Vehicles wearing GWM and Haval badges are becoming increasingly familiar sights on our roads as the Chinese car maker expends its local presence and offerings.

Formerly known as Great Wall Motors, GWM specialises in 4x4 and light commercial vehicles, while subsidiary Haval focuses on small and medium SUVs.

Best known today for its Cannon and Cannon Ultra dual cab 4x4 utes, GWM also sells the Tank 300 mid-sized 4x4 wagon and has just released the all-new Tank 500 large 4x4 wagon.

A generously equipped seven-seater based on the same ladder-frame chassis that underpins the recently launched Cannon Alpha ute, the Tank 500 is offered in two grades comprising the Lux Hybrid ($66,490 driveaway) and Ultra Hybrid ($73,990 driveaway).

This isn’t the first time GWM has sold a seven-seat body-on-frame 4x4 wagon, with that honour going to the GWM H9 which was pulled from sale here in 2022 after failing to take a serious chunk out of rivals like the Toyota Prado, Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X.

The Tank 500 is an entirely different proposition, offering a big step up in quality, refinement and capability, and GWM is understandably bullish about its prospects.

The car maker is claiming its new offering represents ‘exceptional, even unbeatable value’ in the large SUV segment.

Comparative pricing of top-spec rivals includes the Ford Everest Trend 2.0 4WD ($67,040 MRLP) and Sport 3.0 4WD ($73,740 MRLP), and the Isuzu MU-X 4x4 3.0 LS-T ($67,990 driveaway).

Pricing for the soon-to-be-superseded Toyota Prado is probably redundant as the new model is due any day but the recommended retail pricing for the Prado Altitude is $92,700, while the top-of-the-line Prado Kakadu sports a $99,990 sticker.

Stylistically, the Tank channels elements of both the Y62 Nissan Patrol and the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, with its bold chrome grille flanked by dusk-sensing LED head lamps and an attractive if somewhat conservative body design.

Similarities with these 4x4 wagons don’t end with styling.

The Tank’s 2,850mm wheelbase iw identical to that of the 300 Series.

Its overall length, at 5,078mm, is slightly longer than the ‘Cruiser’s 4,980mm but the Tank wears its spare wheel on the tailgate where the 300’s is underslung.

At 1,934mm wide the Tank is slightly narrower than the Toyota wagon’s 1,980mm, but wider than the current Prado’s 1,885mm.

These dimensions ensure a generously proportioned seven-seat interior featuring a 70:30 spilt-fold-second row and a 50:50 spilt-fold third row.

The latter is electrically operated in the top-spec Ultra, folding flat and storing out of sight beneath the boot floor.

Boot space is a generous 1,459 litres with the second and third rows folded, 795 litres with the second row in the upright position, and 98 litres with the third row in use.

The LandCruiser 300 Series boast more-generous capacities at 1,967 litres, 1004 litres and 175 litres respectively.

The roomy cabin is accessed via power-operated side steps that glide in and out from beneath the body whenever the car is locked or unlocked.

Inside, things are seriously luxurious, with a level of kit that rivals or even exceeds that of the top-spec grades of key rivals.

Materials quality appears impressively high, with standard Nappa leather-accented diamond-quilted seats, plus lashings of faux chrome and timber.

A large central transmission tunnel houses a chunky auto shift lever which sits ahead of a circular dial for selecting from the different all-terrain modes, and it’s flanked by an array of buttons for the twin diff locks, park brake and other functions.

A crisply rendered 14.6-inch LED colour touchscreen at dash centre incorporates embedded satellite navigation, AM/FM radio, DAB+, two USB inputs, built-in dashcam USB port, Bluetooth connectivity, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 360-degree monitor with a chassis-view mode. There’s also an impressive-sounding 12-speaker Infinity audio system with active noise cancelling to satisfy audiophiles.

Another notable convenience feature is GWM’s new Connected Car Services which is included in the purchase price for the first two years of ownership.

It uses an embedded sim and GWM phone app to enable features like find-my-car, geo-fencing, remote locking and unlocking, cabin temperature preconditioning including seat heating and cooling, window and sunroof open and close, and more.

Ergonomically, it’s all logically laid out, albeit somewhat busy by the stripped-back standards of minimalist contemporary rivals.

The steering is electrically adjustable for rake and reach, making it easy to find a comfortable driving position, and the high seating position affords good visibility.

The touchscreen interface is logical and mostly easy to navigate, with quick responses to inputs, but there are a few menu items that require some digging.

Among the few obvious glitches is that not all the satin-silver-faced switchgear is illuminated, which makes selecting some functions difficult at night, and the USB-A/USB-C and 12V plug are tucked away in a difficult-to-access location.

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Other standard features of the Ultra include three-zone climate control, powered front seats with heating, cooling, memory and massage functions, a panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charger, 64-colour ambient lighting system, faux-leather heated steering wheel, Head Up Display, and more.

Rear-seat passengers are treated to plenty of head and legroom with seat-slide and backrest adjustment plus rear window blinds, privacy glass and ventilated outer seats.

Unsurprisingly, third-row passengers aren’t so generously accommodated with the space best reserved for small to medium-sized kids, but it’s not notably better or worse than key rivals and there’s air vents and cupholders back there as well as decent visibility.

As its full name suggests, the Tank 500 Hybrid is available exclusively with a hybrid powertrain, a fact that gives it an immediate point of difference in a large 4x4 wagon category dominated by turbodiesel and V8 petrol powertrains.

Until the new Prado launches later this year with its 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder enhanced with V-Active Technology (aka 48-volt mild-hybrid), the Tank 500 has the distinction of being the only sub-$80k large 4x4 with a hybrid powertrain.

It’s also the only one that can drive its wheels electrically, independent of the combustion engine for a limited distance, where the Prado’s mild-hybrid system will support the combustion engine during acceleration but can’t power the vehicle independently.

The powertrain consists of a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder mated to an electric motor and 1.76kWh lithium-ion battery to deliver combined outputs of 255kW/648Nm. To give that some perspective, the new Prado’s claimed outputs are a more modest 150kW/500Nm, while the barrel-chested 5.6-litre petrol V8 powering the Nissan Patrol delivers a more comparable 298kW/560Nm.

On paper at least, the Tank 500 offers the best of both worlds with its promise of V8-rivalling grunt with four-cylinder efficiency. Combined cycle fuel consumption on the requisite 91RON is 8.5L/100km, where Toyota’s twin-turbodiesel 300 Series sips a comparable 8.9L/100km, and the Nissan Patrol V8 slurps a heartier 14.4L/100km.

Toyota hasn’t yet provided fuel consumption figures for the new Prado, but the recently released Toyota HiLux SR5 48V uses the same 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine with mild-hybrid tech to achieve a thriftier 7.4L/100km – albeit with a six-speed auto where the new Prado will boast a new eight-speed gearbox which should further improve its efficiency.

All that grunt ensures the Tank 500 can shift its 2,605kg kerb mass in a spirited manner, with GWM claiming it covers the benchmark 0–100km/h dash in a respectable 8.3 seconds.

The V8-powered Nissan Patrol, meanwhile, is claimed to cover the sprint in 7.5 seconds, while estimates for the Toyota 300 Series come in at around the 8.0-second mark.

Despite its on-paper advantages, the Tank 500 never ‘feels’ as muscular or responsive as these rivals.

This is no doubt due to its hefty kerb weight, plus the fact you need to press the accelerator hard to engage the electric motor and access the hybrid system’s full power and torque.

In typical hybrid-electric form the system is designed to start off on electric power and then bring in the petrol engine as demand for acceleration increases.

The process happens fairly seamlessly for the most part, but there’s times where the complex drivetrain exhibits some hesitation as the turbo petrol and electric motor work out who is leading the charge.

GWM itself says the focus of its hybrid system is more about improving driving performance than it is about efficiency, with drive channelled through an in-house developed nine-speed automatic, and a Borg-Warner Transfer case providing a 2.64:1 low-range ratio.

A live rear axle ensures good off-road articulation, helping keep the wheels on the deck in rugged terrain, with the Tank also endowed with a handy 224mm of ground-clearance, 800mm wading depth, strategically placed underbody protection and selectable off-road drive modes.

Other notable off-road features include a crawl control system that allows vehicle speed to be adjusted via the cruise control system in low-speed off-road conditions, and Tank Turn Assist, which works by momentarily locking the inside rear wheel to allow the car to reduce its turning circle.

Add to this high and low-range gearing, plus standard front and rear diff locks, and the Tank Ultra has all the requisite attributes to be a highly capable off-road performer.

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The terrain-select system provides no less than nine different off-road driving modes, including Auto, Sport, Normal, Snow, Expert, Rock, Eco, Mud, and Sand. We opted to leave it in auto for the off-road section which covered some decently rugged off-road tracks in Victoria’s Wombat State Forest.

Here, the Tank acquitted itself very well, averting excessive underbody scraping and clambering up eroded rock steps with impressive ease, despite wearing road-oriented 265/60R18 tyres.

In these difficult conditions the drivetrain again exhibited some clear hesitation, if not momentary confusion, as it worked out where to send the power and from which power unit, but the end results were undeniable.

A 2024 five-star ANCAP safety rating puts the Tank 500 up on the top step of the safety podium with standard safety kit including seven airbags and a suite of the latest autonomous driver-assist systems.

The latter includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Rear Collision Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Change Assist, Bind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Traffic Sign Recognition, Auto Intelligent Parking and more.

The sensitivity of such systems has been an area of deserved criticism for previous GWM products including the Cannon Ute and Tank 300, so it’s pleasing to see that GWM has made improvements with the Tank 500.

It’s still not perfect, with the driver distraction system a constant annoyance, and it’s fair to say GWM’s ADAS systems still lack the polish of quality rivals such as Nissan, but there’s definite improvement here.

Unsurprisingly, given its body-on-frame construction, high ride height and standing 1.9m tall, there’s a reasonable amount of body roll in corners, with occupants also enduring the inevitable jostle and head toss over bumps and through bends that comes with such structures.

It’s true that this is also the case with rivals like the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, but these vehicles do a better job of mitigating it than the Tank 500.

Nevertheless, the Tank’s double-wishbone independent front suspension helps ensure reasonably accurate, if lightly weighted and feel-free steering, while the rear suspension features a live-axle with coil springs and multi-links for decently supple on-road ride.

The wide tyres do tend to find potholes and other road irregularities easily, however, occasionally sending an unseemly jar up through the vehicle structure to the cabin.

With its refined drivetrain, luxurious fitout, impressive on- and off-road performance and low purchase price, the Tank 500 will undoubtedly turn the heads of buyers looking for an off-road capable 4x4 wagon.

Where it may disappoint is with its modest 3-tonne braked towing capacity, where rivals boast 3,500kg tow ratings.

Possibly countering this for some buyers will be GWM’s impressive aftersales package that includes seven-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, seven years of roadside assist and seven-years capped-priced servicing.

The lithium-ion battery pack for the hybrid system also gets its own eight-year unlimited-kilometre warranty.

The long warranty and aftersales package add significantly to the Tank 500’s already impressive value equation and may give large 4x4 buyers the confidence they need to try out the challenger brand.

GWM Tank 500 Ultra Hybrid MY24 key info

• PRICE: $73,990 (driveaway)
• POWERTRAIN: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo, hybrid (255kW/648Nm), nine-speed automatic transmission.
• ANCAP CRASH RATING: Five stars (2024)
• FUEL CONSUMPTION (combined cycle): 8.5L/100km (197gCO2/km)
• WARRANTY: Seven years, unlimited kilometres (vehicle), eight years unlimited kilometres (lithium-ion battery)
• FOR: Well-priced versus segment rivals, generously equipped, roomy interior, strong off-road capability, appears well built and nicely finished, excellent warranty and aftersales package.
• AGAINST: Low (3000kg) braked towing capacity, suspension feels stiff-legged over potholes and bumps, soft brake-pedal feel, drivetrain can exhibit some hesitation, real-world fuel consumption doesn’t match combined cycle claims.