Toyota HiLux vs Great Wall Steed

What's the difference?

The HiLux’s age-defying sales and resale values confirm it’s still one of the top two 4x4 dual cabs on the market. However, its new V-Active technology feels underdone, as it adds weight (we reckon about 40kg) and complexity without gains in performance you can feel or economy you can meaningfully measure. Hopefully, Toyota’s next crack at a 'hybrid' HiLux will be more convincing.

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 HiLux’s enduring appeal is the ‘unbreakable’ feel when you step aboard. Even though its curvaceous styling is increasingly dated, we can’t fault the build quality as it displays a peerless standard of fit and finish which never wavers.

Our only major gripe (since its launch in 2015) is the cramped rear seating. It’s particularly tight for tall people, giving that I’m 186cm and when sitting in the rear seat with the driver’s seat in my position, my knees are pressed into its backrest and my head rubs on the roof lining.

Shoulder room for three large adults is equally challenging and tolerable only for short trips. We reckon the Ranger’s more accommodating rear stalls are significant in its sales leadership.

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 2150kg kerb weight and 3050kg GVM, the SR5 V-Active has a 900kg payload rating. It can also tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer but with its 5850kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that would require a substantial 700kg reduction in payload to only 200kg, which could be used up by a driver and passenger alone. 

Alternatively, you could lower the trailer weight limit by the same 700kg to 2800kg (which is still a sizeable trailer) and retain the SR5’s maximum payload. We reckon most owners would do this anyway, given few (if any) would need to tow 3500kg.

The load tub is 1570mm long, 1645mm wide and 495mm deep with 1105mm between the wheel housings. Therefore, it can’t carry a standard Aussie pallet but will take a Euro-sized one. There are four load-anchorage points and we welcome the new lower/raise assistance for the hefty tailgate.

Cabin storage includes a large-bottle holder and bin in each front door, plus pop-out cupholders on either side of the dash, upper and lower glove boxes (with the upper having access to air-con) and an overhead glasses holder.

The latest centre console layout has a wireless phone-charging pad and vertical phone-storage slot, small-bottle/cupholder, a bin for small items and a box with padded lid that doubles as an elbow rest.

Rear passengers get a bottle-holder and bin in each door, pockets on each front seat backrest and a fold-down centre armrest with two more cupholders.

Only the narrower driver’s side of the 60/40-split rear seat base-cushion can swing up and be stored vertically as the passenger-side is now fixed, given the V-Active’s 48V battery resides beneath it and is ventilated by a louvered air intake in the passenger footwell.

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 venerable (1GD-FTV) 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with V-Active produces the same 150kW and 500Nm as the standard engine, driving through a six-speed torque converter automatic.

However, Toyota claims fuel economy gains of up to 9.5 per cent when this drivetrain is combined with the new hybrid technology, which comprises a 48-volt electric motor-generator, 48-volt lithium-ion battery and idle-stop system.

The turbo-diesel engine uses a silent-belt to drive the motor-generator, which charges the battery under the rear seat. This battery, which Toyota claims weighs less than eight kilograms with 4.3Ah capacity, also supplies electricity to the vehicle’s 12-volt system through a DC/DC converter.

This system can send up to 8.4kW of power and 65Nm of torque through the motor-generator to assist the engine. Toyota claims this delivers smoother and quieter yet more responsive performance and reduces engine load under acceleration. It also results in a small reduction in idle speed from 720rpm to 600rpm.

Deceleration and braking energy are also recovered, converted into electricity and stored in the 48V battery for later use.  Toyota claims “hydraulic braking combined with regenerative braking creates a more effective and natural deceleration feel and supports downhill manoeuvring.”

The idle-stop system does not use the starter motor like conventional set-ups. Instead, the electric motor-generator, which is permanently connected to the engine via its belt-drive, delivers this function with greater smoothness and quietness.

Idle-stop duration can also be extended by the driver and, when restarting the engine on inclines, the idle-stop system retains brake pressure until enough drive force is generated to ensure smooth acceleration.

In another first for HiLux, its part-time, dual-range 4x4 system (with switchable rear diff-lock) in V-Active variants is paired with 'Multi-Terrain Select' to enhance off-road ability.

The driver can switch between six traction control settings tailored to suit a variety of terrain including 'Auto', 'Sand' and 'Mud' (high- and low-range), 'Deep Snow' and 'Dirt' (high-range) and Rock (low-range).

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.

We completed a total distance of 580km, which comprised a mix of city and suburban driving with an empty load tub and up to four adults on board, plus some freeway/highway running with a near-maximum payload.

When we stopped to refuel at the end of our test, the dash display was claiming average combined consumption of 9.5L/100km, which was lineball with our own 9.4 figure calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings.

Both are higher than Toyota’s official 7.2L/100km figure but within the usual 2.0-3.0L/100km discrepancy between OEM ratings and real-world figures.

Interestingly, the last time we tested a 4x4 SR5 auto dual cab ute (without V-Active) in 2023, using similar routes and payloads, we achieved 9.6L/100km. So, the V-Active’s drop in consumption was only about 2.0 per cent, compared to Toyota’s claim of up to 9.5 per cent.

So, based on our real-world figure, you could expect a useful driving range of around 870km 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.

If you’re expecting a tangible difference in performance with the V-Active system, you’ll probably be disappointed. Fact is, after almost 600km of testing, on a variety of roads with a variety of loads, we could not detect any noticeable gain in acceleration, braking or smoothness compared to a standard SR5.

That’s not to say the V-Active system is not delivering up to 8.4kW of power and 65Nm of torque, as Toyota claims. It’s just that these gains are modest and delivered so discreetly that they are undetectable in real-world driving.

This was perhaps best demonstrated when we loaded 650kg into the load tub, which when combined with our two-man crew was a total payload of 830kg. That was only 70kg shy of the payload limit.

It made light work of our 13 per cent gradient 2.0km set climb at 60km/h by self-shifting down to fourth gear at 2250rpm, where it tapped maximum torque to easily haul this payload to the summit.

However, in our previous test of a standard SR5, on the same incline with 100kg more payload, the gear selection and engine rpm were the same as the V-Active. The same applied to engine-braking on the way down.

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.

Toyota covers the HiLux with a five-year/unlimited km warranty which is par for the course in the mainstream market.

Service intervals are relatively short at six months/10,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing for the first five years/100,000km totals $3889 or an average of $779 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.