Shown as far back as February in South Africa, the GWM Shanhai Cannon, known locally as the P500, has arrived with a lot to prove.
Plushest and biggest bakkie to originate from China makes an immediate impact, but will have to answer a few lingering points of content.
As such, the firm’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol has been left at home and the 2.4-litre turbodiesel reserved for the base Luxury and mid-range Super Luxury variants.The Ultra Luxury is therefore a hybrid-only model that pairs the 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol from the Tank 500 and 300 with an electric motor and battery pack developing 78kW/268Nm.
Distinctly American truck macho but not as brash, the combination of the oversized grille and P-Series logo, angular LED headlights and profile makes for an imposing entrant easily capable of rivalling the Ranger and even the Hilux GR Sport for kerb appeal. , the default being a split barn-door-type design requiring pressing of a rubber button located within the P-Series logo.Pressing it harder or giving the gate a descent shove unlocks the mechanism that sees the tailgate “lock” and drop down in the usual manner without opening horizontally.
Interior breaks new ground for a luxury-focused bakkie, although the same cannot be said for the tacky and cheap feeling imitation wood. Almost dwarfing the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, the system appears straightforward to use, but becomes bewildering and frustrating to use by the sheer amount of menus and sub-menus for every function.Once mastered, it becomes plain sailing with good resolution, especially for the 360-degree surround-view camera system, and monitoring the real-time workings of the hybrid system.
Front seats are superbly comfortable and aside from being electric, feature heating, ventilation and a memory function. Even with the bakkie oddity that is the panoramic sunroof, the P500 lack for little on rear passenger space. What’s more, the seats are electric, heated and ventilated. Unsurprisingly, the offset in power prevented the P500 from coming close to the Ranger Raptor’s 6.9 seconds, however, it had provided considerable food for thought.
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