 5 and Steed 6 would come in at 2 and 5 respectively, the P series is off the charts at 14. This is such a departure from what we've come to expect from them and is such an eyeopener. It is still a double cab running on leaf springs in the rear so the double cab bounce is still there although it is greatly reduced and only becomes problematic on heavily corrugated roads.
The front suspension felt compliant on road and felt very familiar to the Haval H9. In fact the entire drive train and handling dynamics felt very H9 like. This is a good thing as this is what separates the good double cabs from workhorses, the ability to have a drive that feels SUV like.
The drive was absolutely fantastic, an excellent interior with low NVH, an amazing 4-wheel drive system that took some serious punishment and steering to fall in love over, direct, not to light, not too heavy and not vague in the slightest.
The P series really shone once we took to the dirt, with comparable off-road spec of 29 degrees approach angle, 19 degrees breakover and 25 degrees departure as well as 4H/4L, Difflock and hill descent control, the rough stuff was no match. What surprised even more was the 4-wheel drive system that handled everything we threw at it and then some. Even with the road biased test tyres, the P Series made light work of a 380mm deep mud bog, gravel terrain as well as sand and rock strewn climbs.
Performance
With most double cab offerings now heading towards the 2.0 turbo side of things it is interesting to note that the P series boasts higher engine outputs than it's too most obvious rivals. The P series will be available with a 2l turbo diesel engine mated to either a 6 speed manual or 8 speed auto. The engine puts out 120kW and 400Nm which is a few more than the competitors and you can definitely feel it.
Our week-long test only revealed one shortcoming and that was the complete lack of power under 2000rpm. The P series utilises a low compression diesel engine that has been de-tuned for our climate and fuel and because of the high altitude on the reef, until the turbo spools up, there is almost no drive.
It only really became a problem when trying to gap traffic or climb a particularly technical obstacle off-road. We did have the 6 speed manual so perhaps the auto transmission option will have addressed this. The opposite side of this is that once the turbo spools up the engine and transmission have more than enough drive power to the light up the rear wheels which does mean that with the manual, you are doing a little more work to keep the engine in the correct boost range.
Space and Comfort
This is where the P Series really stood out for me. The interior is incredibly well trimmed for what is essentially an entry level commercial grade vehicle. Electric leather seats, auto aircon, 9 inch (22.86 cm) touchscreen with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, a sunroof and a number of USB and 12v outlets made lengthy drives rather enjoyable. Also, of note is that interior space was comparable to that of the Amarok with plenty of space for even the burliest of blokes and all their gear. Not only was the P Series very comfortable to drive it was also comfortable to be a passenger in, with more cubby's and holders than you would think, making the interior very user friendly.
Safety
From a safety aspect the P series we tested was short a few of the offerings such as the adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist as well as the park assist system that will be on offer in the higher spec models but was fitted with 6 airbags, a reverse camera and keyless entry. I can confirm that the entry level test unit was better equipped as standard, than its closest competitors
It will be very interesting to see where the P series falls in the global NCAP ratings as many of its other SUV offerings have fared well with 5 stars on many of their other vehicles.
Fuel Consumption
Due to our reservation around the engine, we kept a very close eye on this. During our freeway runs we recorded our best reading of 9.8l/100km with the worst numbers of 13l/100km coming in while we were off-roading. Although the official manufacturer claims have yet to be released, we can confirm that these numbers are pretty much inline with just about every double cab that we have tested thus far.
Price
We will only have official pricing after the local launch but if talk around the campfire is anything to go by the highest spec P Series is going to slot in somewhere between R100 000 and R150 000 less than its closest competitor, making it a very attractive option for cash strapped South Africans. If the current warranties and maintenance plans are a good measuring stick the P series is also going to be VERY well covered.
Verdict
We all know that South Africans are very brand conscious and are devotees of their chosen logo but at this moment, money talks. I don't believe the introduction of the P series is going to dramatically shift buying patterns immediately but much like its Haval brethren, it is going to create a slow burn amongst consumers that will see many opting for the GWM brand once they see the value for money and levels of quality.
The P Series is styled like a Ranger, is as tough as a Hilux and drives like an Isuzu and costs a heck of a lot less, in all honesty the opposition better keep and eye out.
GWM/Haval SA aren't going anywhere, this is no fly-by-night Chinese brand that will leave you in the lurch. With a growing base of consumers trusting in Haval, I think it will be a lot easier for buyers to take the leap of faith and buy into a GWM vehicle that I have no doubt is going to be a serious top 3 contender before long.
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