Lyna Mohammad

When Great Wall Motor (GWM) started to make its presence known in the motor industry, it began with the manufacturing of pickup trucks, and later in 2018 the GWM Pickup announced its brand independence with the Wingle and the Poer series.

Following the debut of GWM’s Haval SUV line-up in the Brunei market, the authorised distributor of the GWM flagship, Berjaya Sdn Bhd, recently brought in the Poer series – Ruman and Sucan.

At the digital introduction of the Poer series, Managing Director Pengiran Irwan bin Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman disclosed that the latest design of the Poer looks to address how they perceive double-cab pickup interiors, especially in the Ruman models.

The Ruman draws some inspiration from its cousin, the Haval H6, with the use of high quality materials, soft touches and technological innovations, he added.

“GWM’s Poer Series aims to take on global established rivals in the market segment of double-cab pickups and testament to this are the strong selling points of its price, build quality and overall driving experience, despite being longer, taller and wider than a majority of dual-cab pickups in the market.”

With the aim being for owners of the respective Poer vehicles to have the feel of sitting in an SUV while driving a durable and capable pick-up, the latest design of GWM’s Poer looks to address how they perceive double-cab pickup interiors.

Here is an overview of what these two models has in store, starting with the the Poer Sucan, which is wordplay of sukan, the Malay word for sport, hence the sportier look.

Paired with its L-Shaped LED and cross mesh grille, while also coming with a matte Poer logo, being aggressive and built for adventurous lifestyle, the Sucan is fitted with a 2.0 turbocharged diesel engine, producing 161 Horsepower and 400Nm of torque.

The Sucan’s load capacity is that of four adult male polar bears, showing how capable the engine is, and with the cabin’s tough looks, fitted with leather bucket seat and an adjustable driving mode on the fly, it is ready to rumble up the mountain and dirt road at any given time with comfort.

The ergonomic gear shifter fits the hand naturally when changing gears, and features reverse camera with night vision hence obstacles are noticeable with ease.

On the entertainment note, a nine-inch infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is fitted on the Sucan along with six DTS surround speakers as well as a moonroof. The Sucan is also equipped with six plus two omni-direction airbags.

Meanwhile, its twin brother, the Poer Ruman, is named after a play on the word rumah, the Malay word for house.

The Ruman is design for family and a lifestyle mix with off-roading, featuring a C-shaped daytime running light and jewel headlamp, with flowing signal light.

Equipped with an 18-inch aluminium alloy rims, massive sidestep and sport bar, obviously a reminded that this is a pickup truck, the Ruman is fitted with a hydraulic tailgate at the back, which means it can be dropped and lifted with just one finger, and also comes with bedliner and a neon LED taillight.

Stepping into the cabin, the first noticeable thing would be the leather seats right from the driver to rear passenger to its side trim and dashboard.

The cockpit features a colour seven-inch instrumental cluster, with extensive customisation of the dashboard, light-up USB ports for easy access at night as well as wireless charging.

Safety is a top priority for GWM Poer. The Ruman features L2 autonomous driving, which can guide you on the road, even driving itself with adaptive cruise control. Drivers and family alike can be further assured of their safety, as the vehicles have recently been awarded the five-star Australian NCAP rating.

In addition, it is equipped with lane departure warning, traffic jam assist, cross traffic detection and many more. There is also a 3D 360-degree camera view around the Ruman, giving the best view around to help reduce the stress and hassle of parking in tight spots.

A party trick is its voice recognition function where one can speak to the Ruman, such as by saying “volume down” or “I am feeling cold”, and it can even control the radio and adjust the screen through voice commands. It also has a remote start function feature.

Performance wise, the various drive tests conducted through 4×4 obstacle courses in countries such as Australia and South Africa that are heavy users of dual-cab pickups for everyday life showed it had plenty of ability to master the courses with little effort, especially with the 400Nm of torque channelled to tyres via the eight speed automatic gearbox from global driveline technology manufacturer and supplier, ZF.

Awards to its name include best pickup of the year in the Chilean auto industry this year, just a month after its launch in Chile and car of the year issued by media authorities in Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, the Poer has been unanimously praised by the critical Australian media with the CarsGuide saying, “The power of GWM Poer has surpassed the top competitors”, and that “it will completely change the Australian pickup truck market”.

ITAPETINGA, BRASIL (AFP) – Carlos Batista da Silva holds his hand above his head, indicating on a wall the level where floodwaters reached inside his northeastern Brazil home.

Although he was warned of the approaching deluge, his house was submerged before he could react as Bahia state faces a heavy cost from the flooding caused by torrential rains that burst two dams and left at least 24 people dead.

“We wanted to take out the furniture but there wasn’t time, we lost everything. The only thing we could save was the television,” da Silva told AFP as he threw out a sofa, armchairs and microwave that were all destroyed.

“My mother also lost everything,” said da Silva, who will only move back into his home “when the sun is hot, and the weather improves”, something that is expected in a few days.

Neighbour Joao Vitor Gomes Santos was also taken by surprise when the water entered his home in Itapetinga.

“The wardrobe, bed, dresser… we lost everything.”

Over 90,000 people have been displaced, with the floods affecting over half a million victims across some 140 municipalities.

Authorities said it has been the heaviest December rainfall in Bahia in 32 years. In some towns, a month’s worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.

While the waters are receding in some areas, leaving behind mountains of rubbish, in others the risk is increasing due to the opening of floodgates.

Firefighters in Bahia said at least 10 dams are at risk of collapsing as waters rise in several rivers.

Inhabitants of the areas most at risk have been urged to evacuate.

In some parts of the state, help only comes from boats and helicopters.

In total, 44 state highways have been blocked or damaged as a result of the floods.

Meteorologists fear that in the next few days heavy rainfall could reach far more populous states such as Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo.

BOLSONARO ABSENT

President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday authorised a BRL200-million (USD36-million) loan to rebuild infrastructure and roads in five states, including Bahia, which will receive BRL80 million.

Bahia Governor Rui Costa, from the opposition Workers’ Party, said the measure was “insufficient” and called for more resources to tackle the crisis.

On Monday, Costa described the floods as “the worst catastrophe in the history of Bahia”.

On Tuesday he described the scene in his state as a war zone, saying it was too early to estimate how much damage had been done.

Bolsonaro has come under fire for not visiting the affected areas.

While several ministers flew over the devastated zones on Tuesday, Bolsonaro was seen jet-skiing at a beach in the south of the country.

“I hope I won’t have to cut short my holidays,” he told supporters, according to a local website in Santa Catarina.

Leftwing legislator Marcelo Freixo accused him on Twitter of “a lack of compassion”.