What is it?
A new, ladder-frame off-roader from Chinese brand Great Wall Motors – called the Tank. Built on the same platform as the Cannon dual-cab ute, the retro-styled Tank is roughly the size of a four-door Jeep Wrangler. Which isn’t a coincidence, as we’re sure GWM would love to pinch a few Jeep owners.
With its solid rear axle, 224mm of ground clearance and low range, a lockable rear-differential – with front differential lock in this range-topping Ultra Hybrid – the Tank promises some proper off-road ability. That’s in addition to a pretty potent on-paper powertrain, which we’ll mention shortly.
Does it have any racing pedigree?
While the Tank itself has as much racing pedigree as Donald Trump has subtlety, its maker GWM has tested its mettle in various Chinese motorsport series. Founded in 2011, GWM Racing has tackled the Chinese Touring Car Championship and China Cross Country Rally, while GWM even took on Dakar in 2012, 2013 and 2014, its motorsport-prepped Haval H8 finishing a credible sixth outright in its first two outings with driver Carlos Sousa.
What’s under the bonnet?
There’s a 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-four, paired to a 78kW/268Nm electric motor. Total system output is 255kW/648Nm, while there’s a nine-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive.
A 1.8kWh lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery – mounted under the boot floor – scavenges energy under brakes in traditional hybrid fashion, to be redeployed under acceleration. The hybrid Tank is not of the plug-in variety, and there’s no dedicated EV-only mode.
How does it handle?
Around town, the Tank is nice to drive, switching between its engine and electric motor seamlessly – a very difficult engineering and calibration feat, we’re sure. It’s surprisingly quiet, even refined. The ride quality is okay for a ladder-chassis vehicle, even if it’s a bit incessantly jiggly on country roads.
Of course, provided the battery has enough juice, 255kW/648Nm of petrol-electric power is enough to startle the inexperienced passenger from a set of traffic lights. But find some corners and battery depletes quickly, meaning you’re soon punting a very heavy (2313kg) vehicle with just 180kW.
The Tank doesn’t much like hard driving on a winding road, the brakes fading quickly and the nine-speed transmission easily overwhelmed, but find a dirt road, wind it back a notch or two and it feels much more at home. The Michelin Primacy SUV tyres cling on well and make for confident high-speed dirt driving.
The Tank hybrid used about 9.6L/100km during our testing. GWM claims 8.4L/100km on the combined cycle.
Where would you most like to drive it?
As much as we’d love to say the Canning Stock Route, we’re not sure GWM’s roadside assistance would come help you when you’re in the middle of outback Western Australia. We’d love to belt the Tank up some proper rutted dirt tracks, however, to see if it can handle the same off-road punishment as something like a Toyota Prado.
What’s the interior like?
It’s nice! Once you’ve climbed in – a bit of an effort, as there is no driver’s side grab handle – it’s obvious the Tank’s interior designers have been busy sketching while sitting in German cars. Dual 12.3-inch digital displays comprise the instrument cluster and infotainment display, while there’s a leather steering wheel and a general mix of plush and budget materials.
The top-spec Ultra Hybrid is rich with standard equipment, from the memory driver’s seat to the large sunroof, heated and cooled front seats, heating steering wheel and Nappa leather upholstery. We enjoy the flat, near vertical windscreen that charmingly makes you feel like you’re driving a vehicle from the sixties.
How much does the Tank Hybrid cost?
The lower-spec Lux Hybrid is $55,990 drive-away, while the Ultra we’re testing today is $60,990 drive-away.
Would I buy one?
The Tank offers an intriguing alternative to the usual ladder-frame vehicles from major brands, such as the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X or Toyota Fortuner. Of course, its styling will draw comparisons to the Jeep Wrangler, and the Tank is a lot cheaper. We don’t doubt all those vehicles would eclipse the Tank in various ways, from economy to build quality and off-road ability – but the Tank would give them a red-hot go, and maybe best a few in certain ways.
Many will be put off by its 2500kg braked towing capacity, or its driver assistance systems. The driver attention monitor constantly scalds you for looking away, even when you’re not, while the lane-keep assist is so sensitive and poorly calibrated, you have no option but to turn it off. Annoyingly, these systems default to on, meaning you have to dig around in the central menu to deactivate them every single drive.
If you can overlook those two things, it’s a lot of vehicle for the money.
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