There’s a version of me that lives somewhere in the Cederberg with my family, drives a battered Land Cruiser, and knows how to change a tyre without looking up a YouTube tutorial. I do not actually live that life. I live in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town and mostly need a car to get to Pick n Pay and work, but something about the GWM Tank 300D makes that version of me feel very, very close.
The Tank 300 has been around in South Africa for a while, but it was the diesel’s arrival that most buyers were really waiting for (until diesel became eye-wateringly expensive). GWM’s own sales director admitted publicly that local buyers are “very pro diesel,” and so here it is: a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder pushing out 135 kW and 480 Nm of torque. Paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission, it can tow three tonnes if you’re into that kind of thing.
The range now spans from R649 900 for the rear-wheel-drive Luxury, up to R769 900 for the 4×4 Ultra Luxury. The seats are wrapped in leather, the driver’s chair adjusts six ways electrically, there’s a 12.3-inch touchscreen, dual-zone climate control, double-sealed doors, and sound-insulated glass. It’s quieter inside than some considerably more expensive vehicles I’ve sat in.
On the road, the diesel is exactly what you want it to be: low-revving, effortless, and genuinely frugal. GWM claims 7.7 L/100 km, which in a vehicle this size and with this much torque feels almost suspiciously optimistic, but it’s not far off in real-world driving. On the highway it just pulls, smooth and unhurried, and you find yourself forgetting that you’re in something with the word “Tank” in the name.
And then you take it off-road, and you remember immediately. The ladder-frame chassis, the locking rear differential, the transparent chassis view that lets you see where your wheels actually are. This is a proper off-roader. The approach and departure angles are serious. It climbs things it has no business climbing and acts unbothered about it. Or so it claims – I didn’t actually have the chance to take it off-road.
The downsides? It’s large. Parking anywhere that requires parallel parking requires a kind of spatial courage. The interior, while well-equipped, has some plastic trim that doesn’t quite match the aspirational price tag. And the brand, while growing fast, is still earning the trust of buyers accustomed to Toyota and Ford heritage.
But for anyone who genuinely uses their 4×4, or genuinely needs to tow, or simply wants something that looks like it means business and backs it up under the bonnet, the Tank 300D is a serious proposition.