GWM Tank 500 Ultra 2024 Review

By Bruce Newton, carsales.com.au

The vast majority of Australia is Toyota country. Venture outside the city limits and the automotive landscape becomes a monotonous shade of white four-wheel drives from the Japanese car maker. It’s been that way for decades.

But there’s a newcomer hoping to add some colour – and choice – for off-road adventurers in the form of Chinese brand, GWM, with its new Tank 500, a rugged seven-seat ladder-frame wagon with serious four-wheel drive capabilities and a budget-friendly sticker price.

The 500 is the second model under GWM’s Tank sub-brand for off-roaders following the mid-sized Tank 300 and is powered by a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain (no diesel here), comes laden with chrome and a long list of standard equipment.

Based on our first drive, it just might be a genuine cut-price alternative to the evergreen – and ever popular – Toyota Prado. Let us explain why.

How much does the GWM Tank 500 cost?

The 2024 GWM Tank 500 is a full-size seven-seat SUV built on a rugged ladder frame chassis with proper four-wheel drive credentials.

It is offered in two model grades that are dictated by the level of equipment rather than technical features, starting with the entry-level LUX that costs $66,490 driveaway and tops out with the flagship Ultra priced at $73,990 driveaway.

The Toyota Prado, which dominates this segment and is about to introduce a wholesale generational change later this year, is its direct competitor based on size, three-row seating, and off-road aspirations.

Other alternatives include ute-based wagons such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X, and some may even consider it against the full-fruit LandCruiser given the Tank is actually fractionally larger.

Both the LandCruiser and the new Prado are more expensive than the Tank, while the Everest starts cheaper but accelerates up past it when you get into the V6 diesel 4x4s. The MU-X is the budget offering here.

What equipment comes with the GWM Tank 500?

You get a lot for your money with the 2024 GWM Tank 500, which offers an appealing combination of standard equipment and affordable pricing. We’ll stop short of calling it great value at this early stage as there’s no data on reliability and durability available yet.

As the flagship, the Tank 500 Ultra we’re testing here is a burger with the lot. Externally, the body is sprinkled with lots of chrome highlights, plus there’s power-retracting side steps, a panoramic sunroof, roof rails and 18-inch alloy wheels with Giti Xross 265/60 R-spec rubber. Of that lot, only the wheels and tyres are shared with the Lux.

A full-size spare tyre is fitted under a cover on the side opening tailgate – very much like the current 150 Series Prado (the new 250 Series goes to a liftgate).

The Ultra also has smart key access with push-button start and Nappa leather-accented seats that include power adjustment (eight-way driver, six-way passenger), heating, ventilation and massage up front. The second-row seats have ventilation and window shades while the third-row seats are power-folding.

Tri-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, 64-colour ambient lighting, double-layer laminated windows and rear privacy glass are also standard.

The GWM Tank 500 is the first model from the Chinese manufacturer to launch in Australia with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, seven years’ roadside assist and seven-year capped-price servicing program. All other GWM Models are 7-5-5.

The Tank 500 is expected to have the same service intervals as its smaller relation, the Tank 300. After a first visit within 12 months/10,000km, they are 12 months/15,000km.

What technology does the GWM Tank 500 feature?

Everything is big inside the Tank 500. The dashboard is dominated by the 14.6-inch colour infotainment screen (one of the largest available in Australia) in the centre of the dashboard, while there’s also a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a head-up display projected onto the windscreen ahead of the driver.

Infotainment features includes wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, AM/FM and digital radio and embedded satellite navigation. Audio is played through an Infinity 12-speaker system with active noise cancelling technology, just like your cleaver headphones.

Wireless smartphone charging is included, along with USB-A and USB-C points in the first two rows. Up front there’s also a USB port for a dash cam.

For the first time in Australia, GWM has introduced a smartphone app that includes safety and security features with more stuff under development.

What is the GWM Tank 500 like inside?

Clambering into the cabin of the Tank 500 brings quite a sensory overload.

The dashboard is permeated with light grey (fake) wood inserts, chrome highlights, piano black surfaces and soft touch materials, and those oversized screens add a high-tech element that is in stark contrast to the opulent quilted leather trim on the seats. There is a lot going in here.

But give it a minute and the cabin becomes more harmonious and feels relatively well built. It’s not quite up to scratch with Toyota and it will be interesting to see how the Tank’s materials and overall quality age over time.

We recommend you familiarise yourself with the various permutations and operations of the central screen and what happens within its various functions because there’s a lot to take in here. You have to drill into the touchscreen to adjust audio (or use steering wheel buttons or voice control), but not the air-conditioning, which has its own set of permanent controls located on the central stack just below a distinctive analogue clock. You can select one of a number of views for the instrument cluster too.

The quilted leather seats are not only attractive to look at but provide plenty of support and comfort. However, the driver’s seat does not slide far enough forward for shorter drivers, but at least there’s power reach and rake adjustment and no shortage of foot space.

Row two has a 66/33 split-fold and slides and reclines with plenty of space, so 180cm-tall people should be seated comfortably in both the first and second rows.

The powered third row is really for the kids. There are two concerns here: the easiest way to access the rearmost seats from row two is via the driver’s side – the traffic side. It would be safer to access through the tailgate if you can. Mind you, with the wheel attached, the tailgate is a hefty device to open and close.

Also, when all three rows are in place there is very little luggage space left over: just 98 litres. That expands to 795 litres with two rows in place and 1495 litres when only the front seats are in use.

There are air-con vents and storage nooks and crannies spread through all three rows including sizeable door bins. The second-row passengers also get access to their own set of climate controls.

But this doesn’t have the interior functionality and storage ingenuity of something like a Land Rover Discovery or Defender.

How safe is the GWM Tank 500?

In something of a rarity among auto brands, GWM Australia is confident of achieving a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating for the 2024 GWM Tank 500 based on current protocols.

Testing by the safety authority is only just getting underway and we’ll find out in a few months.

To meet those requirements, the Tank 500 is fitted with a comprehensive suite of driver assistance systems including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection and adaptive cruise control with lane centring supported by a phalanx of aids designed to keep you in your lane, warn you if you’re veering out of it, dodge stuff entering your lane and help you change lanes if you want to.

Other safety assistants include rear collision warning and rear cross traffic braking, traffic sign recognition, door opening warning, driver fatigue monitoring and traffic sign recognition.

The Tank 500 also comes with front, front-side, curtain, and front-centre airbags. Multiple cameras stitch together into a 360-degree display for parking and low-speed manoeuvres, supported by 12 parking sensors with reverse and auto parking assist.

The headlights are LED with auto high beam. Two ISOFIX and three top tether strap points secure child seats.

What powers the GWM Tank 500?

In other markets, the Tank 500 is offered with a choice of powertrain options, including a twin-turbo V6 petrol and a plug-in hybrid. But GWM has decided to offer just one engine choice in Australia, with a regular parallel petrol-electric hybrid for now.

The drivetrain links a 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine tuned to the efficiency-chasing Miller combustion cycle with a 78kW/268Nm e-motor tucked into the transmission tunnel and a small 1.76kWh battery pack under the floor.

The combined outputs are claimed to be 255kW and 648Nm. The torque number is interesting because it is the max outputs of the petrol engine and e-motor added up. Often the combined number is smaller because peak outputs are produced at different parts of the respective rev ranges. Toyota doesn’t even publish a combined torque figure for hybrids.

There are nine different driving modes to tailor the powertrain for unique on- and off-road conditions but just one choice of transmission with a GWM-developed nine-speed auto and a BorgWarner transfer case with low-range. There are also front and rear locking diffs, wheel-locking tank turn, crawl control (off-road cruise control) and hill descent and ascent control.

How fuel efficient is the GWM Tank 500?

The 2024 GWM Tank 500 has a claimed average fuel consumption of 8.5L/100km, with the cheapest 91 RON unleaded fuel deemed acceptable.

It also has three-level regenerative braking to restore battery capacity.

Combine that with the 80-litre fuel tank and the 500 looks like it could generate a pretty decent range between fuel stops.

At this point though we’re just not quite sure how achievable that theoretical fuel consumption claim is. On the launch drive, the trip computer swung between 12 and 14L/100km, which cuts range dramatically if accurate. And that’s without taking into account stuff like towing or going off-road in low range.

It backs up GWM’s claim that the hybrid system is more about increasing performance than reducing economy.

What is the GWM Tank 500 like to drive?

Diesel is generally the default choice for large off-road wagons, so it feels a little weird to quietly potter around in the GWM Tank using electrical power alone.

Not surprisingly considering its weight and the small capacity battery, that doesn’t happen often or last very long, but even when the petrol engine inevitably chimes in the noise and vibration is still less than traditionally associated with a diesel. Clatter be gone!

In that regard, the drivetrain is a bit of a chameleon. It is very clearly focused on economy in the dull Normal mode, becoming much more alert and responsive when switched to Sport. This is one multi-mode system that isn’t just a placebo.

GWM makes a big deal about how the nine-speed auto is its own design and that the team leader on the program used to work for Mercedes-Benz. Well, he did his job because there is no obvious clunking, flare, or lag in any mode, or when shifting manually using the steering wheel paddles.

The Tank 500’s big challenge based on our previous experience of Chinese vehicles (and GWM models specifically) is the way it steers, handles, and rides.

Well, in the case of the Tank 500, GWM seems to have a decent handle on ladder-frame vehicles. It’s certainly better than some of its monocoque-based vehicles like the Haval Jolion and H6 SUVs.

The steering is tight and accurate, the body control is quite decent for such a big, tall, and heavy vehicle, and apart from some typical ladder-frame shimmy across potholes and lateral movements and some evidence of firmness from the live-axle rear-end, the ride is comfortable as well.

That’s all at cruising speeds on some quite bumpy and winding country bitumen roads. When the going got tighter and more pressure was put on the Tank 500 there was lots of front-end push and roll. Add in some rain and the Giti tyres struggled to hook up on the greasy surface. Let’s just say the Tank 500 likes relaxed, rather than enthusiastic, driving.

Activating the lane keeping systems and the like was approached with some trepidation after our poor impression of the smaller Tank 300. But happily, there was no sign of that in the 500 during our first drive.

I still prefer the lane centring to be switched off because there were some impulses channelling their way through to the steering wheel that were too abrupt. But it wasn’t egregious and tuned within the bounds of acceptability, which is quite a step forward.

But there were still annoyances. The primary one was the car regularly warning me there was a curve approaching. I’m not sure which system controlled that function or why it picked certain road situations to pipe up. Another thing to investigate further later.

Anyway, I think we figured out a way to switch it off because it disappeared after some jabbing at the touchscreen.

How good is the GWM Tank 500 off-road?

Sadly, our off-road drive of the 2024 GWM Tank 500 was curtailed by monsoonal rain that burst just as we were about to hit the rough stuff and engage low range. It was a case of better safe than bogged!

However, we were in the situation during the day’s driving to witness the Tank 500 negotiating some seriously technical tough off-road sections and it did so without getting beached or ripping its guts out.

The capabilities are backed up by off-road info in the screen that includes tyre pressure monitoring, compass, pitch and roll, atmospheric pressures, and see-through cameras so you can see what you are clambering over.

Given what we saw and the specification, the signs are very good for the Tank 500 as a true off-roader capable of competing with the Prado, Everest, and Co.

Like the fuel consumption, we’ll reserve judgement until we spend more time behind the wheel.

How much can the GWM Tank 500 carry?

So, let’s crunch some numbers about the 2024 GWM Tank 500.

Firstly, the Tank 500 is a big machine. It measures 5078mm long, 1934mm wide, 1905mm high and has a 2850mm wheelbase. The outgoing 150 Series Prado’s equivalent numbers are 4995mm, 1885mm, 1890mm and 2790mm. So, the Tank is a bigger vehicle.

It’s also significantly heavier, weighing in at a LandCruiser-rivalling 2605kg, versus a maximum 2350kg for the 150.

That then leads to payload and towing numbers.

The Tank 500 has a 790kg payload, a 3395kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) and a 6705kg gross combined mass (GCM). The maximum braked towing capacity is 3000kg, and when you add up all the figures the adjusted payload comes out at a usable 490kg.

Do the same calculation for the 150 Series Prado with its identical 3000kg braked towing capacity and the max payload is 340kg. The Tank is looking good.

Of course, the 250 Series Prado is only months away and we don’t have all the relevant numbers for that – only that it will bump up to a 3500kg towing capacity.

Should I buy a GWM Tank 500?

The 2024 Tank 500 makes a good first impression.

But we’re talking about a substantial investment in a vehicle that is designed to transport up to seven people safely and competently across wild and rugged terrain.

We simply don’t know yet if the Tank 500 will hang together in such challenging circumstances.

Toyota 4x4s do, and that’s why they are so popular, and people are prepared to pay a premium for them. Tank is at the start of a journey Toyota’s been on for decades.

Undoubtedly, the price and equipment equation the Tank 500 offers will attract an audience and the seven-year warranty will provide reassurance.

The drive experience also appears competent and that’s encouraging.

But we need more time with the Tank 500 before it can genuinely drive into Toyota territory.

2024 GWM Tank 500 Ultra at a glance:

Editor’s Rating: 7.9/10

Price:  $73,990 (drive-away)	Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Available:  Now	Fuel: 8.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
Powertrain:  2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol-electric	CO2: 199g/km (ADR Combined)
Output: 180kW/380Nm (electric motor: 78kW/268Nm)	Safety Rating:  Not tested
Combined output: 255kW/648Nm

 

Disclaimer: Images supplied by GWM ANZ.

This article was prepared by an independent author. The information contained in this article represents the views and opinions of the original author, and is based on research carried out by the original author. The appearance of the article on Maxxia's website does not constitute an endorsement of its content by Maxxia in any way. The article has been made available for informational purposes only and should not be taken as advice. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the statements made by the original author in the article are fair and accurate, Maxxia does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or completeness of this information and will not be liable for, or in connection with, any loss or damage suffered as a result of any inaccuracies, errors or omissions or your reliance on this information. You should independently research and verify information before making any decision in respect of a vehicle.