Road test review: GWM Cannon Luxury

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

The GWM Cannon is bigger than a Ford ranger, but with a much, much smaller price.

GWM CANNON LUXURY 4x4
Base price: $39,990
Powertrain and economy: 2.0-litre turbo-diesel inline-four, 120kW/400Nm, 8-speed automatic, 4WD, combined economy 9.4 L/100km, CO2 245g/km (source: RightCar).

The GWM Cannon is a big ute that dwarfs a Ford Ranger in every way. Except price.

Vital statistics: 5410mm long, 1934mm wide, 1886mm high, 3230mm wheelbase, 18-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Massively good value, capabilities on par with utes much more expensive
We don't like: Iffy quality in places, larger than a lot of other utes, turbo lag

Great Wall is now ‘GWM’ and the all-new Cannon is just the start of a new product onslaught from the Chinese manufacturer.

Can a Chinese ute take the fight to the go-to choices from Ford and Toyota? Great Wall, now GWM, thinks it has what it takes with the “all-new” Cannon, coming in to replace the ageing Steed.

Hmm, a Chinese ute?

The Cannon’s 2.0-litre diesel is a strong performer, but suffers from a noticeable degree of turbo lag.

Ah, you’re better than that. Remember, people poo-poo’d Japanese cars back in the 1960s and 1970s, and Korean cars in the 1990s and 2000s. Now both of those countries produce some of the highest quality and most reliable vehicles on the road.

**READ MORE:

The Cannon features a clever retractable step ladder that tucks away inside the tailgate.

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Interior quality is impressive and the Cannon is packed with the latest tech.

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The touchscreen is a responsive delight, but some of the physical buttons are a bit flaky.

As for Chinese machinery, things have come a long way since the Wingle of 2006, imported here as the Great Wall Steed. That one may have been a bit of a dud (it barely scored two Ancap stars in 2017 and was initially fed by a somewhat gutless 2.4-litre petrol engine making 100kW/200Nm) but the ground-up-new Cannon aims to change that perception.

Is it really all-new?

Compared to the Steed, yeah, pretty much. The Cannon rides on the same ladder-chassis platform as the Haval H9 and sources its 120kW/400Nm of power from a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder. A ZF eight-speed automatic shuffles gears, though a six-speed manual is available on the entry-level 2WD Premium model. And, obviously, it looks different (better). Dimensionally it’s huge, noticeably bigger than a Ranger if you park next to one. But don’t tell its owner that…

Every model gets hill-descent control, a locking rear differential, and identical suspension set-ups comprising front double wishbones and rear leaf springs. Interior trim includes a nine-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and fake leather upholstery.

Luxury models add an electric hand brake, disc brakes on all four corners, remote starting in the key fob, a better sound system, more leather bits, a 360-degree camera, heated front seats, electric windows while the 4x4 Luxury gets a locking centre differential as well.

GWM has also given every Cannon a comprehensive active safety kit, including lane keep/departure warning, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, collision warning, traffic sign recognition, a kerbside camera and rear parking sensors. ANCAP hasn’t smashed it yet but all the signs point to a good score this time around.

Luxo Cannons also benefit from adaptive cruise control (up from the non-adaptive version in Premium models) which can take the ute right down to zero and stay active. Make no mistake, the Cannon is a seriously well-equipped piece of kit.

How does it drive?

The Cannon isn’t quite as explosive as its name suggests, but the two-litre turbo-diesel is still grunty enough for basically anything a typical ute owner might throw at it. There’s noticeable turbo lag, which results in lurchy initial acceleration, but when you’re moving it’s okay.

The Cannon boasts a good unladen ride thanks to nicely tuned suspension. Some bumps transmit harshly into the cabin, but it’s far from deal-breaking levels. The steering is heavier than other utes too, and the brakes could be a tad more responsive.

GWM tapping ZF for the transmission was a good call, and whoever thought of it should be given a raise because the eight-speed auto in the Cannon is great. It’s smart enough to keep revs in the meat of the torque for bursts of speed but also quick enough to chop down for better fuel consumption.

Speaking of which, the Cannon drinks about as much as you’d expect it for a two-tonne diesel ute, anywhere between 10 and 11.0L/100km.

Cruising in the Cannon is easy thanks to the standard adaptive cruise control, which has a distance control button on the steering wheel. You can toggle things like lane-keep through the infotainment display – in fact, there are a lot of vehicle settings you can play with here.

GWM rates the Cannon’s payload at 1050kg, which matches the competition, while towing is slightly under par at 3000kg braked (2500kg for 2x4 models). The Luxury gets a tray liner and the tailgate has gas struts to stop it bashing against the stops on the way down. This also has a neat little drop-down step built into the tailgate to help tray access.

Any other complaints?

There are a few niggles, aside from the turbo lag. The infotainment screen is responsive, but the physical shortcut buttons sometimes don’t work at all. I had a few moments where the stereo didn’t work until I toggled between a few screens and inputs but, all considered, they aren’t massive issues.

Particularly when you take into account the price of the thing. GWM asks just $39,990 for the range-topping Luxury 4x4, which basically negates anything bad you might have to say about it. There’s just so much kit and capability for so little money, who really cares if you have to push the button a few times to heat your seats?

Any other cars I should consider?

Well, as mentioned, the low price of the Cannon Luxury means it’s basically competing against itself. The Cannon X is due soon which adds even more features and shouldn’t ask more than $50k.

The big-sellers in the ute segment simply can’t compete on price, with both the Ford Ranger and impressively-priced Toytota Hilux costing tens of thousands more for similarly equipped variants.

Other Chinese offerings are around, such as the Foton Tunland, as well as the pricier SsangYong Rhino from Korea, but only really the slightly cheaper LDV T60 comes close to the Cannon, but can’t match it on build quality or standard equipment.

The biggest fly in the Cannon’s ointment at the moment, however, is the Mitsubishi Triton. While the equivalent Triton (VRX 4x4) is $51,990, the GLX 4x4 is just $41,990 (both special offers, but you never have to wait long for Mitsubishi to do a special offer…) and offers slightly less standard kit, but also betters the Cannon’s impressive 5 year/150,000km with its 10-year/160,000km one. Plus it is also offers the peace of mind of being an established player in the segment.