Cannon Alpha: Great Wall’s top dog off the leash

What is it?

The GWM Cannon has become the first full petrol-electric utility in Australia, with the Alpha Ultra Hybrid muscling in between the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Isuzu D-Mac and the full-sized pick-ups from Chevrolet, Ford, Ram and Toyota.

The Cannon dual cab flagship also strengthens GWM’s New Energy Vehicle strategy, becoming the brand’s sixth NEV offering following the Jolion Hybrid, Tank 300 and 500 hybrids and Ora EV.

Coming in three variants with a 2.4-litre turbocharged diesel engine, or 2.0-litre turbo petrol motor, the latter linked with a hybrid powertrain — all are mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission and full-time 4×4 system.

What’s it cost?

Prices start at $51,990 for the Cannon Alpha Lux diesel or $57,990 for the Alpha Ultra diesel, while the hybrid Alpha Ultra takes flagship honours from $64,990.

All three are drive-away prices and all are covered by the maker’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty.

Standard equipment includes LED headlights, a 360-degree camera, dual zone climate control, locking rear diff, 12.3-inch instrument cluster, 12.3-inch information screen, wireless smartphone mirroring, six speaker audio, power adjustable driver’s seat, leather-style upholstery and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Ultra grade adds panoramic sunroof, 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, heated, ventilated, massaging front seats with power adjustment, while the Ultra Hybrid takes on head-up windscreen display, power folding exterior mirrors with memory, semi-automatic parking assist and auto reverse assist.

As mentioned above, the new Cannon Alpha leaves the opposition in the shade (literally), with dimensions of 5445mm long, 1992mm wide, 1924mm height, and 3a 350mm wheelbase.

It’s 35mm longer overall, 57mm wider, 38mm taller and 120mm longer between the front and rear wheels than the standard GWM Cannon Ute.

This gives the newbie a solid stance on the street and the test vehicle’s black paintwork offers maximum contrast, with just enough chrome work, and LED headlights.

The tailgate holds a few surprises. The whole soft-open gate folds down at the press of a button in the centre of the GWM badge.

Touch the same button for a second and the 60/40 gate opens barn door-style to the side for ease of loading and unloading the tub.

Inside, there is a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, 10-speaker Infinity sound system, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up windscreen display and wireless smartphone charger.

An unusual addition is an analogue clock, found more in top-shelf saloons such as Bentley and Lexus, and 64-colour ambient lighting,

No word on the Cannon Alpha Ultra Hybrid ANCAP safety rating yet, but the GWM Tank 500 SUV, which shares much of its platform and cabin with the Alpha ute, was recently awarded a top five-star rating by ANCAP.

Standard safety features include autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic assist, lane-keep assist, lane centring, emergency lane-keeping, traffic sign recognition and surround-view camera with transparent chassis mode.

Cannon diesels have four parking sensors up front and four at the rear, while the Ultra Hybrid has six up front and six at the back.

The Alpha offers seven airbags, including a front-centre bag between the driver and front-seat passenger.

GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra Hybrid buyers enjoy a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, seven years roadside assist and five years of capped price servicing.

What’s it go like?

Nappa leather upholstery and heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats are complemented by a heated steering wheel, plus two-way power-adjustable heated and ventilated rear seats with welcome function and wireless phone charger.

Rear leg and head room are generous and occupants can take advantage of a panoramic roof and sliding rear window as in the Nissan Navara for extra ventilation.

The range-topping 2.0-litre turbo petrol hybrid engine delivers a combined 255kW of power and 648Nm of torque, against the 135kW and 480Nm of the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel.

Both are hooked up to a nine-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive with lock-up front and rear differentials.

The Ram 1500 V8 pick-up has been available with a mild-hybrid system for some years.

This is no mild hybrid where the electric motor only assists the internal combustion engine and cannot drive the wheels without using the ICE, as with the Ultra Hybrid.

First up, just a word about the ‘voice of the vehicle’: Has driving come to this?

During our time with the Cannon Alpha Ultra Hybrid the person behind the wheel (and passengers) were ‘assaulted’ by a constant stream of inane audio and visual female pleas to ‘concentrate on driving’ for seemingly little reason.

‘Florence’ in the machine even urged the driver to ‘take a break’.

The source of all this ‘evil eye’ was a camera attached to the A-pillar that is focused on the driver – it’s so distracting.

In the end, this driver could not even bother to seek out a way to switch off the system: too busy concentrating on driving.

From rest, the turbo-petrol was a tad tardy on the take-up and when engaged had a tendency to lurch off the mark.

On the move, the big fella was relatively easy to get on with, although the suspension had a habit of resisting easy going over blemished bitumen.

Overtaking was capably executed, and light steering came into its own on slow parking manoeuvres, which were not the ‘friendliest’ with such a bulky vehicle.

GWM claims a fuel consumption of 9.8L/100km for the combined urban/highway cycle.

The test hybrid recorded at worst, more than 15.0L/100k around town and 8.1L/100km on a trip down the motorway.

Three all-terrain drive modes, eco, normal, sport, are very much set and forget for the driver.

Sport mode reduces throttle power regeneration, while Normal/Eco mode increases deceleration of system-regenerating energy.

It can also lock front and rear differentials.

Towing capacity is a healthy 3500kg braked and 750kg unbraked.

Wading depth is up to 800mm.

What we like?

• Bigger than most
• But perhaps not too big?
• Nifty side-opening tailgate
• Rear leg and head room are generous

What we don’t like?

• No safety rating
• Slow to get going
• Uneven fuel consumption
• Inane audio and visual safety warnings

The bottom line?

The GWM Cannon Alpha is big on things like interior space and towing strength, and the Ultra Hybrid frugal on fuel use.

On the downside, the touchscreen is not easy to manipulate while on the move. As for the intrusions of ‘Florence’ in the machine, if that’s artificial intelligence — you can shove it!

 

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