Great Wall M4

The first examples will be 40 manual transmission CBU units from

China

, and another 160 manual CBU vehicles are set to make up the second batch. Following this, local assembly will take over, with the first CKD M4s set to roll out from the company’s Gurun plant in October. When this happens, the EEV is set to go on sale only in automatic transmission form.

Finalised pricing hasn’t been revealed, but Go Auto has announced that the M4 is due to go on sale priced from RM45k to RM59k, depending on variant. A total of three variants (Standard, Comfort, Premium) will be available, in both manual and transmission form, according to the company.

Whichever variant it is, the M4 – which measures in at 3,961 mm long, 1,728 mm wide and 1,617 mm tall, with a 2,383 mm-long wheelbase and 185 mm ground clearance – will be powered by a normally-aspirated 1.5 litre VVT MPI four-pot offering 105 hp at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm at 4,200 rpm.

Initial speculation had the five-speed manual in two-wheel drive guise and the six-speed automatic as a four-wheel drive offering, but it’s now confirmed that the M4 will only be available throughout the range in two-wheel drive form.

General specification lists four disc brakes (with red calipers, no less), ABS and EBD with brake assist, powered windows all-around, steering wheel audio controls, manual four-way adjustment front seats, dual airbags and front/rear foglights. There are rear child seat fixing points, but these are top tether mounts and not Isofix.

The Standard variant is equipped with fabric seats, a four-speaker CD audio system, manual air-conditioning, a polyurethane steering wheel, and sits on 15-inch wheels and 195/60 series tyres. This – in manual transmission form – is likely to be the RM45k offering in the range.

Moving on to Comfort trim level adds on a host of items, including leather steering wheel, two-tone fabric seats, reverse sensors, a six-speaker audio system with seven-inch LCD display and navigation, automatic air-conditioning and 16-inch alloys, wrapped with 205/60 profile rubbers.

Both Comfort and Standard variants feature electrically-adjustable side view mirrors, but are of the manually-foldable variety.

Finally, the Premium variant adds on leather seats, a rear spoiler and reverse camera to the equipment found on the Comfort. The version also lists an around-view camera system, and keyless entry is also listed as being available on the higher-spec variants.

Incidentally, ESP is mentioned in passing in the brochure, but it’s not listed in the specifications list – we’re told that the CKD auto variant will feature it. Also, the examples on show today at the launch are not definitive of a particular variant – we spotted a mix of specs on display in the vehicles, which were all manual transmission examples.

Six exterior colours will be available for the M4, and these are Pearl Black, Sky Silver, Ocean Blue, Titanium White, Jazz Red and Fashionable Orange. The Great Wall M4, which is covered by a three-year or 100,000 km warranty, is available in showrooms as of now.