GWM Ute Cannon-XSR 2023 Review

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR is the new flagship of the increasingly popular Chinese dual-cab and cab-chassis range.

A big reason for that popularity is bang for your buck. That’s exemplified by the Cannon-XSR, which is usually $52,990 drive-away for private buyers (or $52,490 drive-away until December 31). Metallic paint is one of few options at $595 for any colour except white.

It’s the most expensive Cannon by $6000, but a cheap price considering other utes with an off-road focus like the Ford Ranger Wildtrak X and Toyota HiLux GR Sport start $20,000 more before on-road costs.

The XSR doesn’t have the sheer all-round technical and driving chops of those two, but it’s certainly not just a cosmetic do-over.

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR’s equipment bears out the intention to not only make it look the goods but raise its capability as well.

While the fundamental body is familiar, GWM has added a snorkel, sports bar, front and rear steel bumpers, sturdy rock sliders and Cooper Discovery AT3 235/65R18 all-terrain tyres including a full-size spare. Out of sight underneath is extra chassis protection.

Various black pack items including the grille, over-fenders and alloy wheels distinguish the XSR, as well as red brake callipers.

A sunroof is a recent GWM Ute option and the XSR is the only model to get it standard. But roof rails, privacy glass and a spray-in tub liner are shared with lesser models.

There is nothing unique about the interior of the XSR. With lesser models it shares key items such as keyless entry and push-button start, faux leather seat and steering wheel trim, six-way driver and four-way passenger power adjustment of the heated front seats and single-zone climate control with rear vents.

The GWM Ute comes with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, five years’ roadside assistance and capped-price servicing for the first five services.

The first visit to the dealer comes within six months or 5000km and costs $260. Each service after that is scheduled at 12 months or an unimpressively short 10,000km and cost $360 out to 54 months/45,000km.

While the rest of the GWM Ute dual-cab range gets a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, the 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR misses out (as do cab-chassis GWM Ute models).

ANCAP has advised it is still waiting to hear from GWM about what changes have been made to the XSR, as well as the cab-chassis. Only when the info is advised will a call be made on potential ratings.

Standard safety equipment fitted to the XSR includes dual front, side and curtain airbags, as well as a centre-front airbag, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – albeit without pedestrian and cyclist detection, unlike other models in the range – plus lane departure warning and lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control (can be non-adaptive at the press of a button), traffic sign recognition and tyre pressure monitoring.

Commendably, the XSR employs disc brakes all round when some utes are still sticking with rear drum brakes.

A 360-degree camera with high-quality vision and graphics and front and rear parking sensors help with manoeuvring in tight spots. A huge 13.7m turning circle doesn’t.

There are two child seat ISOFIX mounts and two top tether points in the rear seat.

Headlights are LED with auto adjust, while front fog lights have a cornering function.

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR includes a 9.0-inch infotainment touch-screen and 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster.

The latter offers three different design options, none of which separate the speedo and tacho into traditional dials.

The operating system allows both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto cabled access, which is handy because there is no embedded satellite navigation. Wireless phone charging is standard.

There are three USB-A ports up front including one exclusively for a dash cam and one in the rear for recharging. There are also 12V and 220V power outlets.

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR shares its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with the rest of the range.

In fact, the GW4D20M engine is a development of the crappy old GWM Steed’s powerplant.

Courtesy of several upgrades including a variable geometry turbo, the GWM Ute’s engine makes 120kW at 3600rpm and 400Nm from 1500-2500rpm – up 10kW and 90Nm respectively on the Steed.

The XSR also shares its eight-speed ZF auto with the rest of the Ute range, but from there the drivetrain story veers off separately.

Instead of the clever BorgWarner full-time 4x4 system that incorporates a centre diff allowing a 4Hi auto mode – so you can run in 4x4 on bitumen roads – as well as low range, the XSR has a more traditional two-diff system that offers 4x2 rear-wheel drive high range, 4x4 high range for dirt driving and 4x4 low range gearing for serious off-roading.

To that are added three off-road driving modes (Sand, Snow and Mud), a locking front diff as well as the usual rear diff, off-road cruise control, tank turn by brake (like a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series) and hill descent control.

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR claims the same 9.4L/100km fuel consumption rate as the rest of the GWM Ute range.

This is an interesting stat considering the XSR uses a different 4x4 system and at 2100kg is the equal heaviest model in the line-up – the claimed kerb weight itself also seems a bit of an ambit claim.

Yet on test – on a wide variety of roads and running some time in low range – the XSR averaged 9.5L/100km.

Combine that with the 78-litre fuel tank capacity and you’ve got a feasible 750km fuel range. But remember, head out there with a substantial load, do a lot of low range driving or towing and that fuel consumption number will steeple and the range shorten.

A long-range accessory fuel tank could be the answer.

In the same vein as its siblings, the 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR is not the on-road driving equal of the best dual-cab utes on offer in Australia today.

It’s not a disaster, but it feels like some quality tuning by engineering bods with understanding and expertise when it comes to local conditions and ladder frame utes with live rear axles and leaf springs would make it appreciably better.

As it stands, the electric-assist steering is too quick and light (although it does vary weighting through three settings). The ride is too abrupt and uncompromising at low to medium speeds, especially without much of a load onboard.

And as is often the case in dual-cab utes, the ride is worse in the rear seat.

The stiff suspension also caused the anti-lock function to activate as wheels lost contact with the ground on a bumpy road.

Frustratingly, there’s turbo lag from the engine when a lot of throttle is applied from stationary. It makes quick getaways harder to judge.

And this engine is at its comfortable limit hauling this vehicle, making some strident noises under load. There is also wind noise off the big mirrors and plenty of tyre noise from the aggressively-treaded Coopers.

The gearbox prefers to hold on to gears as long as possible before changing down, which means the XSR can drop in speed quite a lot when, for example, climbing a hill with cruise control set. Manual changes are solely by flappy paddles on the steering wheel and you will need to use them.

However, the grade shift stabilisation issue noted back in 2021 has been fixed so this is a much more liveable combo.

Sadly still unchanged is the intrusive nature of the lane safety systems and their accompanying warning chimes. If they drive you bonkers then you’ll have to go through the laborious process of switching them off each time the vehicle is started.

The XSR actually drives more smoothly and more enjoyably without them.

This is a classic case of poor tuning and quite typical of Chinese vehicles. If you want an example of well-tuned lane safety systems there’s no better vehicle than the Ford Ranger.

Get off the bitumen and the 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR is a better vehicle.

In 4x4 high on gravel roads it has good traction, although it’s not as good on this stuff as a Ranger or wide-track HiLux GR Sport

But the more difficult conditions the better the XSR goes. That’s thanks to those locking diffs, the low range, the significant amount of rear axle articulation and the Cooper rubber. It has real off-road talent.

Even without the low range and front diff engaged, the XSR tackled and defeated some challenges that other utes couldn’t. Its traction control system worked well off-road – revving, spinning, thinking, shuttling and then driving forward.

Downhill, hill descent control (HDC) provided appropriate controlled walking pace without the braking system sounding like it was being tortured.

The only downside was the 228mm ground clearance, but only in the way rock sliders occasionally touched down when cross-axleing moguls and the like. Everything else seemed well tucked away.

Frustratingly, there’s a lack of information from GWM about things like approach and departure angles for this vehicle, but clearly the front bumper is sculpted for more clearance than the standard vehicle.

We’ve already mentioned the 2100kg kerb weight of the 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR. To that we can add a 1050kg maximum payload, a 3150kg gross vehicle mass and a 5555kg gross combined mass.

The braked towing maximum weight is 3000kg – 500kg less than most rivals claim – and 300kg downball weight.

Crunch the key numbers and that means the XSR can carry a useful 455kg in payload when towing at maximum capacity. That’s not quite as good as the Toyota HiLux GR Sport and is eclipsed by the Ford Wildtrak X.

The XSR’s tray measures up at 1520x520mm, but it isn’t quite wide enough between the wheel-arches to fit a 1165x1165mm Aussie pallet.

There are no lights or a 12V plug in the tray, but it does have a tailgate with struts for easy opening and closing and a pop-out step for easier entry and exit. However, there is no lock on the tailgate.

The sports bar is an annoyance because its extended tubes block access to the tray sides. You either have to reach over them or try and jam your arms underneath. Definitely a case of form defeating function.

The key external dimensions of the Cannon-XSR are 5410mm long, 1886mm high and 1934mm wide, with a 3230mm wheelbase. It’s longer, taller and narrower than a HiLux GR Sport and also has a longer wheelbase.

As previously noted, the 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR is pretty familiar inside, especially if you’ve spent any time in one of the upper-spec models in the range.

So the fundamental space front and back, plentiful storage options and decent seat comfort are maintained and are as worthy as they have ever been.

What’s appreciated after a couple of years away is the efforts GWM has gone to improve integration.

There’s no Chinese writing on the infotainment screen, no oddball tech failures like the radio refusing to switch off and a voice recognition system that not only understands an Australian accent but speaks in it.

The fully digital screen set-up doesn’t abandon buttons and dials in the way some other recent models do. So you can still sort out climate and audio the old-fashioned way.

Backing all that up, the interior presentation goes for a more luxurious vibe than the butch exterior. There are stitched bits, soft coverings and a cohesive use of trims including similar quilting in the doors and seats.

A couple of ergonomic issues did pop up: the steering column is meant to be reach- and rake-assist but in our test car it didn’t want to extend; the left footrest is at an odd angle that isn’t comfortable; and the driver’s seat height adjust only lifts at the rear of the base, making it more angled.

It can also take multiple stabs at the infotainment screen to get functions to respond. They are sensitive to pressure and placement of fingers.

What’s more, it’s easy to accidentally press the Park button on the over-sized T-bar shifter, which prompts a warning to come up in the dash. Couldn’t the shifter have been redesigned?

And the lever for the fuel filler flip is buried far down in the footwell – good hunting!

The 2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR is frustrating because it’s almost terrific.

Off-road is where it’s at its best. It has a very strong armoury of go-anywhere features for the price.

But sadly we have to drive these vehicles on-road to the Simpson or the high country and that is where the XSR feels less capable and convincing.

It might only be a good set of shocks away from being a much more comfortable vehicle to drive. Considering its affordability there’s potential budget there to spend on an upgrade.

But the engine – which really needs a bit less lag and a bit more help to cope with this weight – and the poorly tuned driver assist systems are harder issues to resolve.

There’s a lot here to like and a lot to be less enthusiastic about this vehicle. The more time you spend off-roading the more tempted you’re likely to be.

2023 GWM Ute Cannon-XSR at a glance:
Price: $52,990 (drive-away)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 120kW/400Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 249g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested