The Australasian new car assessment programme (ANCAP) is reporting a two-star safety rating for the Great Wall Steed double cab petrol utility.
“Despite claims from the vehicle brand that the Chinese dual cab is ‘all-new’ and offers ‘outstanding levels of performance, value, safety and comfort,’ the underpinnings of the Steed differ little to that of the previous generation dual cab ute which carried the V240 model name,” ANCAP chief executive officer James Goodwin says.
“This is a disappointing result for consumers and the brand,” he says.
“While the Steed is equipped with six airbags and electronic stability control, features which were not offered on the previous model, there has been little change to the vehicle’s structure to improve the safety of the passenger cabin.”
ANCAP urges consumers in the market for a new car to be wary of such claims, with independent testing key to understanding the true safety performance of a vehicle.
Lower and upper leg injury is likely in a crash due to excessive foot well deformation, pedal displacement and separation of foot well panels. Also, steering column components are a potential source of knee injury for the driver while dash components could cause harm to both driver and passenger.
The Steed is not fitted with top tether child restraint anchorages and is therefore unsuitable for transporting young children, ANCAP says.
Great Wall Motors says it is disappointed by the performance of the new Steed in ANCAP testing.
Spokesperson Andrew Ellis says the company is taking immediate steps to see what can be done to rectify the situation.
“We have sent all the data to our engineering team in head office and set up a response team to investigate what needs to be done to improve the ANCAP performance of our product. “
Ellis says safety is a priority in the company’s product planning, which is why ESC and six airbags have been made standard features across the range.
“We thought the additional safety features would help improve the Steed’s ANCAP rating. It’s clear to everyone in the organisation our ANCAP test standards need a dramatic improvement.”
Achieving top results with five-star safety performance were the Honda Civic (sedan and hatch), the Hyundai i30 and the Mercedes-Benz recreational van the Marco Polo Activity.
All the Australian motoring clubs, the Australian Government, Australian state and territory governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, Insurance Australia Group and the FIA Foundation support ANCAP.
Go to ancap.com.au for more information.
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