As much car for half the price. Still need the real deal?
“Copy watch, copy watch. Lorex, TAG! Wanna look?” Next thing you’re up on the seventh floor of some skanky Nathan Road Hong Kong apartment building browsing his wares. “Fifty dorra,” he tells you. “Wadda bout Rouie Witton?” He digs out a handbag and purse. A hundred and fifty dollars later I had a couple of Daytonas that not even the sharpest of my sharp jeweller mates would ever know was a copy, and the rest.
Those real watches, with the exact perpetual; motion, clasp and crown winder would have cost over a couple of hundred grand, in rand. The bags? Who knows.
Chinese knockoffs are nothing new. That was twenty-five years ago. I’m sure the same guy will sell me the same merchandise a quarter century on, if I can find him. Applied to cars, however, Chinese copies flopped. It’s proven far more difficult to fob a complete car off. And the genuine carmakers came at them far harder than the watch or clothing guys ever did.
The Chinese certainly are resourceful
They may not be inventive, but the Chinese certainly are resourceful. If you can’t copy them, why not mimic them? Which is precisely where the Chinese car industry has evolved to today. The cars subliminally cause you to believe that they’re something else. Rather than actually pretending to be something else. Scroll down the Auto Road test page, look at the many Chinese cars in there, and tell me different.
There hasn’t been all that much Chinese action at the top end of the car market. Until now, that is. Which is where this Tank comes in. Said to be the perfect fusion of luxurious comfort and off-road prowess, you’d swear that they were talking about the Mercedes-Benz GLS. But this is the Great Wall Motors Tank 500 Hybrid SUV. And it costs precisely half of that Mercedes-Benz GLS450d 4Matic AMG Line.
OK, this is a petrol hybrid four-pot and that’s a turbodiesel straight six. But here’s the thing. This 2-itre four-pot backed by a significant wedge of electric hybrid assistance, produces a very handy 255 kilowatts of power alongside a significant 648 Newton metres of twist. When its on the boil, that is.
Pretty handy for a two and a half-ton brick
The Tank’s multi-mode petrol-electric hybrid gubbins has a lithium-ion battery to deliver smooth, fuel-efficient starts. And also underpin that impressive acceleration. The system is not perfect, however. We found the car to be too reliant on the electric motor to perform at its best. It quite simply loses too much power when the battery is spent or charging. It also needs some refinement around the throttle when the hybrid kicks in. Had us pining for a bigger, more powerful combustion engine. And imagining that Tank 500 would make a pretty decent pure electric car.
The 9-Speed automatic is supported by eleven all-terrain driving modes. For everything from Snow to Sand, Rock, and even Expert or Sports. And good enough to propel it to 100 km/h in under seven seconds in the Auto Test. Petty handy for a two and a half-ton brick, we’d say. That other two and a half ton GLS 450d brick, by the by, makes 270 turbodiesel kilowatts and 700 Nm. The Benz does 100 in 6.5 seconds, which is a touch quicker. So what, you say. That’s still a Merc.
That’s probably where you’re wrong. The Chinaman matches the Benz in more ways than you’d ever want to believe. Designed to deliver a technological tour de force with advanced features aimed at enhancing passenger comfort and safety, unstoppable off-road driving capabilities and ease of use, that GWM propaganda sounds a lot like a GLS media release. But for good reason. It’s is a pretty decent knock off of the Merc.
Tank 500. Next level excellence?
Tank 500 merges GWM’s growing global knowhow to deliver newfound next level excellence. It’s resulted in an uncompromising level of safety, comfort and luxury that we’re sure would even do Mercedes proud. A large 7-seater SUV just like that Merc, Tank 500 exudes elegance, luxury and functionality. OK, aspects of it are a bit brash and shiny. But that’s also what makes it different. Available in black, white, gold, or silver, the Tank 500 certainly is imposing.
Comprehensive headlamps, a shiny, bold grille, long window line and 20-Inch alloys come together to both make you think it’s something else. And also quaintly deliver its own persona at the same time. Automatic running boards come out like a little bird fluffing its feathers to add a bit more drama every time the 500 lights up or stops.
Step on them up into the big Tank’s best quality with cutting-edge tech cabin. It feels even more spacious that it already is under that panoramic sunroof. Particularly pleasant at night, the starlit dash panel and unlimited ambient lighting can even match the rhythm from the audio system. Soft lit multimedia instruments and buttons add to a classy and luxurious feel.
A best-quality cutting-edge Tank 500 cabin
Settle in to triple memory power adjusted nappa leather-accented heated and ventilated 8-point massage driver and front passenger seats. Or the cooled and reclining second-row pews with two-way adjustable headrests have their own, separate climate control charging points, which also shift backwards to deliver epic legroom. The power folding third row has its own climate vents too. When down they leave a luxury 795 litre boot, that grows further to 1459 litres with the second row laid down.
The cabin’s dominated by large 14.6-inch LED Colour Touchscreen. It delivers seamless infotainment, while the Infinity 12-speaker audio delivers crisp, superior sound. We also enjoyed the clever advanced 360-degree view that brings a handy look at what’s ahead, behind and next to you every time you slow down, negotiate an intersection or park. The heads-up display is also most effective.
Best of all, the Tank boasts both real knobs and buttons ,as well as touch screen controls for air conditioning, infotainment, and drive mode selection. Quality is exceptional on the whole. Although it’s let down in places by the likes of cheap carpets and downgrade finishes like the clock on the dash. At half the price, however, who really cares?
GWM Tank 500. Seven years good luck?
Tank 500 earned its 5-Star ANCAP rating thanks to a comprehensive suite of assistants. From intelligent adaptive cruise control to rear collision, cross traffic emergency lane and intelligent parking assistants, among many more. Best of all, you can simply pick and choose which systems you want to work when and leave the reast off. A major step from recent premium GWMs where that was just not possible.
Backed by a 7 Year 200 000 km warranty, there’s also 8 years and 150 000 km on the hybrid battery, 7 years unlimited mileage roadside assistance. And a 5 year 75 000 km Service Plan. Sounds like seven years good luck, to us!
Getting back to our opening argument. OK. It’s not quite a copy car. But the GWM Tank 500 2.0T 9HAT 4×4 Ultra does very little not to pretend it’s a Mercedes-Benz GLS. Which would normally be pretty embarrassing. But at pretty well precisely half the price, the Tank is definitely a hell of a lot more than half the Benz.
Looked at like that, this GWM’s glass is more than half full too. Now whether or not a Merc owner wants or needs to step down is a moot point. But considering how much car this is, for the price. It has a pretty special allure all of its own to a whole lot more owners who could never consider double the price for a hell of a lot less than double the ‘real thing’. And that, we find most impressive. – Michele Lupini
Images & Testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: GWM Tank 500 4x4 Ultra
Engine: 255 kW 648 Nm
2-litre turbo petrol I4 hybrid
Drive: 9-speed automatic AWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 2.98 sec
0-100 km/h: 6.97 sec
0-120 km/h: 9.53 sec
0-160 km/h 19.92 sec
400m: 15.1 sec @ 144 mph
80-120 km/h: 6.85 sec
120-160 km/h: 10.17 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 225 km/h
Fuel: 8.5 l/100 km
CO2 199 g/km
Range: 940 km
Warranty/Service: 7y 200K./5y 75K km
LIST PRICE: R 1.23M
How does it compare?
Check with Auto's Test Data right here