Johannesburg - With its tough looks and ladder frame underpinnings, GWM’s Tank 300 could shake a few branches in the Fortuner’s tree this year.
Haval South Africa has confirmed that the Tank 300 would be launched in South Africa in 2023, although at this stage there is no word on pricing or specifications.
The Tank 300 is based on GWM’s global off-road platform and with a length of 4 760mm and a 1 930mm width, the mid-size SUV is slightly shorter but wider than the Toyota Fortuner.
Its off-roading ammo includes a Torque On Demand 4WD system as well as a ground clearance of 224mm, fording depth of 700mm and respective approach and departure angles of 33 degrees and 34 degrees.
In most global markets the Tank 300 is powered by a 2.0-litre direct injection turbopetrol motor that produces 167kW and 387Nm, from 1 800rpm, and the company claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 9.5 seconds. The engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
There’s no mention of a diesel variant as yet, but the Australian market gets a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that pairs a 180kW/380Nm turbopetrol engine to a 78kW/268Nm electric motor and a nine-speed automatic gearbox.
As we said, South African specifications will be announced closer to the launch, but the features list of the Ultra flagship model in Australia certainly looks impressive. It comes with heated and cooled nappa leather seats as well as an Infinity nine-speaker audio system, 64-colour ambient lighting, Auto Parking, Adaptive Cruise Control, wireless charging and Crawl Control, among many other features.
The Tank 300 was recently awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating, with the Australasian safety authority giving it 88% for adult occupant protection and 89% for child protection.
“Normally, perceptions for such boxy 4x4s are more focused on the terrain performance. However, GWM’s Tank 300 can offer both performance and safety at the same time thanks to great engineering efforts put into the structure and tech level of this beast,” said Parker Shi, GWM’s international market head.
Watch this space for more local information when it becomes available.