Nearly each ute producer has been rolling out extra rugged-looking variants of late, and that features GWM.

A few of these function largely beauty alterations, however the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR isn’t a paper tiger.

It mightn’t have any further energy, nevertheless it has a special four-wheel drive system plus further off-road options designed to make it simpler to take off the overwhelmed observe.

Oh, and there’s loads of that beauty stuff, too. It’s largely useful nevertheless, from the snorkel to the metal entrance and rear bumpers. Nearly every part that’s chrome on cheaper Cannons is black within the XSR as effectively, and it appears meaner because of this.

By the best way, the GWM Ute appears to be struggling an id disaster. The proprietor’s handbook calls it the Poer and one of many touchscreen shortcuts says P-Collection, that are what it’s known as in China.

Poer interprets to Cannon, nevertheless it’s unclear why GWM insists on advertising and marketing it because the GWM Ute and relegates the cool Cannon identify to a trim degree designation… which it then makes use of for each GWM Ute.

GWM, simply name it the Cannon already.

How a lot does the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR price?

The Cannon-XSR arrived this yr as the brand new flagship for the Cannon line, priced at $52,990 drive-away, or $51,490 drive-away for ABN holders. That’s $6500 greater than the previous flagship, the Cannon Vanta.

It stacks up effectively compared with different extra targeted off-road variants from rival ute lineups. A Nissan Navara SL Warrior begins at $61,250 earlier than on-road prices when outfitted with an automated transmission, whereas a Mazda BT-50 Thunder is costlier nonetheless at $73,945 earlier than on-roads.

For the worth of a Cannon-XSR, you’re a base dual-cab 4×4 model of a Ford Ranger or Toyota HiLux, or a top-spec model of a SsangYong Musso or LDV T60.

What’s the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR like on the within?

The Cannon-XSR has one of many nicest interiors of any ute on this section.

It’d look all powerful and rugged exterior, however inside it’s rattling close to luxurious. There’s a high-quality, soft-touch dashtop with elegant stitching particulars, plus soft-touch trim on the entrance door tops and sides of the centre console.

The quilted leather-look upholstery on the doorways is extraordinarily smooth, and ties in with the quilted inserts on the seats. The seats are comfy, and are neither too agency nor overly squishy.

The shifter is a stunning unit, although its {surround} will be blindingly reflective, whereas even the paddle shifters really feel metallic and never similar to low-cost plastic. The steering wheel they’re hooked up to is sort of tactile too, and within the Cannon-XSR it adjusts for each rake and attain.

Every thing feels sturdy, and we didn’t observe any construct high quality points. The doorways really feel a bit flimsy, nevertheless, and should be slammed shut.

The inside is a bit last-generation Haval SUV in look, however that’s not essentially a nasty factor.

It means there’s loads of bodily switchgear, together with for the local weather management, as an alternative of most features being managed solely via the touchscreen.

GWM revealed a model of the Cannon earlier this yr in China that strips a lot of that bodily switchgear away and contains freestanding 7.0-inch digital instrument and 12.3-inch touchscreen shows, nevertheless it has but to verify whether or not that inside will come right here.

The switchgear isn’t good – among the buttons have extraordinarily small pictograms, they usually’re all completed in that “metal-look” silver end that was so frequent within the 2000s. However, we’re glad to nonetheless see correct knobs.

Becoming a member of the silver plastic trim overused within the 2000s is gloss black trim that’s overused within the 2020s. There’s some welcome aid, nevertheless, with distinctively patterned and textured metal-look trim operating alongside the dashboard.

Minor gripes with the design apart, not solely is that this inside good for a ute, it will be fairly good in an SUV at this value level.

As is anticipated from a GWM product in 2023, the standard of the surround-view digicam, which contains a 3D view, is great. There’s even a stunning degree of adjustability – you possibly can change the view of the automobile from translucent to clear or opaque, and even customise the color of the automobile depicted.

What a disgrace, then, that I couldn’t discover a button to cease the digicam view from popping up so regularly. Pull to a cease at a site visitors gentle, for instance, and it pops up.

It wouldn’t be such an enormous deal if it didn’t interrupt prompts you had been making to the smartphone mirroring on the time, or should you may nonetheless alter audio quantity whereas the digicam view is on display.

Sure, you possibly can flip off the digicam off with a press of a button, nevertheless it’s flummoxing that GWM thinks you’ll wish to see the surrounds of your car each time you cease at a pink gentle.

Buttons for auto maintain, the off-road flip help and cruise management options, and steering modes will be discovered on the centre console, although the hill descent management change is on the centre stack.

There’s a well-sized centre console bin with a sliding compartment tray which will be pulled ahead to cowl the cupholders. The cupholders are deep however slim, and bigger cups could wrestle to suit. The doorways lack a conventional cylindrical cut-out for bottles, however you possibly can nonetheless simply and securely match a 1L bottle in them.

The person interface for the digital instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen appears trendy, however neither display is ideal.

Whilst you can customise the themes for each, the digital instrument cluster is a bit simplistic and is dominated by a view of the car when lane assist methods are on.

The infotainment system is inoffensive, although the shortage of satellite tv for pc navigation is disappointing – notably should you plan on tackling rugged rural terrain, which is what the Cannon-XSR is designed for.

Your solely choice, then, is to obtain offline maps to show in Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Each smartphone mirroring apps require a cable to attach.

The Cannon-XSR’s facet steps are actually sturdy, and make it simpler to clamber up into this high-riding ute. The rear doorways open fairly large, however the opening isn’t exceptionally lengthy.

When you’re within the again seat, you’ll discover loads of room in each dimension, although headroom is decreased from lesser Cannons because the sunroof panel wants some place to retract.

There’s a decently flat driveline hump, which makes it extra comfy to take a seat within the centre-rear seat.

One member of the family who I’ve now taken out in virtually each ute available on the market did observe, nevertheless, the Cannon’s rear bench is sort of upright and never exceptionally supportive.

When it comes to facilities, there’s a single USB-A outlet plus a 220V/120W outlet, in addition to map pockets on the smooth entrance seatbacks and air vents, and bottle holders within the doorways. There’s a centre armrest, however unusually this lacks cupholders.

There are ISOFIX and top-tether anchor factors for little one seats on the outboard rear seats, however no anchor level for the centre seat.

As Matt Campbell has noticed, the child-seat anchor factors are among the many best on this section to hook a top-tether strap to.

Shifting across the again of the Cannon-XSR, the bumper has little cut-outs on both facet that act as steps. When you’ve dropped the tailgate, you’ll discover tie-down factors in every nook of the bathtub.

The lined tub measures 1520mm by 1520mm, and there’s a tailgate with pneumatic arms and a helpful pull-out stepladder.

Payload takes successful in contrast with different Cannons, which all boast at the least 1000kg. The XSR quotes an 875kg payload.

What’s below the bonnet?

The Cannon-XSR makes use of the identical 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel as the remainder of the Cannon vary, producing 120kW of energy at 3600rpm and 400Nm of torque between 1500 and 2500rpm.

It’s positively on the much less highly effective finish of the section, contemplating rivals just like the Ranger and HiLux supply as much as 500Nm from their four-cylinder engines.

We recorded a 0-100km/h time of 12.72 seconds, which is sort of laggardly, although its stopping distance was simply 41.04m when braking at 100km/h. That’s respectable, given it’s driving on all-terrain tyres.

Drive is shipped via an eight-speed automated transmission to a part-time four-wheel drive system, as an alternative of the full-time setup of cheaper Cannons.

There are selectable 2H, 4H and 4L modes, together with locking entrance and rear differentials, a crawl mode, and a system that brakes the within wheels to assist you to flip tighter on free surfaces.

There’s additionally a brand new underbody bash plate to guard a very powerful oily bits when the going will get powerful, and a passive stabiliser bar up entrance.

All Australian-market Cannons, together with the Cannon-XSR, use leaf-spring rear suspension like lots of their rivals. Nevertheless, a multi-link setup is on the market in China. In contrast to some rivals, the Cannon-XSR has rear disc brakes.

Over a loop comprising inner-city, suburban and freeway driving, we averaged 10.1L/100km. Over the course of per week, which included a visit to the Gold Coast, this elevated solely barely to 10.2L/100km.

The official mixed cycle declare is 9.4L/100km, similar to different four-wheel drive variants.

Braked towing capability stays 3000kg, though most rivals can tow 3500kg.

Unusually, GWM doesn’t quote strategy, departure or breakover angles for the Cannon-XSR.

How does the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR drive?

The XSR doesn’t really feel too totally different from different Cannons on pavement.

The engine stays a notable weak spot, because it’s been left behind by virtually each rival.

It feels a bit breathless, with a delay off the road because the turbo kicks in. You’re feeling like it is advisable to work the Cannon-XSR more durable than its rivals, even with simply your self onboard. There simply isn’t the low-end flexibility you discover in, say, an Isuzu D-Max.

The eight-speed automated transmission does, nevertheless, shift easily and we didn’t have any points with it as soon as we gathered some velocity.

There’s the generic diesel ute soundtrack, whereas at freeway speeds the cabin can get a bit boomy as wind noise penetrates it.

However the Cannon-XSR idles pretty easily, with no untoward vibrations, and at metropolis speeds it doesn’t really feel appreciably noisier than most rivals.

There are three ranges of steering weighting, selectable through a button on the centre console. It’s a intelligent setup that isn’t frequent on this section, and there’s a noticeable distinction between Consolation and Mild.

The latter definitely is gentle and vacant as well, and we left it in Consolation even when that mode can nonetheless really feel a bit heavy throughout low-speed manoeuvres.

Journey high quality is disappointing. On smoother roads it’s superb, nevertheless it will get fidgety when the pavement is patchier. It clomps clumsily over divots within the highway, and on rural roads it will get a bit tiresome unladen.

Suffice it to say, the Cannon-XSR has a behavior of constructing any highway really feel much less clean than it’s. Physique management could also be respectable at increased speeds, however its low-speed experience is mediocre.

The place the Cannon-XSR shines is off-road, at the least by way of the boldness it evokes in novice off-roaders.

We put it to the take a look at on a brief off-road observe with a mixture of rutted tracks and moguls, however got here away impressed with the know-how packed into this Chinese language ute.

There are locking entrance and rear differentials and selectable low-range gearing, hardly unique fare on this section. However past these, there’s a forward-facing digicam view whenever you have interaction 4H, which additionally options tyre mark tips, and a split-screen view in 4L that reveals you both facet of the car.

Even the straightforward inclusion of explanatory screens when adjusting between four-wheel drive modes is helpful for many who are simply stepping into off-roading.

An off-road cruise management operate will be activated when in 4L, whereas a steering help operate is on the market when cruise is activated. GWM says this could “successfully cut back the turning radius whereas sustaining the set car velocity”, leading to tighter turns.

It’s a uncommon inclusion on this section, and Paul Maric discovered it labored as marketed.

There are additionally sand, mud and snow modes, plus an off-road thermal administration mode, selectable through touchscreen, that runs followers for longer to dissipate the warmth

In Paul’s testing, he discovered hills and moguls had been tackled with aplomb, however he noticed traction management would repeatedly intrude even in 4L mode with the rear diff lock engaged. There seems to be no technique to fully change the system off.

The on-road cruise management wants work. Again on the freeway, it has very patchy efficiency – with out adjusting the gap setting, we might discover it typically stored an acceptable distance, and different occasions it will wish to sit 20km/h below the velocity restrict.

The mixture of adaptive cruise management and lane centring is helpful, nevertheless, and the Cannon-XSR will typically keep planted in its lane – on some roads it labored fairly effectively, although Paul’s testing on the proving floor noticed the ute exhibit lower than exemplary behaviour.

You possibly can have simply lane-keep help on or additionally activate lane-centring, and having the latter on however at its lowest sensitivity struck steadiness.

Activated thusly, it’s a bit intrusive however hardly ever erratic, and makes freeway driving a breeze. Lane centring works at speeds above 60km/h. You possibly can alter the extent of sensitivity for not solely the lane assist methods, but in addition the autonomous emergency braking.

We additionally respect how the Cannon will keep in mind should you had auto maintain engaged, saving you from having to activate it upon each startup. Additionally neat is how the present gear is displayed within the digital instrument cluster, even should you’re not shifting manually.

What do you get?

The Cannon-XSR is the one GWM Ute to supply the next options:

• Half-time 4×4
• Locking entrance, rear differentials
• Crawl mode
• Flip help
• Full underbody chassis guard
• Snorkel
• Passive entrance stabiliser bar
• 18-inch black alloy wheels
• 256/65 all-terrain tyres
• Metal bumpers

That’s along with equipment discovered within the Cannon-X, which incorporates:

• Cargo ladder
• Automated LED headlights
• Fog lights with cornering operate
• Leatherette-wrapped steering wheel
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
• Paddle shifters
• 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster
• 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• Wi-fi cellphone charger
• Leatherette upholstery
• 6-way energy driver’s seat
• 4-way energy passenger seat
• Keyless entry and begin
• Energy-folding exterior mirrors
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• Local weather management

There’s no satellite tv for pc navigation or DAB digital radio, and whereas there’s no up-spec sound system: you get the identical six-speaker system as the remainder of the vary, and it’s superb.

Is the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR secure?

After initially failing to earn a five-star ANCAP score, the GWM Ute vary was modified by the manufacturing unit.

It was awarded a five-star security score in November 2021, on the situation autos constructed between September 2020 and July 2021 are retroactively upgraded to the identical requirements because the five-star car examined later in 2021.

These later autos scored 86 per cent for grownup occupant safety, 87 per cent for little one occupant safety, 67 per cent for susceptible highway person safety, and 73 per cent for security help.

Commonplace throughout all Cannon fashions are:

• AEB with Pedestrian, Bike owner detection
• 7 airbags incl. front-centre airbag
• Reverse, passenger-kerbside digicam views
• Rear parking sensors
• Lane departure warning
• Lane maintain help
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Adaptive cruise management
• Site visitors signal recognition
• Tyre stress monitoring

The Cannon-L CC beneficial properties a surround-view digicam and entrance parking sensors, whereas the Cannon-X beneficial properties secure exit warning. The Cannon-XSR contains all the above. Bafflingly, there’s no blind-spot monitoring on any GWM Ute.

How a lot does the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR price to run?

The Cannon-XSR is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee, with 5 years of roadside help.

GWM additionally presents capped-price servicing. The primary service is required at six months or 5000km and prices $260, with the second at 18 months/15,000km and subsequent companies at 12-month/10,000km intervals.

The second via fifth companies are capped at $360. Not included on this capped pricing is the alternative of wear and tear and tear objects comparable to tyres, brake pads, wiper blades and drive belts.

CarExpert’s Tackle the GWM Ute Cannon-XSR

Within the showroom, the Cannon-XSR makes a compelling case for itself.

The Chinese language automakers are making their rivals look old style with their more and more subtle know-how. Chinese language patrons are additionally changing into more and more keen on rugged off-roaders, and GWM has catered to off-road fans each right here and overseas.

The Cannon-XSR combines trendy, helpful off-road tools with critical functionality. Nevertheless it’s a juxtaposition of recent, contemporary tech with old style dynamics. The engine feels underdone, and experience high quality is missing.

We’re impressed with how the Cannon-XSR makes it simple for a novice off-roader to deal with a path with its mixture of off-road options.

In the event you’re not aspiring to go off-road, nevertheless, we’d steer you in the direction of extra inexpensive Cannon variants that additionally boast a full-time four-wheel drive system.

This turns out to be useful if you’d like all-weather traction on pavement, whereas there’s nonetheless stable off-road {hardware} should you ever do really feel like venturing off-road.

In the event you will need to have the imply, blacked-out look of the Cannon-XSR, you may get a really related look with the Cannon Vanta. You’ll additionally nonetheless get one of many nicest interiors within the section.

Click on the photographs for the total gallery

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