Great Wall 'Cannon' ute has the others in the firing line..

[Yellow_Festiva]

In the Endura thread I mentioned China is into what I believe it's second generation of utes in our market.

Here is the GW Cannon:

2021 GWM Cannon ute from $33,990 to $40,990 drive-away, on sale this week

China’s Great Wall Motors ute has had its biggest overhaul in more than a decade. New hi-tech model promises five-star safety, gets more equipment than Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max at a fraction of their price.

The pioneer of Chinese vehicles in Australia – Great Wall Motors – has delivered its biggest overhaul in more than 10 years, and is poised to shake-up the affordable end of the double-cab ute market.

The 2021 GWM Cannon is an all-new model with more technology than the segment leaders – and more equipment than the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 at a fraction of their price.

While Great Wall Motors will move away from its current bargain-basement $19,990 drive-way offers on its range of outdated vehicles, the new-generation GWM Cannon promises to undercut the competition by a significant margin.

Three models in the GWM Cannon ute range – priced from $33,990 drive-away, $37,990 drive-away and $40,990 drive-away – are available for similar money as lower grades of the Mitsubishi Triton, but come with equipment found on $60,000-plus utes.

While the original Great Wall Motors utes got off to a bumpy start, with a two-star safety rating in 2009 – backed up by another “poor” two-star safety rating with an update released in 2016 – the GWM Cannon promises to make up for lost ground with a fully-loaded pick-up that will leave previous excuses behind.

The GWM Cannon is also likely to overshadow the LDV T60, the first ute out of China with a five-star safety rating (from 2017). However, the GWM Cannon has a longer list of standard equipment than even its closest Chinese rival.

The GWM Cannon ute is yet to undergo a full round of crash safety assessment by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), however it has the technology needed to achieve a five-star result against the latest, more stringent criteria.

All three examples of the GWM Cannon ute will join the new-generation Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 with a centre airbag between the front seats, a requirement to be eligible for a five-star safety result in 2020 – and which prevents head injuries in severe side impact crashes.

If the GWM Cannon achieves a five-star safety score, it will have done something the top-selling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger utes are yet to achieve, as their five-star results were graded against older and less stringent criteria (in 2019 and 2015 respectively).

As a result, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger are missing much of the technology that will be standard in the new GWM Cannon.

Dimensions:

Length: 5410mm
Height: 1934mm
Width: 1886mm
Wheelbase: 3230mm
Ground clearance: 194mm
Wading depth: 500mm
Approach angle: 27 degrees
Departure angle: 25 degrees
Rampover angle: 21.1 degrees
Payload: 953kg (model yet to be specified)
Towing capacity: 2250kg (aiming for 3000kg)

2021 GWM Ute Australian pricing
GWM Ute Cannon automatic – $33,990 drive-away
GWM Ute Cannon-L automatic – $37,990 drive-away
GWM Ute Cannon-X automatic – $40,990 drive-away

https://www.caradvice.com.au/903135/...ale-this-week/

Quite a lengthy article...

However it does make a compelling financial argument compared to the rest of the market.

If you put the badge aside, the only things I can really fault is the engine size, ultra short service interval and lower tow capacity.

Engine power and tow capacity would be very easily fixed with a slightly larger engine. The servicing intervals need to be the industry standard 15,000km (but if it were 20k they would have further marketing clout).

I can just see the marketing department now...

'We blow the competition away'
'Give us a shot'
'We make fodder of the competition'
'We have the competition in our sights'..

As much as I always prefer Japanese and Korean cars if this continues my next new purchase may be from the CCP...