GWM Reviews

The short answer is very good. It never fails to amaze first-timers just how capable modern 4X4s really are. With decent tyres, and a transfer-case with low-ratio gears, the GWM ute is likely to have more off-road capability than most owners will have brave pills.

Of course there are limitations, but for the average weekend away camping in the bush, the GWM will absolutely make it there and back. The good news is that you don’t even have to modify a vehicle like the GWM to be capable off road. Even in its stock standard form, it will amaze you where it will go. That said, throw some proper tyres on it, and it’ll be even more capable.

Of course, the counter-point here is that even the best off-road vehicle will run into trouble if it’s being driven by somebody who has no idea what they’re doing. So an off-roading course is a good idea, as is joining a club that takes newbies out to teach them the ropes in the field.

This occurs more often than you think and it’s often caused by overtightening of the sump plug when the old oil has been drained out and the new stuff is ready to go in. Generally speaking, the sump plug will be screwing into either a thin metal oil pan or a rather soft alloy sump. Either way, too much torque on the spanner that tightens it can easily strip the treads and leave you stranded. This is far from just a Haval problem – many makes and models have suffered the same fate.

The fix is usually to get the vehicle to a workshop where the mechanic can either drill out the messed up threads and cut a new thread to take an oversized sump plug. Done carefully, this can often be achieved without removing the sump.

Any time you have a burning smell in a car, you have a potential fire. If something is hot enough that you can smell it, it’s possibly hot enough to burst into flames, especially if it contacts a fuel or oil leak somewhere on the car.

The fact that the smell occurs when going uphill suggests that it’s something in the driveline (engine or transmission) that’s getting hot because it’s working hard. It could also be a cable or hose that’s incorrectly routed too close to something that’s getting hot (like the exhaust) and causing the smell. In any case, the answer to your question is no, it’s not normal and it needs investigating.

Sometimes, a new exhaust system will create the odd strange smell as it heats up the first couple of times this shouldn’t be happening after 9000km. You need to take the car back to where you bought it from and have the dealership fix this before a real fire takes hold, or something important melts and stops working.