GWM Tank 300 2023 Review

The GWM Tank brand has fired another attention-grabbing salvo with the 2023 GWM Tank 300 in Australia, the big, blocky SUV now starting at $46,990 drive-away for the entry-level Tank 300 Lux.

As such, the Tank 300 – which is also available in top-spec Ultra guise as tested here, from $50,990 drive-away – is one of the most affordable 4x4 off-road wagons in Australia, particularly next to established icons such as the Jeep Wrangler (priced from an eye-watering $81,450 plus on-road costs).

There’s also a broad range of harder-core ute-based 4x4 wagons on the market – such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X – to rival the Tank 300 (which is based on a shorter version of the steel ladder-frame chassis used in the GWM Ute), but these are all more expensive propositions and are pitched as family haulers with up to seven seats. The GWM Tank 300 is strictly a five-seater.

Only the Indian-built Mahindra Scorpio is cheaper, priced from $44,990 drive-away.

GWM Australia originally planned to launch the Tank off-road brand with hybrid-powered versions of the Tank 300 – which we reviewed earlier this year – but production delays have meant the turbo-petrol Tanks have arrived ahead of the petrol-electric models, which are also available to order in Lux and Ultra guise for $55,990 and 60,990 drive-away respectively.

GWM says the Tank 300 is generating plenty of buyer interest here, despite the false start with the hybrid and no diesel engine in the range.

“We’ve got plenty of orders, they are moving already,” said GWM Australia marketing and communications boss Steve Maciver, explaining that the Tank is attracting a different type of buyer to GWM’s Haval SUV brand.

While it’s impossible to say at this early stage whether the 300 is built like a proverbial tank, all models are covered by a considerable seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and include five years’ roadside assistance.

Capped-price servicing costs aren’t too exorbitant, costing $2000 over five years or 70,000km.

Service intervals are set at 12 months/15,000km, except the first service which is 10,000km. The first, second and fifth services are capped at $300 a pop, while the third and fourth are $550 each.

The 2023 GWM Tank 300 Ultra is being spruiked as a luxury adventure machine – a bit like Bear Grylls wearing a tux.

Its rugged exterior makes way for a relatively upmarket interior fit-out and starts with power-adjustable Nappa leather-accented front seats with cooling and heating, along with a lumbar-based massage function for the driver.

Ambient LED cabin lighting with 64 colours to choose from adds a little razzle dazzle, as does a pair of large LCD digital screens. A nine-speaker Infinity sound system, power-operated sunroof, automatic climate control, wireless phone charger and keyless entry with one-button engine start are all welcome features.

Tinted windows and a heated steering wheel are standard on the big, boofy, cuboid 4x4, as are several off-road settings, including high and low gear ratios, locking diffs, a crawl mode and more – see the powertrain section below to get granular.

Externally, the Tank 300 Ultra comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, chunky Jeep Wrangler-inspired wheel-arch extensions, black roof rails, underbody protection (including a front bash plate), side steps and full-size spare wheel mounted to the side-hinged rear tailgate.

A tyre pressure monitoring system and powered, folding and heated wing mirrors are nice touches too.

There are five colour choices – Fossil Grey, Pearl White, Crystal Black, Lunar Red and Dusk Orange – and all of them add a $595 premium except for the no-cost grey.

There are no other factory options available yet, but if the Tank 300 proves popular, expect the Aussie aftermarket to get on board with accessories such as snorkels, lift kits and so on.

Plus, there’s already a huge range of add-ons available from China already.

The 2023 GWM Tank 300’s impressive equipment list is backed up by plenty of advanced safety features, including adaptive cruise control that can operate in tandem with traffic sign recognition to update your speed to the posted limit in real-time.

There’s also active lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), front and rear cross traffic alert with auto braking functions, automatic headlights and a 360-degree surround-view camera with 3D drag-and-tilt adjustability and more camera angles than ASIO’s mil-spec spy satellites.

Seven airbags are also on board, while the GWM Tank 300 carries an up-to-date maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, which is reassuring.

In comparison, the Jeep Wrangler has an inferior three-star safety rating, based on less-stringent testing protocols in 2019; this was an upgrade from a one-star rating handed to Jeep’s 4x4 off-roader earlier that year.

There’s an ultra-modern feel to the cabin of the 2023 GWM Tank 300, and once seated in the plush Nappa leather seats during my late-night vehicle collection, the ambient LED cabin lights and twin 12.3-inch digital screens lit up the interior with a high-tech glow.

The central touch-screen looks good: it has a high resolution and decent processing power delivers rapid response to touch inputs.

The operating system is fairly easy to navigate, although some of the menu pathing is a little counter-intuitive.

There are plenty of options and car features to ramble through, including multiple settings beyond ‘on or off’ for the autonomous safety and driving systems, such as lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control, which is a nice touch.

The 12.3-inch driver’s display likewise has crystal-clear computer graphics but is also fairly elaborate – it’s hard to know where to look, at first.

You can change a number of different elements of the display (overall theme, lateral side menus) but the lack of an analogue rev counter leaves the instrument cluster bereft of spirit, with only a numeric display for engine speed that my brain struggled to process. Creatures of habit, and all that.

There’s no head-up display either but the fitment of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto adds a familiar feeling to the cabin, while the nine-speaker Infinity audio system delivers above-average sound quality for music and podcasts.

The wireless phone charger is big enough to land a helicopter on and there’s USB-A and USB-C ports up front and twin USB-A ports in the back seat.

While the air-conditioning controls located beneath the central screen and air vents look and feel a bit dated, they’re mercifully fixed buttons. So many modern cars are opting for touch-screen-based climate controls, which can be fiddly to adjust – especially on bumpy roads.

The beating heart of the 2023 GWM Tank 300 is a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, which is an unexpectedly smooth and cultured powerplant with ample grunt.

The 2.0-litre (1967cc) engine develops a healthy 162kW of power at 5500rpm and 380Nm of torque from 1800-3600rpm, driving the rear/all wheels with the responsiveness and linear precision of a six-cylinder naturally aspirated donk – almost.

The Tank 300’s portly 2155kg kerb mass blunts performance to some degree, but by and large it’s a responsive vehicle.

There is a turbo-diesel engine offered in China but there are no plans to offer it here.

As it stands, this petrol 4x4 has a reasonably good towing capacity of 2500kg. For reference, the Wrangler can tow 2267kg.

Power is transferred through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission and a part-time four-wheel drive system with dual-range transfer case. The auto gearbox has three driver modes that don’t really make a whole lot of difference to the experience (Sport, Normal, Eco), but the 2WD and 4WD settings (2H, 4H, 4L) supply the vehicle with plenty of capability.

All models have a rear differential lock to extricate the vehicle from low-grip rock-hopping situations, while the Ultra adds a front diff lock as well. Other features include hill descent control and a tank-turn function that locks the rear diff to reduce its turning circle.

There’s also a terrain-select system with five modes including the usual Rock, Mud and Sand settings.

The official 2023 GWM Tank 300 spec sheet lists combined-cycle (city/highway) fuel consumption at 9.5L/100km, but we struggled getting the figure below 13L/100km.

The Tank 300 features an automatic engine idle-stop system to save fuel in urban areas with lots of traffic lights and congestion, but there’s no getting past the fact that she’s a thirsty machine.

The transmission will flick into eighth gear at highway speeds, but even then it’s still drinking like a sailor.

Helpfully, you can fill its 75-litre fuel tank with regular 91-octane fuel.

Placid. It’s not the word I thought would describe how a hulking off-road 4x4 drives in traffic and on the freeway, but aptly describes the 2023 GWM Tank 300.

The smooth, inoffensive engine blends with a remarkably malleable suspension tune that’s equally at home on sealed roads as it is on washed-out, rutted fire trails.

Riding on a shorter version of the GWM Ute’s ladder-chassis frame, with a 2750mm wheelbase (down from the ute’s 3230mm), the recalibrated double-wishbone front and live-axle rear suspension with coil springs all round gives the GWM Tank 300 surprising finesse around town, soaking up speed bumps, potholes and roadworks with a gentle civility that belies its rugged image.

The light steering makes the almost-4.8m-long and 1.9m-wide rock-crusher feel physically smaller; it’s quick and easy to get the nose turning, which makes it easy to ply suburban and exurban roadways – although the turning circle is pretty crummy at 12 metres.

That said, there’s a certain sensitivity to the steering that’s felt on the freeway and sometimes requires micro-adjustments to keep it centred in its lane.

Some of the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can be effective, such as the adaptive cruise control, but others are as subtle as a salty mollusc in the face.

The auto steering sometimes gets itself into a tizzy, for instance, pinballing the car from side to side in its lane, the steering wheel seemingly possessed by a vehicular demon. It’s clearly detecting the lane marking but the software was struggling and overcorrecting.

The Tank 300 is not much chop on a nice winding ribbon of road either, that elevated ride height and chubby kerb mass making cornering an exercise in patience. Push too hard and drive too fast through a bend and the Tank wallows heavily, leaning on its outside wheels like an out-of-breath nonagenarian.

The GWM Tank 300 was never designed it to be an engaging or sporty vehicle but for the most part it’s an easy-going, well-behaved SUV when driven sensibly.

There’s a bit of wind noise at higher speeds around the mirrors and windscreen but tyre and engine noises are minimal and it would be a fine vehicle for the daily commute – especially with its elevated view and clear lines of sight.

The 2023 GWM Tank 300 is a very capable and forgiving off-roader, and while we were a little concerned about its 224mm of ground clearance and road-biased tyres, we worried for nought because it performed admirably.

The Cooper Discovery ATT rubber (265/65R17) fitted to the Tank 300 we tested back in 2021 has been replaced by Michelin Primacy SUV tyres which are not all-terrain spec, more of a soft-roader tyre designed for the likes of the Subaru Forester and Nissan X-TRAIL.

But even without chunky tread patterns, the GWM Tank 300 was only flummoxed by one or two sections – and these were fixed by locking the diffs.

Approach and departure angles of 33 and 34 degrees respectively are far from class-leading, but with plenty of underbody protection (including a solid steel bash plate protecting the engine) and surprisingly predictable low-speed throttle modulation in low-range 4x4, the Tank is a confident off-roader.

The 4x4 system in high and low ratios generates good traction, splitting torque judiciously between the axles. The front and rear suspension delivers decent wheel articulation too, ensuring you’re (mostly) in contact with the terrain.

A wading depth of 700mm is reasonably good, and although we didn’t get it that deep we certainly gave it a good run and the engine didn’t seize up so we can assume it’s all fairly well sealed.

There is a limit to where the Tank can go, restricted by its ride height and grip levels, but the platform architecture and 4x4 system exceeded expectations.

Fitted with a pair of proper all-terrain tyres and potentially a lift kit, the Tank 300 would be a genuine bog-holer, capable of traversing highly challenging trails.

If the 2023 GWM Tank 300’s boxy, utilitarian exterior design communicates a sense of adventure and exploration, the interior design communicates, well, pomp and pageantry.

It’s a dichotomy that shouldn’t work… yet it does.

Open the doors and you’re greeted with a strong whiff of European luxury, the cabin decor mimicking elements of the iconic Mercedes-Benz G-wagon, an off-roader with military origins that is now favoured by celebs and the nouveau riche for its lavish interior.

The black Nappa leather-accented seats in the Tank 300 are wide and welcoming, the upholstery remarkably plush. The black leather with white stitching and piping is very highbrow, and most of the materials in the cabin are of a perceptibly high quality, the majority of which are soft-touch.

The top of the dashboard has a soft, squishy faux-leather finish, the grey headlining feels nice and even the circular air vents have a premium feel (and are another G-wagon knock-off).

The jet-fighter-styled gear shifter reminded me of one of my favourite arcade games as a kid, Afterburner, adding nostalgic warmth. TimeZone was the best.

Only the middle dash around the air vents and grey chunk of ’90s-inspired patterned plastic above the glove box feels cheap, and the finish around the sunroof looked incomplete with exposed gearing.

There’s a hint of stoicism in the cabin design by way of Wrangler-like exposed hex bolts, and the Tank’s significant width and height gives it an airy ambience that’s backed up by loads of headroom, shoulder-room and legroom.

The back seat is also hugely roomy in every direction and features a pair of USB-A ports, air vents, lots of storage options, an arm rest plus ISOFIX and top tether child seat anchorages.

The barn-style manually-operated tailgate reveals less space than expected, but there’s still enough room for a reasonable amount of camping gear, surfboards and bikes with the flat-folding rear seats tipped over.

Little touches like a three-pin 220V power point along with a regular 12V socket and a small step that makes roof loading a little easier are good to see.

As the first vehicle in the GWM Tank brand’s Australian campaign, the 2023 GWM Tank 300 achieves some of its objectives with military precision.

The bold styling will get lots of attention and the Tank’s on-road manners, off-road competency and generous equipment levels are highlights, not to mention that shrewd drive-away pricing.

Sure, it looks like the Jeep Wrangler’s half-brother on the outside and a G-wagon wannabe inside, but those who do the calculus on value-for-money and then take it for a test drive will find one of the most compelling Chinese imports available today.

It also bodes exceptionally well for upcoming Tank models like the Toyota Prado-fighting GWM Tank 500 that we recently tested in China.

The GWM Tank 300 still has a few rough edges and long-term reliability and spare parts availability are still significant unknowns.

But with a bit of time, spit and polish, this versatile 4x4 could get a big promotion in the eyes of Aussie buyers.

2023 GWM Tank 300 Ultra at a glance:
Price: $50,990 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 162kW/380Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 220g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)