Tank 300 Diesel tackles tar and tough tracks at a competitive price

I FIRST saw GWM's Tank 300 at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2023 and knew that with its rugged looks and Chinese Brands' competitive pricing, it would definitely find favour in South Africa.

- Willem van de Putte

THE 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine provides 135kW and 480Nm coupled to a nine-speed electronic automatic transmission. | Supplied

Great Wall Motors has been here for almost three decades, having made its mark with Haval and P-Series bakkies, so they understand the South African psyche well.

The first Tanks arrived with 2.0-litre petrol and hybrid models, which were thirsty and struggled to tow anything significant.

The South African leisure market thrives on diesel because of its improved consumption and better torque. GWM listened, and so now we have the Tank 300 2.4 T in either Luxury, Super Luxury or Ultra Luxury trim.

We had the Ultra Luxury on test, which gets a front differential lock, Nappa heated, ventilated and massage seats, eight-way electrically adjusted driver's seat, heated steering wheel, nine-speaker Infinity audio system, wireless charging pad and 64-colour ambient lighting. Really!

There's something about a boxy 4x4 that stirs the soul, and here the Tank 300 has the aerodynamics of a brick, not unlike the previous generation Defender.

It certainly attracts attention with its aggressive grille, flared wheel arches, sidesteps and round LED headlamps with a protruding lightbar.

Interestingly, the bumpers protrude quite far from the body, possibly to shield the panels from damage should you hit an obstacle. It's easier and cheaper to repair or replace a bumper as opposed to a body panel.

It stands on 18-inch chrome alloys, which in this iteration are more road-biased.