(Ratings on scale 1 to 5)
Affordability:            5
Comfort:             4
Drive feel:            3½f
Aesthetics:            4
Technology dependability: No idea
A GWM bakkie had until recently been a vehicle many young people would not touch with a broomstick. The name itself, GWM, enkindles little excitement in the motoring public. The thought of rocking up at a friend's house in one was so humiliating and demeaning. The GWM, you see, has no aesthetic value but is very cheap. This was a car that one would buy after all banks had rejected his or her vehicle financing application.

But that was before GWM dropped the Steed bakkie into the market. Phones at Pupkewitz GWM Namibia had been ringing ever since that first advertisement on the vehicle appeared in newspapers. The Economist Auto News team became one of the callers looking for a test drive.
The advert - which should be acknowledged as the best motoring advertising material for the 2007/8 year - shows a muscular double cab in diamond black. Black Namibians love black cars even though black cars get hotter than any oven.
The remote-key to the test drive car was, finally, placed into the hands of Economist Auto News this week. It was a two-wheel drive 2.8-litre diesel double cab of which colour, to our disappointment, was not diamond black but faded lime green. Metallic of-course.
It was raining and our most fears were with the traction and under steering or over steering on Windhoek' wet roads. Not to mention sliding onto a stationary car at traffic lights. Easing the double car out of the parking lot at Pupkewitz’s showroom proved that the Steed (unlike the TATA bakkie - no offence meant) has a much smaller turn angle.
We were able to smoothly do a 180-degree turn. For the record, the TATA bakkie has the most difficult turn at 180 degrees, especially when reversing. The ride was comfortable, smooth, with less jarring although one should expect to feel stones on tar road.
The suspension appeared rigid enough. The interior is superb – albeit with a discouraging plastic feel on the dashboard – with height adjustable leather steering wheel, seats, and a very attractive electronic dashboard.
The CD/Radio has a quality feel. In short the entire interior is as in the Isuzu bakkie range (trust us, we test drove those too). The dissatisfactions, if they can be called that, were with power output of 225Nm at 1800 revolution per minutes (rpm) and the torque 70 power. In spite of the smooth response from the gearbox (response beats any expectations) the driver is at times required to bury the accelerator pedal beneath the bonnet for satisfactory engine response.
Otherwise the drive will be as in a tractor. Heinie Strauss, the sales executive at Pupkewitz GWM Motors, says there is a power kit available, which due to the demand could not be fitted on some of the cars at the factory. The kit has been shipped to Namibia to be fitted here. The kit is said to increase performance with about 10% and reduce fuel consumption.
For car technology junkies, the Steed has a 2.8-litre common-rail diesel engine, developed in conjunction with Bosch, and features direct injection. The transmission is a five-speed manual and the all-wheel drive version has an electronically selectable 4WD (as in the new Isuzu bakkie) system with a high and low range. GWM says noise levels are 16% lower than traditional high-pressure engine (we think it is still too noisy), and that fuel consumption is 20% lower than in similar diesels (we have not been able to test that part).
The price starts at N$96000 for a single cab and tops at N$201,000 for a double cab four-wheel drive complete with metallic colour. Standards features are leather seats, a CD/Radio, central locking, adjustable power steering, and electric windows. Anything else, such as roll-bars and tow bars, you have to pay.

The Steed is sold with a three-year/100,000 km factory warranty and a three-year/100,000km 24-hour roadside assistance programme.