Global NCAP is a British charity with the goal of ridding the world of road fatalities. Toward this end, it does lots of crash tests, often with cars that are ill-equipped for such tests. Enter the Great Wall Steed.
The Great Wall Steed is a truck once sold in the UK. Autocar gave it two stars out of five and said it had build quality issues. It’s called the Great Wall Wingle in other parts of the world. It is a cheap truck made by Great Wall Motors and the base model doesn’t even come with airbags. Here is what that looks like in a crash in the version sold in Africa, via Global NCAP:
According to Motor1, these go for the equivalent of around $13,000 in South Africa; you can pay a little more to get better trims and airbags as well, which could be a good idea if you value your face and plan to drive this thing. Though, as Global NCAP notes, just adding airbags may not do much.
Pick ups, also known as ‘Bakkies’ are a popular category of vehicle in Africa. Following the 2018 crash test of the Nissan NP300 Hardbody, Global NCAP selected the Great Wall Steed 5, which competes on price with the Nissan in the pick up category.
The Steed 5 is tested in the basic version without airbags. Driver dummy readings showed a red head and brown chest and neck, which translates into poor protection for head and weak protection for neck and chest. Those body parts are considered critical body regions. The structure was considered as unstable as was the footwell area. The deformation in the passenger compartment and movement of the steering column questions if an airbag would be able to prevent serious injuries to the driver.
Advertisement
It is somewhat impressive that adding airbags might actually make things worse.
