GWM UTE CANNON-L

AT risk of stating the obvious, the GWM Ute feels like a big vehicle propelled by a small motor. Which is exactly what it is. Whereas the Ford Ranger’s 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel shrugs off its lack of capacity, the GWM’S 2.0-litre single-turbo four-cylinder diesel produces just 120kw and 400Nm and has to use every one of them to motivate the Ute.

Unfortunately, dry braking performance is terrible, with even its best effort sailing beyond 43m; its wet braking is little better, requiring almost 60m to stop.

DYNAMICS: 5.5/10

WHY is the L so sluggish? It might be mated to an eight-speed auto, but the 120kw-400nm 2.0-litre four-pot turbo diesel feels lazy and off-the-pace, with tardy acceleration and laggy throttle response. Flooring the pedal also brings its own issues, like off/on switch thrust, accompanied by a great wall of noise.

At least the truck from China boasts light yet responsive steering, for confident and safe handling … but only up to a certain point. Taking a corner at speed or making evasive manoeuvres can turn the 2175kg Cannon into a lead arrow; in a couple of tests, its power assistance couldn’t cope with sudden changes of direction, resulting in the steering feeling like concrete. Why? We can’t say.

Furthermore, with leaf springs out back, the suspension bumps and thumps in protest over rougher roads, accompanied by excessive – and queasy-inducing – lateral body shake. The GWM gained the dubious honour of being the worst-riding truck by some margin in this comparison.

INFOTAINMENT: 6/10

INITIAL impression of the GWM user experience isn’t great – it takes some time for the nine-inch infotainment system to get started after jumping in the car. That said, bases are covered with Apple Carplay/android Auto integration, two USB-A ports and a single 12-volt outlet.

The GWM’S party trick: a surround-view camera system that shows the Ute in situ, clearly displaying objects around the car.

Switchgear feels pretty cheap to the touch and it’s difficult to see which air-con buttons are on in sunlight. It also doesn’t have voice command nor digital radio, functions that nearly all other utes have. There are some odd phrasing and spelling errors too, like the Bluetooth system that was endlessly ‘Scanning …’ for a device.

RUNNING COSTS: 6/10

THE GWM Cannon Ute is eligible for a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty

that backs any component found to be defective in material or workmanship.

GWM also throws in a 5-year/100,000km roadside assistance program for the Ute, which is available nationwide, 24/7.

A capped-price servicing scheme is yet to be established by the brand; each service is scheduled at 10,000km intervals or 12 months, whichever comes first.

The old Great Wall Steed 4x2 manual workman-grade ute only retained 29 per cent of its value after three years, according to Glass’s Guide, so it’s just as well the $37,990 driveaway price is extremely keen.

TOWING: N/A

20-60km/h: N/A – was not supplied with a tow bar.

TO our shock, we noticed early on in the test that the GWM Cannon supplied for this test was not fitted with a tow bar. This makes it rather difficult to perform a towing test as one could imagine.

Apparently there were no vehicles in stock with a factory tow bar and we would have loved to report on the towing performance of the Cannon, but we will revisit this at a later date.

OFF ROAD: 5.5/10

We were very excited to take the GWM Cannon off road, but that excitement didn’t last long. The gear selector was a particular annoyance as it’s overcomplicated and not what you want in a 4x4 where quick shifts from drive to reverse are required. It was also slow to engage 4x4, which is not ideal.

Thankfully, traction control seemed adequate and it was able to get through our test course, just not as easily as others thanks to a poor ramp-over angle. Hilldescent control worked well and when combined with the selectable rear locker, mild off-roading is within its realms.

As a side note, and we’re still not sure what happened here, but the Cannon was making some awful clunks and bangs from the rear-end when making tight turns in our off-road test. The radio also didn’t want to turn off, requiring the vehicle to be switched off and back on again.

INTERIOR & SAFETY: 7/10

THE GWM’S cabin presents well with a range of leather surfaces and metal-look inserts. The comfy seats look good, and offer good bolstering around your back.

Functionality is another story. For instance, the Cannon-l lacks steering reach adjustment, while a self-centring T-bar transmission selector can also make choosing the right gear confusing. The dead pedal sits unusually close and the wide centre console eats in to legroom.

Modern conveniences include front-seat heating and power adjustability, singlezone climate control, power windows with an auto function for the driver, an anti-glare rear-view mirror, auto LED headlights and a rear window defroster.

ANCAP is yet to rate the GWM Cannon-l, but it’s loaded with every crucial active safety feature like lane-keep assist and blind-spot monitoring. Outward visibility is hampered by thick body pillars and a rear sports bar.

PAYLOAD: 6/10

GWM rates the payload for the Cannon-l at a commendable 1005kg. The tailgate has gas struts and a step ladder that falls out from the lip for stepping in to the tub.

The tub is spray lined and decently sized, with a broad space between the wheel arches. It can easily swallow a 500kg pallet within its dimensions.

On the move however, the GWM uses a Borgwarner 4x4 system that only offers 4WD mode, so the GWM accelerates from 20 to 60km/h in 4.5 seconds – which is slow. The powertrain can also emit a loud rattle in the front of the car when approaching upper rev limits at 4000rpm.

It was hard to trust the GWM on the ride and handling loop as much as some other utes, given the suspension remained brittle and felt short-stroke. But the steering was okay and light-weighted.