Details of Cars

Great Wall Cowry: Great Wall’s seven-seat minivan

GREAT WALL

2007 Great Wall Cowry, front
2007 Great Wall Cowry. Photo by User3204, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Great Wall Cowry (Chinese: 长城嘉誉), also sold as the Great Wall Voleex V80, was the company’s minivan. It was a front-wheel-drive car with sliding rear doors, up to seven seats and a body whose styling closely followed the Toyota Noah of 2001–2007.

Great Wall Cowry at a glance

Great Wall Cowry key facts
Maker Great Wall Motors, China
Also known as Great Wall Voleex V80
Class minivan, front-wheel drive
Petrol engines 2.0 litre and 2.4 litre inline four
Power 105 kW (143 PS) and 120 kW (163 PS)
Gearboxes five-speed manual; automatic only with the 2.4 litre
Kerb weight 1510 kg
From 2013 1.5 litre turbo engine
Trim levels Comfort, Luxury, Super Luxury
Price about $15,500 to $19,400
Equipment double sliding middle doors, double sliding moon roofs, GPS navigation

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Cowry.

History of the Great Wall Cowry

A minivan for the home market

2007 Great Wall Cowry, rear
Rear of a 2007 Great Wall Cowry. Photo by User3204, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Cowry was Great Wall’s move into the people-carrier market. Its styling heavily resembles the Toyota Noah AZR60 built between 2001 and 2007, a boxy Japanese minivan with sliding doors on both sides, and the Chinese car copied that recipe: a tall one-box body, a short nose and as much cabin space as the platform would allow.

Engines and equipment

The Cowry came with a choice of two inline-four petrol engines, a 2.0 litre unit producing 105 kW (143 PS) and a 2.4 litre producing 120 kW (163 PS). Drive went to the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox; an automatic was offered only with the larger engine. The car weighed 1510 kg. Inside there were double sliding middle doors, double sliding moon roofs and a GPS navigation system, and the range was split into three versions called Comfort, Luxury and Super Luxury, priced between about $15,500 and $19,400.

Later changes

In 2013 Great Wall added a new 1.5 litre turbocharged engine to the range, the last significant change to the model. Under the Voleex name the same vehicle was sold as the Voleex V80.

Design and features

  • Sliding doors on both sides: the practical feature of any minivan of this size.
  • Twin moon roofs: two sliding glass panels over the cabin.
  • Choice of engines: 2.0 and 2.4 litre petrol units, the larger one also with an automatic gearbox.
  • Three trim levels: Comfort, Luxury and Super Luxury.

Great Wall Cowry versions

  • Cowry 2.0: the smaller petrol engine with a five-speed manual gearbox.
  • Cowry 2.4: the larger engine, available with a manual or an automatic.
  • Cowry 1.5 turbo (from 2013): the later turbocharged engine.
  • Voleex V80: the same vehicle sold under the Voleex name.

The Cowry was the largest passenger car in the range alongside the Coolbear, and the pickups such as the Wingle made up the rest of the line. More cars are in the Great Wall collection.

Video: Great Wall Cowry

Video by Наши тесты on YouTube.

Sources

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