Most basic Foton Tunland not perfect but strong value package

The surprise return of Foton to South Africa last year, via Combined Motor Holdings (CHM), has been a gradual re-acceptance of what was, arguably, the first “upscale” Chinese bakkie sold in South Africa.

Where it started

Originally introduced in 2012, the Tunland differed significantly from its Great Wall Motors (GWM), JMC and other People’s Republic rivals by being more luxury-focused and therefore, out to directly challenge established versions of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu KB (D-Max), Mitsubishi Triton and the now discontinued Mazda BT-50.

ALSO READ: New Foton Tunland not a ‘cheaply concocted’ Chinese bakkie

A cut above not only its countryman, but also the Mahindra Pik Up, the Tunland offered the usual Chinese vehicle USPs of vastly more equipment than its legacy brand opposition, with the ultimate trump card of a Cummins-sourced 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine.

Developing a potent, at the time, 120kW/360Nm, the unit, plus the Tunland’s more affordable price tag, didn’t attract the attention Foton had envisioned, and as such, sales were quietly withdrawn before a major update in 2018.

The bigger picture

Its comeback to South Africa has been marked by a similar situation, admits a frenzied and growing uptake of Chinese bakkies from JAC, GWM, LDV, newly arrived BYD and soon, Chery.

Having faded in supposed obscurity after its launch, sales of the Tunland G7 so far total 649 units, though it has to be said, it only started reporting its figures to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) from February this year.

Known as the Tunland Yutu in China, where it first went on-sale in 2019, the Tunland G7 will eventually form part of a three-model bakkie range in a similar capacity to Mahinda’s incoming Global Pik Up that will sit above the current Pik Up and Bolero.

In this regard, the G7 will become Foton’s range opener below the Ford F-150-aping Tunland V7, and V9 that resembles the Ram 1500.

First of two

While both have been been confirmed for South Africa by mid-year, the G7, for now, is Foton’s sole offering with a choice of six models priced from R329 900 for the workhorse single cab Hi-Rider

Unsurprisingly, Foton opted to offer The Citizen not one but two examples of the double cab, the first, and subject of this review, the entry-level TL.

Priced at R399 900, the TL feels anything but spartan for what is also one of the cheapest double cabs in South Africa, an accolade it shares with the Lux spec version of the JAC T8.

Solely fitted with a six-speed manual gearbox and having its power and torque routed to the rear wheels only, the initial promise of the Tunland G7 TL soon turned a bit lobsided as the weeklong test proved more mixed, even with its price tag taken into consideration.

You look familiar?

Outwardly, there is little to disguise the fact, unlike its GWM, JAC, LDV rivals, the Tunland hasn’t let go of the “copy-of-paste” design method of early Chinese products.

Besides the Ranger Raptor-inspired block letter Foton badge on its grille, the frontal styling is a mix of current Hilux and D-Max, while the rear is a combination of Nissan Navara and Mercedes-Benz X-Class complete with awkwardly-sized loadbin that appears shorter than the bonnet when viewed in-side.

Mounted on 17-inch alloy wheels from the start, the Tunland isn’t the styling standout Foton will probably project it to be, however, the various “borrowed” elements still translate into a relatively imposing double cab without the “shock” factor of the JAC T9.

The surprise inside

The most impressive aspect, though, is the interior when taking into account the sub-R400 000 price tag.

Neat and attractive on first glance, the cab feels resoundingly plush with soft-touch materials on key surfaces, plus a balanced mix of silver inlays and not-overly-too-much piano-key black inserts.

Highlighted by a pair of 12.3-inch displays for the infotainment system and instrument cluster, touch-sensitive buttons have been eschewed for physical switchgear, which adds to what is a largely ergonomically-sound layout not expected at this price point.

What’s more, the cabin feels spacious and being a Chinese vehicle where emphasis is placed on space for those seated at the rear, the Tunland G7 TL doesn’t squander with impressive levels of head-and-legroom for a double cab.

>Not stopping there, Foton has not been greedy on the specification either and as such, has stuffed its base-model double cab full of kit even the T8 appears unlikely to match

Besides the pair of displays – the infotainment fitted with Android Auto and an aftermarket Apple CarPlay system using a dongle inserted into one of the two USB ports – the TL comes fitted as standard with push-button start, a multi-function steering wheel, climate control, auto lock/unlock doors, front and rear armrests, a steel sports bar, LED daytime running lights and a four-speaker sound system.

On the safety and driver assistance front, dual airbags are fitted, along with cruise control, Driver Attention Alert, a tyre pressure monitor, Hill Descent Control, ABS and EBD, Hill Hold Assist, Vehicle Dynamic Control, rear parking sensors, a reverse camera and a drive mode selector with three settings: Eco, Comfort and Sport.

When the ‘good’ stops

Omitted are LED headlights or even the common-place auto on/off function that resulted in the lights being left on a few times

While just about acceptable if nowhere as strong or visually appealing as even the most basic of LED setup, the Tunland G7’s peculiarities remain, the biggest being the seats.

Covered in real cloth, the chairs don’t drop low enough and in the case of the driver, results in a compromised driving position for those how prefer to sit “on the floor”.

n addition, the steering wheel only adjusts for height, which, given the close proximity of the instrument cluster, translates to a partially obscured view of some of the readouts

The seats themselves are on the hard side and, despite the mentioned level of quality, some of the fit-and-finish elicited the opposite, namely the gear knob becoming undone and a piece of carpet underneath the dashboard to the left of the clutch pedal having come adrift – all this on a vehicle with less than 500 km on its odometer.

Powerunit deserves better

Where matters take the biggest wrong turn is on the power front, and in a few instances, unfairly against what is largely a more than acceptable powerplant.

Co-developed with Cummins once again, the 2.0-litre oil-burner produces 120 kW and a strong 390 Nm.

Although good on paper, the engine isn’t the most refined and compared to others, loud on start-up and hampered by low-down lag.

At above 2 000 rpm, it comes alive and pulls with such ease and verve that the Tunland G7 almost feel lighter than what its 1 960 kg kerb mass suggests.

While rev-happy – not you would want to do so permanently because of the eventual strained soundtrack – the amount of puff soon runs out, which will require manhandling of the six-speed ‘box.

Developed in-house, the ‘box’s short ratios partly contribute to the Tunland’s low-end lag and while reasonably slick, comes with a horrible grating feel when shifting down as if a linkage had snapped.

Adding to this, the clutch pedal feel is overly sensitive and the throttle calibration a bit off, meaning care will be needed to avoid stalling.

Gerotek tested

This posed the question as to how the Tunland would fare at Gerotek where a manual, rear-wheel-drive bakkie hasn’t been tested for some time.

As it turned out, it didn’t prove the embarrassment expected with a 0-100 km/h time of just 12 seconds, faster than the admittedly four-wheel-drive but also more powerful and automatic Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 Legend RS, and the two-wheel-drive Nissan Navara 2.5D Pro-2X.

Down on both the single-turbo 2.0-litre XL and XLT versions of the Ford Ranger fitted with the six-speed automatic ‘box, the Tunland’s lack of low-end twist and sloppy gearbox was cited by Road Test Editor Mark Jones as being constants that prevented it from at least coming in striking distance of the former Blue Oval’s 11.0 second run.

Yes and no

Able to tow 3 000 kg, the Tunland G7’s ride is unsurprisingly bouncy with no load present, however, this will become better with a few kg’s present.

More satisfactory are the brakes, though the steering is heavy, but also not surprising considering the Tunland wasn’t designed to be a bakkie posing as an SUV.

Despite being undone by its transmission, the engine’s frugality was noteworthy as the weeklong stay and 578 km netted an indicated best consumption of 8.7 L/100 km, not far from Foton’s eight-litres per 100 km claim.

Conclusion

While questions marks remain about reliability and the niggling quality issues hopefully limited to the press unit, the Foton Tunland G7 TL makes a strong case from a specification and power side in spite of the gearbox that spoils what is largely a commendably packaged product.

Taken out of the equation as something willing to live with, though, the most basic Foton still strikes a capable balance between workhorse and leisure bakkie with more specification and, crucially, at more than half the price of its nearest legacy brand rivals.

Road Test Data

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