Nissan Navara vs Great Wall Steed

What's the difference?

Although the D23 Navara is approaching a decade in local showrooms and due for replacement in 2025, the base-model SL still represents a fuel-efficient and competent workhorse with ample back-to-basics practicality.

If you simply want a new ute at a low price, the Great Wall Steed could offer a bit of appeal - it’s not terrible, but it’s also far from great…

My advice would be to see what sort of second-hand HiLux or Triton you could get for similar money.

The cabin’s fabric-covered seats, wipe-clean vinyl floor and urethane-rimmed steering wheel/shifter are consistent with the SL’s work focus.

Reminders of its 2015 origins are numerous mechanical switches and dials on the dash (which we prefer to touchscreen versions), a steering wheel with only height adjustment, a mechanical rather than electronic handbrake, rear drum brakes instead of discs and analogue speedo/tacho.

Even so, its interior design still looks a cut above a base-grade ute, with a visually-pleasing and practical blend of chrome, satin chrome and piano black combined with two-tone upholstery.

The well-bolstered front seats are comfortable and supportive, but a larger and more defined left footrest would enhance driver comfort.

Rear passenger knee room is adequate for the two outer seating positions, thanks largely to the concave shape of the front seat backrests.

However, shoulder room is tight for three adults and headroom is marginal, particularly for tall people in the higher centre position who also must contend with a headrest that has insufficient height adjustment.

Like most dual cab utes, short of full-size US pick-ups, the Navara works best as a four-seater with the fifth seat limited to short trips. 

Off-road credentials include a 12.5-metre turning circle, 220mm of ground clearance, a 600mm wading depth and 32 degrees approach, 22.9 degrees ramp break-over and 26 degrees departure angles.

The Great Wall’s exterior styling is reasonably contemporary, even if the proportions are somewhat ungainly. Consider this - the Steed is one of the longest, lowest utes out there.

The dimensions are 5345mm long on a huge 3200mm wheelbase, with a width of 1800mm and a height of 1760mm. There’s just 171mm of ground clearance for this one, which is the 4x2 model. 

The wheelbase looks enormous, and the back doors are quite small considering the length of the vehicle (plus the door handles are huge!). The B-pillars are set back further than they should be, and that makes it hard to get into and out of the second row seats. 

The interior design is pretty smart, though — compared with some of the other older utes out there, the Steed has reasonable ergonomics and the controls and materials are of a passable quality, too. 

But our car - which had just a couple of thousand kilometres on the clock - had a missing piece of exterior trim, along with a few loose bits and pieces inside. The quality is better than the first-gen Great Wall utes, but we hope the next-generation global ute from the brand will be better again. It’ll need to be.

With its relatively light 2033kg kerb weight and 3150kg GVM, our test vehicle has a one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1117kg.

It’s also rated to tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer. However, to tow that weight would require a substantial 740kg reduction in vehicle payload to avoid exceeding its 5910kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time). Even so, few (if any) Navara owners would need to tow 3500kg.

The load tub is almost square with its 1509mm floor length and 1560mm width. And with 1134mm between the rear wheel housings, it won’t fit a standard Aussie pallet but will take a Euro, held in place by a choice of four load-anchorage points.

In terms of cabin storage, the centre console offers open storage up front, two small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and a small lidded box at the back. There’s also a large-bottle holder and storage bin in each front door, plus a glove box and overhead glasses holder.

Rear passengers get a large-bottle holder and smaller storage bin in each door plus a fold-down centre armrest with two small-bottle/cupholders. The rear bench seat’s base cushion can also swing up and be stored vertically for more internal cargo space, or to access two small underfloor storage compartments.

As mentioned above, the interior of the Steed is acceptable for a budget ute, but that’s as faint praise as saying “you look fine” to the reflection of yourself in the mirror after a big night out.

The cabin has a few elements to it that are decent - the dashboard design is decent, and the controls are pretty logically placed. If you’re stepping up from a first-gen Great Wall ute, you’ll be blown away.

Things like the big media screen and leather-lined steering wheel, as well as electric front seat adjustment and leather seat trim that feels more like cowhide than repurposed garbage bags this time around will all count toward some positive first impressions.

That said, the screen is one of the most confusing ones I’ve encountered - you have to pair your phone by hitting the icon that looks like a PC tower linked to a phone. Why? Also, the load times on the screen are terrible, and when you put it in reverse the screen simply goes black. There is no reversing camera as standard, which is poor form. You can option it if you want, likewise the sat nav is optional - and it looks a lot like a UBD or Melways. Plus the volume levelling is very inconsistent. 

As mentioned above the ingress and egress for rear seat occupants is poor - anyone who has feet bigger than a size six will struggle to get in and out without getting tangled. Once you’re back there, the knee room is tight, but head room is fine. 

There is reasonable storage throughout - there are cup holders between the front seats, door pockets with bottle holders and a few loose item cubbies up front, too. In the rear there are map pockets but no other storage options unless you fold the rear seat backrest down.

The Great Wall’s biggest redeeming feature is its price and specs. 

You can get a base model single-cab-chassis version for less than twenty grand drive-away. This model is the 4x2 dual cab, which has a list price of $24,990 plus on-road costs, but it’s almost always on special at $22,990 driveaway. Need a 4x4? Pay an extra two grand and you’ll get it.

The Steed offers an extensive standard features list, including auto headlights, auto wipers, LED daytime running lights, front and rear fog lights, 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, single-zone climate control, heated front seats, leather trim, a leather-lined steering wheel, a six-speaker stereo system with USB and Bluetooth connectivity and the aforementioned optional camera and GPS navigation. You get carpet on the floors rather than vinyl, too. 

The exterior is packed with features tradies will love - there’s a big step bumper to allow easy access to the tray, which has a tub liner as standard as well as a sports bar. Accessing the cabin will be easy for shorties as there are side steps fitted as standard.

The Navara’s 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 140kW at 3750rpm and 450Nm of torque between 1500-2500rpm. Its two-stage inline turbochargers (a small one for low rpm, a large one for high rpm) operate in sequence to provide vigorous response at all engine speeds with excellent economy.

A refined seven-speed torque converter automatic offers near-seamless shifting and the overdriven sixth and seventh gears enhance fuel economy at highway speeds.

Drivers also have the option of sequential manual-shifting to provide more direct engine control when off-roading or carrying/towing heavy loads. Its 4x4 transmission is dual-range, part-time and is equipped with an electronic rear diff lock.

Great Wall uses a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder with 110kW of power (at 4000rpm) and 310Nm of torque (from 1800-2800rpm), which is only available with a six-speed manual transmission. There is no automatic transmission available. But you can get a petrol engine if you prefer, which is becoming rarer in the ute segment.

The payload capacity for the Great Wall Steed 4x2 is decent for a dual cab pickup at 1022kg, and it has a gross vehicle mass of 2820kg. The Steed has the standard 750kg un-braked towing capacity, but a meagre 2000kg braked towing rating.

Nissan claims an official combined average of 7.9L/100km and the dash readout was showing 7.7 when we stopped to refuel after clocking up just under 600km on the first tank, which included a 400km-plus day trip from Melbourne to regional Victoria.

Our own figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, came in at a slightly higher but still frugal 8.4L/100km which proves the fuel-sipping efficiency of diesels when highway cruising.

We covered another 168km in city and suburban use, with the dash claiming 8.6 compared to our own figure of 9.5, which is still thrifty single-digit economy for a two-tonne ute.

Therefore, based on our own ‘real world’ figures, you could expect a driving range of about 840km around town and up to 950km on a trip from its 80-litre tank.

The Great Wall has a claimed fuel use of 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres in the spec we tested, and across our testing regimen - which included on-road driving laden and empty for a few hundred kilometres, it managed 11.1L/100km. Okay, but not great.

The fuel tank capacity of the Great Wall is 58 litres, which is small for the class, and there’s no long range fuel tank option.

The driving position is comfortable for most shapes and sizes, even though the steering wheel does not have reach adjustment and the seat lacks adjustable base cushion rake or lumbar support.

The ride is firm when unladen but its four-coil suspension is absorbent enough to soak up the worst of the bumps. The steering feel is responsive and nicely weighted, combined with competent handling and braking that contribute to a positive driving experience.

It’s also impressively quiet at highway speeds, with low tyre and wind noise and an engine that requires less than 2000rpm to maintain 110km/h with minimal effort.

To test its payload rating we forklifted 830kg into the load tub, which combined with our crew of two was a one-tonne-plus payload of 1010kg. That was about 100kg less than its payload limit.

The supple coil-spring rear suspension compressed 80mm under this loading, yet its high ride height ensured there was still about 40mm of bump-stop clearance remaining, which proved ample in avoiding any bottoming-out on our test route. However, that’s not to say it wouldn’t with an extra 100kg on board.

It also excelled on our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, with the seven-speed auto self-shifting down to fourth gear and just under 2000rpm (right in the middle of its peak torque band) to easily haul this load to the top.

Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, was also impressive for a 2.3-litre engine restraining more than one tonne of payload. Overall, the Navara proved to be a competent heavy-load hauler.

A lot of utes these days are aiming to be dual purpose vehicles, with passenger-amenable ride, handling, steering and powertrain combinations that mean you can use them for work and play.

The Great Wall? Well, it’s more work-oriented. That’s a nice way of saying you won’t want to subject your family to this truck, but your workmates? Too bad for them.

The ride is harsh without weight in the back, bucking over bumpy sections of road and jolting after a sharp edge.

The steering is light but requires a lot of turns lock to lock, and the turning circle is large. You need to keep that in mind when you’re parking, plus the vision from the driver’s seat isn’t as good as it could be.

The engine enjoys using every gear but first, but the manual shift action isn’t enjoyable and the torque on offer doesn’t come on smoothly. 

I will say this - with 750 kilograms in the back, the rear suspension didn’t sag very much at all. The Steed offers a big payload, and the chassis can cope with it.

What can’t cope with the weight is the engine - we had 750kg in the tray and four adults on board, and it was worse than sluggish. I struggled to get it moving from a standstill, revving harder than I usually would in a diesel-engined ute. There’s a lot of lag to contend with, and the engine simply doesn’t like low-speed moves at all.

But at higher speed it got into a groove, and the ride was actually really well sorted with mass over the rear axle. Plus the fact it has four-wheel disc brakes - unlike many of its newer, more high-tech rivals - means the braking performance was pretty promising, too.

There isn’t a lot of happy reading here.

The Great Wall Steed scored an abysmal two-star ANCAP crash test safety score when it was tested in 2016, though under the disclaimer that score applies to ‘4x2 petrol dual cab variants only’. That’s nasty, especially considering it has dual front, front side and curtain airbags as standard in dual cab form.

There is tyre pressure monitoring and rear parking sensors as standard, but a camera isn’t fitted as standard. There is no auto emergency braking (AEB) or any other advanced safety tech, either.

But it has ABS anti-lock brakes, electronic brake distribution, stability control, hill descent control and hill hold control. There are three-point seatbelt for all seating positions, and if you dare, there are dual ISOFIX child seat anchor points and three top tether points in both models.

There’s a five year/unlimited km warranty, plus five years of 24-hour roadside assist. Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/20,000km whichever occurs first.

Total capped-price of $3305 covers the first five scheduled services within five years, or an average of $661 per year.

Great Wall introduced a five-year/150,000km warranty in April this year, which is good for a challenger brand but doesn't push the boundaries for the ute segment. There is three years of roadside assist cover as well.

There is no capped price servicing plan, but the Steed requires maintenance every 12 months or 15,000km (following an initial six-month checkup).

Concerned about problems, issues, faults, common complaints, transmission or engine reliability? Check out our Great Wall problems page.