Great Wall Florid China-built hatchback launched in the UAE

Great Wall Florid China-built hatchback launched in the UAE


Chinese automotive brand Great Wall Motors launched a new model in Dubai this week. Till date, the only Great Wall models available in the UAE were pickup trucks, and this would be the local dealer’s first foray into the car market, with the release of the Great Wall Florid sub-compact car. Ironically, it seems like the launch event only involved the traditional media, with possibly no actual automotive publications invited.

One look at the Florid though, it becomes obvious why that is the case. The so-called report in the local papers completely skip over the fact that the car looks like an exact copy of the Toyota xA with a Toyota Yaris front-end. Car journalists would’ve caught that in a second.

The Florid is powered with a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine, and mated to a CVT transmission proudly outsourced from Belgium. The motor is good for 103 hp at 6000 rpm and 138 Nm of torque at 4200 rpm. Other technical features include 15-inch alloy wheels, Bosch-sourced ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, cloth upholstery, CD/MP3 stereo, mirror-mounted indicator lights, fog lamps, split-folding rear seats and possibly some airbags.

The Great Wall Florid is being marketed as possibly the cheapest car in the UAE, with a price of Dhs 32,500.

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Comments

  1. “The Florid is powered with a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine, and mated to a CVT transmission…”

    So it’s a continuously variable transmission transmission

  2. im sorry but how much does the logan cost?? 😛

  3. Author

    Would you prefer I call it a CV transmission? And the Logan costs 38k or so.

  4. The front is similar to the Yaris and the rear similar to the XA!!!!!!!!!

  5. It looks like the looks of yaris and toyta Xa’s body. And from some angle Skoda Fabia. Still doesn’t look bad.

  6. Im really dissapointed. There must be a copyright or something with cars worldwide right? I mean how on earth are cars like toyota or other brands not suing the Chinese carmakers in making exact copies of their cars. Even a blind man can see that!

    Its such a shame, the chinese manufacturers has all the raw materials and tools, yet cant come up with a decent “original” designer of their car, not some copycat. I mean there’s a billion people to choose from. Hell, let them hire a european designer or someone who has at least an imagination.

  7. Author

    The story goes that in Chinese culture, copying is actually a form of flattery. Copying something is a sign of respect for the original. That’s the rumour anyway!

  8. Oh my…If that were true, then I wish they copy at least the good looking cars and not the crappy obsolete Japanese cars.

    Anywayz, I hope they wake up to reality and realize that some of their beliefs needs to be updated, to say the least.

  9. 1 crash & u can see all the parts flying around.

  10. from the side its a toyota XA.
    n after 1 crash driver wont live to c d parts flying may driver wil c him flying. and at speed of 140 to abu dhabi it wil most prob drop its engine some where!!!

  11. Drivers of this car should be aware over here. Big SUVs all around.

  12. Does’nt seem like any of your comments include a test drive.
    I have driven the car over the weekend for couple of days. The mileage was 16K. I am definately not a pro test driver, but this car…is amazing to drive at its price.
    Driving the Florid or the yaris @ 140 seemed similar. Probably more noise but was pretty smooth. The Automaic pick from zero is very slow but once your off, its pretty neat.
    It has steering wheel audio control, cup holders, dual front airbags, keyless entry, adjustable headlights, fog lights, rear wiper, spoiler with brake lights, 15inch alloy wheels, foldable rear seats with headrest, ABS with EBD, and some what bucket seats :p .
    There is definately an issue in jerks I got while the gears went down. The brakes and A/C wre very good though.
    I think it looks good and drives well, but must admit, we have to wait and see how reliable it can be…

  13. one of my friend had a great wall 4×4,

    it was named as SAFE,

    but it was so unsafe, that it rolled twice when my friend was driving it,

    later heard that it was stopped comming to saudi arabia, as there were many cases where it rolled,

    haha, SAFE was unsafe….

  14. I just saw this car today in RAK. It doesn’t look even as good as in the picture. From the side first I thought the Toyota Xa is back but chased the car to get a closer look and what I see is GREAT WALL in the back.

  15. My client bought this car in december 2011.
    In 4 months she already had to return the car to the garage 5 times for fixing…….

  16. Sorry…ofcourse i mean december 2010……

  17. I saw this car from dubai rashidiya workshop.Super….If the price is 32500 very cheap.Swaidan also giving 100000 km warranty. I beliving this parts and service cost are very cheap.I belive this very confortable for middle class family.

  18. Does anybody knows where we can find a dealer for the Great Wall Florid??

    I guess that a test drive won’t kill anyone, and it’s the best way to get to know the car right!?

    Thanks in advance

  19. What if the car passes international quality standards and runs as reliabily as a toyota yet costs a protion of the price? Would u still buy it? I peronsally think that chinese car makers are warming up for some huge leap within a decade… Their cars sell well in 3rd world countries.. And there is alot of people that need a cheap car in a 3rd world country..

    • Surely I would accept that. Because Toyota is becoming more of unreliable and expensive to maintain. And getting troubles for no reason.

      And if you get to know the UAE market there are good quality chinese products sold around. Apart from the car market.

  20. If there is spare parts for this model( florid)mean all spare parts.

  21. Wher to buy parts for this car in Dubai
    I need some parts

  22. I need R and L head light and engine v belt set

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