We first ran into the Great Wall Motors (GWM) Tank 500 hybrid at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2023 and were impressed by the size of it and how they displayed an intricate cross section of the underpinnings on a rolling chassis.
A year and a bit later, it’s now available in South Africa and joins its smaller retro Bronco-esque sibling, the Tank 300.
GWM is hardly a Johnny-come-lately into the local market, having walked the hard yards for the last 16 years, with sales of more than 180,000 units.
They’ve had enormous success with the Haval brand which is widely recognised for its affordable value for money offerings. The P-Series bakkies and electric Ora offerings also fall under them.
Interestingly, the holding company is one of only a handful of Chinese manufacturers that do not have the Chinese Government as a shareholder.
They do, however, have a similar strategy to their competitors by putting different offerings into different operating silos (think Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo) that may confuse consumers because if the Tank 500 HEV was simply called the “Haval Tank 500” everyone would recognise the marque.
The same goes for the P-Series P500 double cab bakkie, launched at the same event.
Far be it for us to question their business strategy, but what hasn’t changed is the fact that the Tank 500 stands big and tall no matter which way you look at it. It’s 1,905mm high, 1,934mm wide, 4,886mm long and has a wheelbase of 2,850mm, which equates to lots of interior space and seating for seven people.
There’s a lot of chrome around the exterior which may not be to everyone’s liking but there is talk of bringing a “Black” Edition.
The big chrome edged grille sports a large centre “T” with LED headlights on either side and the lower section of the bumper that houses the LED fog lights is also garnished with a chrome strip.
The rear of the Tank 500 gets similar treatment. The full sized spare wheel covered in matching body colour is mounted on the rear door that swings out, and a nifty feature is the retractable side step that slides out when the doors are opened, allowing shorter people to climb in and out more respectably than they otherwise would.
The multi-spoke 20-inch alloys are also chromed and surprisingly don’t look that garish and in the Tank 500 application, it quite suits it.
It’s when you climb in that you begin to slowly get your head around the R1,222,900 asking price, with more tech and features than you could imagine.
There are three rows of electrically adjustable Nappa leather accented seats that have separate air conditioning for the first two rows, while the second row gets seat cooling, and the driver and passenger seats have an eight-point messaging function and have heating and cooling.
The second row seats can be adjusted if there’s no one in the third row, and even with the third row up, there was more than enough legroom for my tall frame. The third row with roof mounted air vents is suited more for kids but for shorter trips adults should be fine.
There’s a very decent 795 litres of space with the third row down and 1,459 litres with both back rows folded, while towing capacity is rated at 2,500kg.
A large 14.6-inch infotainment system dominates the dash, and while most functions are accessed through the screen, thankfully the HVAC is adjusted by physical buttons. Sound is courtesy of a 12 speaker Harman Infinity audio system, and according to GWM, the analogue clock in the centre has real diamonds in it.
There’s a whole host of standard features that include a digital instrument cluster (what else?), 360 degree view camera, adjustable ambient lighting, wireless charging pad, panoramic sunroof, head-up display, and the steering can be adjusted electronically for rake and reach.
The rather large package is powered by a four cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with hybrid aid giving it combined power outputs of 255kW and 648Nm of torque sent to all four corners via a nine-speed hybrid automatic transmission housing the electric motor.
There are 11 all terrain driving modes including Sports, Snow, Sand Rock and Expert, and with rear and front differential lockers, low range and 224mm of ground clearance, the Tank 500 should be comfortable in most tough and technical driving challenges.
For a big piece of metal sitting on a ladder frame, the Tank 500 behaves remarkably well - both on tar and gravel.
The suspension gobbles up road imperfections easily and makes short work of gravel roads and passes we drove on launch in the George and Oudtshoorn region, even with the 20-inch rims.
Unlike some other Chinese manufacturers, the gearbox is well calibrated with smooth changes throughout, and although it’s not a speed machine, it handles corners well with slight body roll, as you would expect from a vehicle this size.
It’s sure-footed though, thanks to the all-wheel drive system with decent enough steering feedback while NVH levels were extremely good.
What wasn’t extremely good though, was the Tank’s consumption. The sticker on the window claimed 8.5l/100km but the best we could get was 12.8l/100km driving as you would any car on a daily basis. Granted, we were spending time driving constantly on tar and gravel, so perhaps with more urban driving using the battery, it could come down.
Still, even for a big modern car, it’s thirsty compared to the competitors, almost all fitted with a diesel engine.
Those competitors include the recently launched new Toyota Prado and Ford’s Everest and it will be interesting to see whether it can tackle them head-on.
More likely though, it could woo buyers away from German SUVs when owners look to replace them and find their pricing has gone through the roof, but they are still keen on advanced tech and a decent quality drive.
The Tank 500 Hybrid SUV comes with a seven-year/200 000km warranty, five-year/75 000km service plan and an eight-year/150 000km battery pack warranty.
IOL Motoring