My review of the Steed 2.2MPi D/C

[douwg]

Hi all,

Quick introduction. I have a 1996 Jurgens Expo (GVM 950kg) which I used to tow with a Kia Carens. In the last 12 months my wife traded her Kia in for a Mini Cooper and I drive an Audi S3. Oops! No car to tow with - thus the reason for us deciding to purchase a bakkie for towing.

Initially the idea was to buy a cheapy 2nd hand bakkie, but needless to say all the Nissan's, Ford's etc up to R120 000 had very high mileage and I am always weary of buying another man's problems.

Took a walk into the GWM dealership after reading some positive reviews on the Steed bakkies. Low and behold, there I could buy a brand new Steed 5 2.2 MPi for R150 000 incl. tow bar.

Now for the review.

Exterior
I reckon that the Steed range is one of the nicest looking bakkies on the road today bar the Ford Ranger, especially if you go for the higher end models with the 16" rims and fit it with accessories. The base model is a workhorse bakkie so the look is pretty basic but it doesn't look bad at all. GWM have done well with the styling on the latest range. The previous models were not as nice. Ride height is good enough for the average gravel road and the leaf springs in the back are very stiff. Opening and closing of doors give the bakkie a feel that it costs much more with a good solid thump.

Interior
This is the part that really sealed the deal for me. "Leather" seats, air conditioner, power steering is standard on even this entry level model. The seats are really comfortable - I did 2000km in the bakkie in the two weeks since I have had it and my back or bum did not get sore once. The wife even commented that she slept like a baby in the front seat. The rear seats are also very comfortable and rear leg room is very good. Finishing's of the dashboard and switch gear is on the cheap side but that is to be expected from a bakkie in this price range.

Engine and Towing
So, the 2.2L engine in this model is a replica of the Toyota 4Y engine with electronic fuel injection. It is rated at 78Kw and 190Nm of torque at 2400rpm. The torque on this engine definitely comes in nice and low which is good for towing. However, this engine is not a speed demon and I do not suggest that you tow anything over 1300kg with this model. On flat roads I was able to tow quite comfortably at 100Km/h in fourth but on the uphills it lost momentum pretty quickly and I had to downshift into third. We were three adults, two kids with some load on the bakkie during this tow so I guess it didn't do too bad. Fuel consumption is pretty high when towing. The towing experience overall was much better than with the Kia with the stability of the caravan on the bakkie being second to none and this is without a stabilizer. One thing that I want to look into as a modification is the removal of the viscous fan and replacing it with an electric unit. When the viscous fan is not in operation the bakkie pulls much stronger and you can really feel how the viscous fan saps power. (If anyone here has done this mod please can you give me more information or for the techies, should I even consider this?)

Conclusion
All in all I am very happy with my purchase considering it is only going to be used for towing and it didn't break the bank. If I didn't have the Audi I would have in fact seriously considered the 2.0VGT Diesel in this range. You are getting a lot of bakkie for your money from GWM. Also, people in our party this weekend, tow a Splash with an IX35 and the wheels were spinning terribly while trying to tow it up a short incline on gravel. I think once again this proves that RWD is best for towing as the Steed had no such issues - granted my caravan is much lighter.

Thank you for the great forum, the information on here is very helpful. I hope my first contribution is also helpful to someone out there.

Regards
Douw

[IcePick88]

Yeah I think if GWM can sort out that HARSH rear end, the bakkie would be fantastic!

I have the 2.4 Steed5 and the fuel is pretty bad in town. On the open road I do 10km/L, but in town I get between 7 and 8km/L.

[mikefenton]

so the steed 5 has a viscous fan and not a electric?

[Willied]

Douwg, I swapped my viscous fan for an electrical one on the 4Y and what an improvement.. Seriously considering it on the D-Teq motor too.

What I did was to insert a larger radiator as I still had an original copper unit and then installed a 16" front mounted fan to the radiator. Works like a charm. The fan is controlled by a Bosch temp switch fitted to the radiator hose at the lowest point.

[douwg]

Douwg, I swapped my viscous fan for an electrical one on the 4Y and what an improvement.. Seriously considering it on the D-Teq motor too.

What I did was to insert a larger radiator as I still had an original copper unit and then installed a 16" front mounted fan to the radiator. Works like a charm. The fan is controlled by a Bosch temp switch fitted to the radiator hose at the lowest point.

Hi there Willie,

As mentioned I tow a caravan with this vehicle. Will doing this conversion have an adverse affect while towing as the engine is under load most of the time then?

Cheers
Douw

[Willied]

Douw, the electrical fan is rated at 1,2kW as apposed to the 2-3kW the viscous fan uses, some would say this provides less cooling. Viscous has an advantage in that it is always spinning and letting some air flow and only runs at full rpm when you hear it where as electrical fans run only when needed.

I do lots of low range playing with my setup and have not had heat problems with my setup from the fan not providing enough cooling. I don't tow with the vehicle and while it does strain the motor a decent radiator upgrade would make the electric fan upgrade a pleasure.

It's a hard thing to say it will work, I suggest you keep the vehicle as is for now and do more research before you risk reliability.

[douwg]

Douw, the electrical fan is rated at 1,2kW as apposed to the 2-3kW the viscous fan uses, some would say this provides less cooling. Viscous has an advantage in that it is always spinning and letting some air flow and only runs at full rpm when you hear it where as electrical fans run only when needed.

I do lots of low range playing with my setup and have not had heat problems with my setup from the fan not providing enough cooling. I don't tow with the vehicle and while it does strain the motor a decent radiator upgrade would make the electric fan upgrade a pleasure.

It's a hard thing to say it will work, I suggest you keep the vehicle as is for now and do more research before you risk reliability.

Willie,

Thank you so much for the response - good advice I reckon. Will keep it as is for now while the bakkie is still under warranty and keep an eye on the forums. Somewhere sometime someone will do the mod.

Cheers
Douw

[mikefenton]

@Doug
Just be careful with the electric fan setup. My 2.2 came from the factory with and electric fan and I blew a head gasket because the relay? didnt kick in like it was sposes to.

[Doepie01]

Hi Guys

I know this is a VERY old thread but hopefully i will get some advice from the OP or the other members that posted.

I also have the 2.2 MPI 4X4 desert series. Recently also blown a headgasket and basicly decided to overall the whole engin. Done the top, new pistons etc. My problem on this bakkie is that its very heavy on fuel. I average around 8km/l with a speed of 100km/h. On the open road it will only reach 120km/h with lots of prayers and if there is a decline. I do not mind about the speed that much because i use the bakkie to take my kids to school and back every day traveling on a gravel road. It handles the road very well i must add.

Back to fuel consumption. The bakkie is factory fitted with an electric fan and i have removed the cat. I even tried a Unichip but that did not help either. The low end torque is very good and i hardly touch the accelerator pedal to get to 100km/h. Freeflow also installed.

I will be very pleased if i can just average around 10km/l at speeds of around 100km/h. Any advice or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Regards
Doepie

[pgreeff]

Hi Doepie

I don't have experience with that specific vehicle, but I can respond with two comments.
1) The engine produces less than 80 kW if I understand correctly. That is very little power for such a heavy vehicle. The old 4Y Hilux owners also contend with low power, but it makes up for it by being a solid engine with loads of parts available everywhere.
2) 8 km/l is damn good for a petrol bakkie, stop complaining. My Nissan Hardbody 2.4i gives me about 6.5 km/l regardless of what I am doing. Even some of the fanciest newer petrol engines can't beat your 8 km/l. Were it a diesel it would be a different story.

I can add that my father in law used to own the GWM single and double cab with that engine some years ago and he also made a point of mentioning that it is hard to beat 8 km/l as it has to work very hard to move that much weight around.

[Higgins77]

Hi Guys

I know this is a VERY old thread but hopefully i will get some advice from the OP or the other members that posted.

I also have the 2.2 MPI 4X4 desert series. Recently also blown a headgasket and basicly decided to overall the whole engin. Done the top, new pistons etc. My problem on this bakkie is that its very heavy on fuel. I average around 8km/l with a speed of 100km/h. On the open road it will only reach 120km/h with lots of prayers and if there is a decline. I do not mind about the speed that much because i use the bakkie to take my kids to school and back every day traveling on a gravel road. It handles the road very well i must add.

Back to fuel consumption. The bakkie is factory fitted with an electric fan and i have removed the cat. I even tried a Unichip but that did not help either. The low end torque is very good and i hardly touch the accelerator pedal to get to 100km/h. Freeflow also installed.

I will be very pleased if i can just average around 10km/l at speeds of around 100km/h. Any advice or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Regards
Doepie

Was consumption and power the same before the headgasket gave up?
Overall 8km/l about par for petrol bakkie.

[willem wikkel spies]

Hi Guys

I know this is a VERY old thread but hopefully i will get some advice from the OP or the other members that posted.

I also have the 2.2 MPI 4X4 desert series. Recently also blown a headgasket and basicly decided to overall the whole engin. Done the top, new pistons etc. My problem on this bakkie is that its very heavy on fuel. I average around 8km/l with a speed of 100km/h. On the open road it will only reach 120km/h with lots of prayers and if there is a decline. I do not mind about the speed that much because i use the bakkie to take my kids to school and back every day traveling on a gravel road. It handles the road very well i must add.

Back to fuel consumption. The bakkie is factory fitted with an electric fan and i have removed the cat. I even tried a Unichip but that did not help either. The low end torque is very good and i hardly touch the accelerator pedal to get to 100km/h. Freeflow also installed.

I will be very pleased if i can just average around 10km/l at speeds of around 100km/h. Any advice or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Regards
Doepie

see highlighted above
show me a petrol in 4x4, older technology with better consumption
8km/l is in par.

what is your rpm at 120km/h?

[Doepie01]

Thanks manne for your responses.

If you take a look at the older posts the OP stated that he got 10km/l that is why i figured that 8km/l is a bit heavy. I do agree that the bakkie is probably to heavy for the 2.2 engin and that is why it is a bit sluggish. Before the engin was overhauled the consumption was a bit better. Around 8.7 to 9km/l at a speed of 100km/l. It has done about 3000km now with the "new" engin and i am hoping that the engin is still a bit stiff and maybe consumption will get better in future.

At 120kmh the RPM is around 3500 if i remember correctly. I very rarely reach that speed.

Cheers

[Oppies3800]

I had a 4Y. 8km/l would've been a dream.

O, I had fair amount of mods and 31' muds, but got to 120km/h fairly quickly.

Average speed open road 100km/h I got 7km/l