GWM Tank 500 Ultra Hybrid is Bloody Brilliant – Here’s Why

You could be forgiven for thinking this big Tank 500 is merely a pastiche of a Land Cruiser/Land Cruiser Prado based on looks alone, but a decent drive shows it is not all fur coat and no knickers. It has one thing the others don’t: it is a hybrid, and a good one at that.

There are relatively few real competitors among the SUVs plying their trade up and down the shopping centre car parks. Buyers pretend to a lifestyle of open road adventures, camping where they please, traversing sand, mud, rock, and mountain. In reality they collect groceries and ferry little darlings through chronically clogged streets to overpriced or overcrowded schools. The scourge of school hours continues, so it is understandable that buyers dream of a vagabond experience

Tank 500 Ultra tops the range of 2 models, with the base model also getting a goodly sprinkling of fairy dust. It is about here where we normally lurch into the murky world of standard fittings. so we’ll just mention a few of our favourites.

The full list of techy cleverness can be found HERE: tank-500-brochure-au-web

ABOVE: GWM Tank 500 Ultra Hybrid is Bloody Brilliant – Here’s Why

Normally we’d be talking about a spend upwards of $100,000. Land Cruiser Sahara ZX is $156,186 drive away, but Tank 500 Ultra is a snip at $73,990 drive away. The Tank 500 Ultra has a longer warranty too and more fun gizmos. On the other hand, base model Prado is a slightly cheaper Land cruiser, but is also slightly smaller than Tank 500. No matter which way you mix the pudding, it still comes out the same way.

Early Great Wall Motors offerings were sub-par.

Sure, they were cheap, but they looked and felt it. Relaunched as GWM, the quality rocketed, and if badges were removed, the average punter would be hard pressed to pick the cheap car from a more expensive brand.

Outside:

The huge T emblem takes up a substantial real estate on the enormous, planet-swallowing grille. There is a T is on the key fob too, yet the brand remains known only to a few.

The substantial Tank looks like any other large SUV, big bold and square. It is what’s done within that frame that makes the difference. Tank has nifty electric side steps that can also be parked fully in or out as needed.

The 7-seater has fairly wide rear doors for the 2nd row, but gentlemen of a certain age prefer to leave the 3^rd row for the teens.

The tailgate swings open, a nuisance if towing. To save space inside, the spare tyre is mounted on the rear door, making it heavy enough to warrant a sturdy gas strut to prop it open. Lights either side do a little LED sparkle as a welcome sequence. Car makers are falling over themselves to outdo each other, and the results can be most entertaining.

18” wheels have large tyres for a little light off-roading, but you might want to beef them up a bit if you’re going too far off-piste.

Tank Ultra has roof rails either side of a sliding glass opening, much chrome over which to fawn, keyless entry/start to marvel at, 4 colours (white, silver, black, gold) and finally, a 7-year warranty to keep it all neat and tidy.

The Cabin:

The cathedralesque interior is wrapped in lashings of luscious Nappa leather. The lounge chairs up front have heating, cooling and massage, and there are little buttons to save your perfect possie. The rear accommodation is positively posh. There are acres or space in which to frolic, and a 3^rd row to stuff in the people you don’t like.

Apart from lots of nifty cubby holes, there are USB A and C sockets including a high mounted outlet for dashcams. The driver has an HUD, a 12.2” display, and a fabulously generous 14.6” centre screen. The wireless CarPlay/Android Auto/DAB+ stream tunes to 12 Infinity speakers, and the 3^rd row has electric buttons to lower them gracefully into the floor.

The one downside was the placement of the USB sockets in a small pocket on the driver’s side of the centre console. Its position assumes only the driver is ever going to use them. There are one or two other little foibles.

I’m not mad keen on the fake wood trim or the diamond effect clock surround, but the cabin is lush for the price. If there have been corners cut, they are not immediately obvious.

The Drive:

Tank 500 is easy on the wallet if a big, well equipped off-roader is what you want, but none of that matters of it is a dog to drive. The first Great Wall’s drive experience left a lot to be desired. The steering was wayward and the get up and go, got up and went. It was such a bitter disappointment made worse by lousy crash tests.

Tank 500 is a different (fortune) cookie altogether.

For a start, it is the only hybrid in the segment. Its tiny 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder hybrid is good for 255kw/648Nm and drives the AWD system through an in-house 9-speed automatic.

Although there is none of the fancy air suspension lavished on the laudable Land Cruiser, Tank 500 still manages a reasonably supple ride on all but the most rubbish of roads. Off-roading can be left to other reviewers thanks very much. We don’t dirty our loafers for anyone.

The automated parking was a little tricky and needed practice, but like the highway lane control, works wonderfully once grasped properly. On the subject of the lane control system, it comes on when the adaptive cruise control is switched to intelligent cruise mode by tapping the stalk a second time.

Its behaviour can be unpredictable as it slows down on some corners and not others. Its party trick is that it moves over a little if it senses the big truck next door comes too close. It proclaims this with a big message that tells you ”avoidance measures have been taken”.

The system doesn’t work in AUTO Drive Mode, but isn’t clever enough to tell you to swtich drive mode to NORMAL or ECO. We took ages to work that out for ourselves, quite by accident. Without the full shebang, the big ol’ chunk wobbles all over the lane as it bounces from line to line like a demented ping-pong ball, so Intelligent cruise mode is best.

The steering is so light but can be fettled to slightly firmer feelings by fingering the settings. There is a look and feel of the Google OS recently used on our Polestar. Icons are selected for each of a range of menu items including the Off-Roading section.

We drove the several hours to the Cottage compound, cycling through the driver’s seat in turn, and no one complained. Raised eyebrows at music choice aside, Tank 500 excelled.

It is virtually impossible to list or test every part of a modern vehicle’s complicated personality. You can’t get a full list of features and specifications HERE:tank-500-brochure-au-web

What The Boys Thought:

Casper

Surprisingly good for the price, Tank 500 feels like it costs far more than it does. It has loads of stuff standard but GWM and TANK have yet to find favour on the gay dance card. I’d never heard of either until now.

Ethan:

Tank 500 has just enough butch to make it useful, but not so much as to make it uncomfortable. We motored up to the Cottages for a midweek overnight stay and all 4 of us we impressed. The seats were great, and despite the puny power plant, the help of the hybrid made Tank 500 feel full-on frisky.

It would be handy on a farm if you fancied pocketing pennies for a holiday rather than forking out for mere transport.

Nico:

I loved it. I loved the Toyota Land Cruiser as well. If it came down to one or the other, Tank 500 slays the competition on price alone. It matches on technology and comfort, and on the figures, will give Land Cruiser a run for its money on handling and ability too.

The brakes are a little on the grabby side (like most of my men) but there is plenty of room (like most of my men) and is more than willing to please (like one or two or my men).

Alan:

Tank 500 surprised me with its generous list of standard fittings. Initial impressions were not overly favourble though. The grille is too big and it takes a moment to get used to the drivetrain to use it smoothly. A 0-100 of 8.3 seconds is extremely good for a 2605kg wagon, but the promised 8.5L/100k never came close. The best we managed was 11L/100k but that still means we’d make it almost all the way to Melbs if we so chose.

I liked it.

Conclusion:

Tank 500 got a thumbs up. It won on price and technology, and the drive being “very good”. The star field that lit up on the dashboard we well could do without, otherwise Tank 500 was fabulous.

In fact, for the money Tank 500 simply cannot be beaten.

Tank 500 Ultra