GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV Ultra 2026 Review

Starting from $54,990 drive-away in Lux guise and $58,990 drive-away for the flagship Ultra tested here, the GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV presently carries a $7000 premium over its 2.4-litre turbo-diesel equivalents, or just $3000 more than the Tank 300 HEV.

We say ‘presently’ because $2000 will be added to the PHEV pair as of June 1.

For those looking to divorce themselves from diesel, GWM says its new plug-in hybrid will pay itself off rapidly, supposedly saving $5138 in fuel costs within two years compared to a 300 diesel – assuming both are driven 20,000km a year, the hybrid only spends 50 per cent of the time in electric mode, and diesel fuel costs $3.20 per litre.

If you’ve just spent the month of March sweating the cost – and availability – of diesel, those are probably going to be attractive numbers.

Other appealing numerals can be found in the power and torque specs. The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine might only offer 180kW/380Nm, but with the help of an electric drive motor/generator sandwiched between the engine and nine-speed transmission, the Tank 300 Hi4-T’s combined figures jump to 300kW/750Nm.

Result? The PHEVs are the most powerful and torque-laden members of the Tank 300 family by a hefty margin, and flaunts a 0-100km/h claim of 6.3 seconds which, from our experience, is entirely believable.

Equipped with a 37.1kWh battery, the Tank 300 PHEV carries enough charge to operate independently of combustion for 115km.

Charge-up religiously (it can charge at up to 50kW on DC power), and you’ll quite possibly over-achieve against the official efficiency claim of 1.9L/100km on the NEDC cycle, given the battery contains enough energy for the bulk of Aussie drivers to see out their daily commute without needing a voltage top-up. How’s it go on a longer drive? We’ll get to that later.

Equipment-wise, the PHEV’s spec largely mirrors that of its siblings. Standard are a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, dual-zone climate control, a rear diff lock, 360-degree parking camera, power-adjustable front seats, a 12.3-inch LCD digital dash, a wireless charge pad, four USB charge ports (just one being a USB-C) and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The key differences come in the safety fit-out, with the PHEVs gaining four more parking sensors (for a total of six at the front, six at the rear), along with intelligent parking assist, reverse assist, and highway assist.

Versus the Lux, the Ultra grade we have here flaunts a front diff lock, additional underbody plating, Nappa leather accents (instead of faux leather), heated and cooled front seats, a massaging driver’s seat with memory settings and more adjustment, a heated steering wheel, customisable ambient interior lighting, and a sunroof.

Both feature the ability to offload their stored energy via a vehicle-to-load (V2L) feature, either via a 250V/10A household outlet in the boot, or a dedicated V2L accessory that plugs into the charge port than can deliver up to 6000W of power.

With the drive mode set to Hybrid and with the combustion engine already woken up, off-the-line acceleration is remarkably swift for a 2.6-tonne ladder-framed off-roader.

Do a hard launch in Expert Mode (which allows all electronic aids to be deactivated) and 2WD, and the GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T has no trouble roasting its rear Michelin Primacy SUV tyres.

Do the same in 4WD high on gravel, and it feels just as rapid, spinning all four wheels with ease and taking the Tank to triple-digit speeds like it’s a hot hatch – though the computer warns you if you go above 80km/h in 4WD high.

But most of the time, you won’t be looking to win stoplight drag races. Mooching about town in Hybrid or Intelligent mode is when the Tank 300 PHEV is at its best, its electric motor gently taking you from standstill all the way through to highway speeds if you don’t mind a sedate pace, while a more assertive push on the throttle wakes up the combustion engine to easily keep up with – or stay ahead of – other traffic.

In EV mode, it’s more than sufficient for dealing with the daily commute – and arguably should stay in that mode most of the time if you want to unlock its money-saving capabilities (a full charge will only set you back about $9.30 at an energy price of $0.25 per kWh).

What about when you want to escape the city? We went for a 440km road trip and recorded an average fuel burn of 5.7 L/100km, which ain’t a bad number considering we also spent a bit of time testing the performance limits of its powertrain along the way.

Another good thing: there’s little compromise when it comes to the Tank 300’s other capabilities. The maximum tow rating is still 3000kg (though you’ll need to run the combustion engine all the time in Tow mode), you still have the same switchable dual-range 4WD system and all of the other off-road-specific features like its multi-terrain modes, see-through chassis camera, and ‘Tank Turn’ function (though it’s pretty graunchy and difficult to use).

While the Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV inherits most of the virtues of its more conventionally powered brethren, it also carries over their foibles too. Namely a terrible user interface for the infotainment system, frustrating ergonomics, and a brittle ride.

While plenty of physical buttons exist on the centre console and centre stack for the 4WD gear and climate control, there’s not a single hard switch that allows the driver to toggle between the three hybrid drive modes, or even shortcut the infotainment display to the relevant page.

You can set a custom button for the pull-down menu, but that only works when you’re using the native infotainment software – if you’re in Android Auto or Apple Carplay, that’s locked out until you prod the screen at least twice to exit smartphone mirroring, then a swipe and another prod to get the toggle actually on screen.

Does your passenger need to change the volume? Most cars would provide a knob to twirl, but GWM puts those controls on the driver’s side of the infotainment display, well out of reach of the passenger, and renders them as annoying touch-sensitive controls.

Another annoying facet, and one unique to the PHEV, is the languid response of the hybrid system to sudden demands for acceleration.

If the car is coasting along with electric drive, flooring the accelerator can take an uncomfortable length of time before additional power is actually delivered, making swift overtakes on country roads more of a gamble than they should be.

At the opposite side of the dynamic coin, heavy deceleration on loose surfaces can see a concerning degree of yaw even when all traction aids are active.

Refinement could also use improvement. The powertrain is generally silky-smooth, but the stiff-legged suspension isn’t unless you’re driving on a billiard table. Corrugated gravel roads are particularly tooth-rattling.

From a fiscal point of view, the 2026 GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV Ultra makes a huge amount of sense for the off-road enthusiast who loves to get dirty, but doesn’t like the way the diesel price chart is trending.

With the prospect of being able to leverage low-cost (or no-cost) energy for the bulk of your daily drive, it appears well worth the premium.

It’s not perfect, that’s for sure, but the addition of a genuinely emissions-free option in the offroad wagon space – and one that’s largely compromise-free – is certainly welcome in this day and age.

2026 GWM Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV Ultra at a glance:
Price: $59,990 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol-electric
Output: 180kW/380Nm (electric motor: 120kW/320Nm)
Combined output: 300kW/750Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Battery: 37.1kWh NMC
Range: 115km (NEDC)
Energy consumption: 32.2kWh/100km
Fuel: 8.3L/100km
CO2: 43g/km
Safety rating: 5-star (2022)  

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