2024 GWM Cannon Alpha Hi4T & Tank 500 PHEV review

Not content with just being the first manufacturer to bring a hybrid-powered 4x4 ute to the Australian market in the form of its Cannon Alpha Hybrid, GWM is now looking to double down on its offerings with the introduction of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains for some key models.

Called Hi4T, GWM’s PHEV powertrain is fitted to the Cannon Alpha 4x4 ute, the Tank 500 4x4 wagon and the Ora Sport performance sedan. The advantage of PHEV over the existing hybrid powertrain is that charging a bigger battery pack from a charging station allows for a greater full-electric driving range.

Our recent drives in both the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 showed that they had plenty of power when driving with the petrol engine working in tandem with the electric motor, but driving under EV power alone was limited to short, low-speed manoeuvring and light-throttle applications.

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The Hi4T PHEV system places a bigger 37.1kWh battery pack at the rear of the ladder chassis of the Tank 500 and Cannon Alpha, above the rear axle where it is positioned high and is well protected. This placement means that the Hi4T Tank 500 loses its two third-row seats and becomes a five-seat wagon, and fuel tank capacity is reduced by 10 litres to 70 litres.

Using a CCS2 charging outlet, the Hi4T is capable of DC charging at 50kWh, meaning it can be charged from 30 per cent to 80 per cent in around 24 minutes. Regular AC charging is at a rate of up to 6.6kWh, so the battery can be charged overnight from a household GPO, from two to 100 per cent in around 6.5 hours.

The greater capacity also allows for a more powerful electric motor to be used and the Hi4T vehicles have a combined output of 300kW and 750Nm; 45kW and 102Nm more than the existing conventional hybrid models. GWM says this is enough to propel the Tank 500 Hi4T from 0-100km/h in just 6.9 seconds.

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On the track

To put this to the test GWM provided some left-hand drive evaluation units of the Hi4T models to test on a closed road circuit and off-road track in Queensland.

While the heavy Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 models are not ideally suited to a racetrack they certainly showed improved acceleration over the regular hybrid variants, and they didn’t feel too out of place through the twists and turns.

The little dual motor ORA sedan is a rocket off the line as its tyres scrabble for grip under full acceleration and you can feel the electronics doing their thing to best distribute the power to the wheels. It is a small sedan with polarising styling but is well equipped and is certainly spritely.

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The Cannon and Tank 500 felt more at home on the off-road track where the added torque of the Hi4T driveline was evident on steep climbs, and there was plenty of regenerative braking assisting on descents. GWM says it has carried out extensive testing to ensure that all the vehicles’ off-road systems perform to the same level as in the standard models, and we tested the 800mm wading depth through a water course on the test track.

Unfortunately, full EV driving is switched off when you put the Hi4T Tank and Cannon into low range, so the petrol engine fires into action. To put it to the test we drove the Tank 500 around the course in 4x4 high range and it applied itself well using EV power for most of the lap, the petrol engine only cutting in when additional throttle was applied to get up a steep climb. The Hi4T vehicles retain their triple diff locks for off-road use but the electronic traction control did an excellent job in high range.

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While these GWM PHEV variants are still under evaluation for the Australian market, you can be sure that we’ll see them find their way into the model line-up in the not-too-distant future.

Also under consideration is the Cannon Alpha XSR model. The XSR is mainly a styling package, the likes of which are so popular in the 4x4 ute segment, but also includes usable extras like a front-mounted winch, intake snorkel, roof rails and aggressive all terrain tyres. Again, this is a variant we imagine will find its way into the GWM range sometime soon.