Say g'day to the TANK 300. This is an all-new off-roader built on a ladder frame chassis,
not unlike a Nissan Patrol or Toyota LandCruiser. But there's a big difference
with this. It's not from Japan. It's made in China. What do we think? Let's take a look.
It's underpinned by a genuine four-wheel-drive system, complete with locking diffs, and if
the TANK 300 gets the green light to be sold in Australia, it could arrive by late 2022. Pricing
is not being discussed at this stage, but it's fair to say it would almost certainly undercut all
of its 4x4 rivals. Let's start with the design, and it's clear this was inspired by the Jeep
Wrangler. There's even a little bit of the Ford Bronco in those LED lights there, but if you can
get past the clone-like visuals, it's actually a pretty modern and tough-looking off-roader.
The overall profile is butch and blocky, and there's plenty of ground clearance there too.
This one is running Cooper Discoverer ATP tires, and they're a little bit more serious than
most soft road as you get out there, and we've actually had a bit of a
play out in the dirt, and it goes pretty well.
The rear-end design is pretty modern. I really like these vertical LED tail lights,
it's obviously very blocky, and you've got the side-opening rear door, food space not too bad,
and who could forget the rear-mounted spare tire? Always handy.
Okay, first impressions of the interior, it's quite impressive, there's a real
Mercedes sort of feel to this, and the quality of the leather on the seat, super supple. I like it.
There are several drive modes to choose from, along with three full drive settings and a number
of functions, which we'll get to later. While there's a definite luxury feel in this interior,
there's also some rugged elements too. You've got that holy shit handles here and here,
and this gear shifter is next level. I don't know what's going on, but I like it.
As with all modern cars, you get two decent sized LCD screens and
they come with plenty of telemetry. You can do quite a lot with the customisation of the screens,
the controls are well laid out, the steering wheel controls are intuitive and straightforward,
and overall, you get a really good view out of the car as well. Very upright windows.
While this is a genuine off-roader, it still comes with all the mod cons. You've got
powered seats, you've got this wireless phone charging pad, USB-A,
USB-C, and some pretty good storage facilities too. The central box is rather large,
you've got sliding drawers and two small-ish cup holders, but overall, it works pretty well.
While the interior is certainly impressive, it's all for nothing if the car can't perform off-road.
Alright, while this is running a petrol engine, it is just walking through some of these more
challenging sections of the off-road track, and I know for a fact that's cocking a wheel there.
The underpinnings are similar to the GWM Ute, running a 4x4 system with high and low
ratios. At 224 millimetres, ground clearance can't match the Wrangler, but approach and departure
angles of 33 and 34 degrees are more competitive. The Chinese brand has put this vehicle through
consumer focus groups, and apparently, Aussies are liking what they see. I mean, look, it's
no Jeep Wrangler, and it's not gonna go up the Rubicon trail, I wouldn't have thought, but
it does have good ride height, good approach and departure angles, and
there's plenty of telemetry here. I've got some really good cameras showing what the car is doing.
We've got the front camera, the side cameras, and the four-wheel-drive system is pretty clever too.
However, it's still proving capable enough on these muddy off-road obstacles.
Now, this is just a very brief drive. This is not a full blown review, but first impressions
aren't too shabby. It's relatively predictable and easy to place on these off-road tracks,
and I love the fact that you've got locking front and locking rear diffs, separately, which should
give it even more scope if you really wanna get off the beaten track. That said, there is one
thing it's solely missing, a turbo diesel engine. The petrol engine is pretty good, it's fairly
refined, but it just lacks a bit of low-end grunt that would really help on challenging terrain.
If this car does come to Australia, I don't think we'll see Wrangler buyers and Nissan Patrol buyers
trading in their vehicle straight away, but this could be a very affordable, very effective
off-road machine, and it will certainly help improve the brand's reputation in Australia.