Infiniti QX30 vs GWM Tank 300

What's the difference?

Even though it’s almost identical to the Q30, the QX30 manages to feel sufficiently different in suspension tune and cabin ambiance to be considered different.

It’s a disappointing oversight, though, by Infiniti to deny the base GT such basic safety fundamentals as a rear view camera (which Infiniti assures us is being worked on).

The GWM Tank 300 is an impressive 4WD wagon. Build quality, ride and handling and off-road capability all deserve praise.

So, is the petrol Tank 300 4WD worth spending your hard-earned cash on? After two off-road tests in it, and spending a bit of time in it on-road as well, I reckon, yes.

It’s packed with standard features, purpose-built for 4WDing and it’s well priced, especially when anything that can match it for features, comfort and capability costs about $20,000 more.

The QX30 is one of the first projects to result from a technology partnership formed between the parent company of Mercedes-Benz and the Nissan-Renault Alliance.

In a sign of how worldly the car industry is becoming, the QX30 is built in Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the UK, using the German Mercedes-Benz A-Class platform and powertrains, all under Sino-French ownership via the Nissan-Renault Alliance.

On the outside, the design that first aired on the Q30 is pretty unique. It’s not a subtle car, with deep crease lines along its sides that, according to Infiniti, is an industry first in terms of manufacturing complexity.

When it comes to differences between the two vehicles, it’s minimal at best. There is a 35mm increase in height (30mm from taller springs and 5mm from roof rails), an extra 10mm in width, and extra trims affixed to the front and rear bumpers. Aside from the all-wheel-drive underpinnings, that is pretty much it for the exterior.

The same black plastic overfenders that are fitted to the Q30 are present on the QX30, with 18-inch rims on both the base model GT and the other variant, the Premium.

The dimensions of the QX30 are also an exact match for those on the Mercedes-Benz GLA, with the long front overhang acting as the main visual connection between the two cars.

The Tank 300 looks like a mash-up of a Ford Bronco and a five-door Suzuki Jimny; it’s a boxy 4WD with prominent wheel arches and just as pronounced side steps.

Inside and out, it’s a striking blend of old and new, cool retro style with a modern touch. 

Our test vehicle was an eye-catching Dusk Orange colour. You’ll like it or loathe it.

Inside, there is a lot of hard plastic everywhere, more than merely a nod to its engineered purpose as a rugged 4WD adventure machine, and that ties in with its all-around ready-for-real-life character.

But leather and soft-touch surfaces throughout provide a low-key sense of classy balance to those durable plasticky aspects.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen is clear and bright and the centre console is a mix of traditional and on-screen buttons – but more about the multi-media system below.

Worth noting is the fact that while the directional air vents look fine they feel rather flimsy once you start moving them around to open/close/direct them.

The QX30 is obviously very similar to the Q30 in many respects, but the interior is slightly different, with larger, less cosseting seats up front and slightly higher seats in the rear.

The cabin is also lighter in overall appearance, thanks to a paler colour palette.

There are plenty of neat inclusions, including a pair of USB ports, plenty of door storage, a space for six bottles and a sizable glove box.

A pair of cupholders resides up front, along with a pair in the fold-down armrest in the rear.

There is no particularly logical location for the storage of smartphones, though, and the lack of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is down to Infiniti opting for its own phone connectivity suite.

A decent 430 litres of luggage space behind the rear seats is contrasted by a cramped rear area for all but the smallest of passengers, while sharply shaped rear door apertures making getting in and out a bit of an ask.

There are two ISOFIX baby seat points and a 12-volt socket in the rear, as well.

The interior is either 'Comfort-Tek' synthetic leather seating (Lux), or Nappa leather seating (Ultra) and beyond those soft-touch surfaces the Tank 300 has a practical and comfortable interior.

The Ultra has five seats, bucket-style up front for the driver and front passenger (both okay, but not ideal in terms of support and comfort), and a three-seat bench-style second row in a 60/40 split configuration. 

In the grand tradition of second-row seats it's okay, not great. The second row folds flat to expand the rear cargo space.

Cargo space is a listed 400 litres when the second row seats are in use, and 1635 litres when that second row is stowed away.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system is easy enough to use even if the English-as-a-second-language wording on some of the driving-mode explanations is off-target every now and again.

The audio system is nine-speaker in the Lux and Ultra, but the Ultra's is described as 'Premium'.

There's wireless charging, front and rear USB ports, as well as 12V and 220V power outlets.

The seats are Nappa leather accented, heated and cooled (up front), and the driver gets an eight-way power-adjustable perch (with lumbar adjustment and massage function). 

The 64-colour ambient lighting is a discotheque touch at night.

The Tank 300 petrol line-up has two variants: the Lux ($46,990 drive-away) and Ultra ($50,990 drive-away).

Standard features include a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), wireless charging, 12V and 220V power outlets, Nappa leather accented seats, heated and cooled (front) seats, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment and massage, nine-speaker premium audio, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, front and rear diff locks, 18-inch alloy wheels, 64-colour ambient lighting and more.

It has LED headlights and tail-lights, front and rear USB ports, a sunroof, side steps, roof rails, seven airbags (including front centre), and a stack of driver-assist tech including AEB and forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane centre keep, emergency lane keep, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, rear cross traffic alert with brake, tyre pressure monitoring, front parking sensors and rear parking sensors, 360-degree around-view camera, transparent chassis function and more.

The GWM Tank 300 is available with five different paint jobs: 'Fossil Grey' is no-extra-cost standard, but 'Lunar Red', 'Pearl White', 'Crystal Black' or 'Dusk Orange' each cost $595, at time of writing.

Just the one engine is used across both cars; the 155kW/350Nm single-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine from the Q30 and A-Class.

It’s backed by a seven-speed transmission and wired into an all-wheel-drive system that is biased towards a front-drive configuration.

Sourced from Mercedes-Benz, up to 50 per cent of drive can be sent to the rear wheels, according to Infiniti.

The Tank 300 petrol has a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, producing 162kW at 5500rpm and 380Nm from 1800 to 3600rpm.

It has an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission (the hybrid has a nine-speed auto) and a part-time four-wheel drive system with 4WD high-range and 4WD low-range for off-roading.

Infiniti claims a combined fuel economy figure of 8.9L/100km for the 1576kg QX30 across both the variants; this is 0.5L thirstier than the Q30 version.

Our brief test yielded a dash figure of 11.2L/100km over 150km.

The GWM Tank 300 Ultra petrol has a listed combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 9.5L/100km. It uses regular unleaded fuel.

On test I recorded 10.4L/100km from pump to pump.

The Tank 300 has a 75-litre fuel tank so, going by the fuel figures above, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 720km from a full tank. 

Note: Drop 30-50km off any driving-range figure for a better idea of your vehicle’s safe touring range. Also, remember that numerous other factors affect your fuel consumption and so impact your touring range, including how much extra weight you have onboard (passengers, camping gear etc), whether your vehicle is fitted with any aftermarket equipment (bullbar, spare-wheel carrier, etc), whether you are towing (a camper-trailer, caravan, or boat etc), your vehicle's tyre pressures and the conditions.

Again, it would be easy to think that the QX30 would feel almost identical to its lower-riding sibling – but that would be incorrect. We criticised the Q30 for being a bit too buttoned down and unresponsive, but the QX30 feels more lively and involving, thanks to its unique spring and damper set-up.

Even though it’s 30mm higher than the Q, the QX doesn’t feel it at all, with a benign, pleasant ride with good body roll control and competent steering.

Our front-seat passenger complained of feeling a little ‘hemmed in’, which is a valid point. The sides of the car are very high, and the roofline is quite low, exacerbated by the steeply raked windscreen.

The 2.0-litre four-potter is smooth and punchy, and the gearbox well suited to it, but it’s lacking in aural character. Luckily the QX30 does a terrific job of suppressing noise before it gets into the cabin, then…

I covered about 400km in total, on sealed surfaces in between off-road testing and overall the Tank 300 was rather impressive.

It’s quiet and refined on-road but has few alarming characteristics, which I’ll get to soon.

The petrol engine is lively and punches this 2106kg wagon along at a nice clip.

Steering has a sporty weight to it and is precise enough for easy driving in the city, suburbs and on the highway.

Ride and handling is nicely composed – mostly. It feels a bit floaty at times, some body-roll creeps in during livelier turns and there is a spongy feel to the coil-spring suspension.

But, other than that, this 4WD consistently feels stable and planted.

NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels are kept to a minimum, though there’s some wind rush around the chunky wing mirrors.

Visibility is reasonable but a bit pinched in places. The big bonnet can impact the driver’s forward vision, and that’s why, when you’re 4WDing, the Tank 300’s transparent chassis function comes in handy.

As for those 'alarming characteristics' I mentioned earlier…

Under heavy braking the Tank 300 pitches forward severely, with seemingly all momentum forcing the vehicle into a disconcerting nose-dive. Not good.

Driver-assist tech is generally seamless, but lane keep assist is too harsh and too pre-emptive in its application – wrenching you into line whenever it ‘thinks' you have drifted too far off-centre.

Auto stop-start engages abruptly and there is a disconcerting amount of lag before the vehicle starts again from standstill.

Not good at all when you need quick off-the-mark pace to safely merge with traffic from a stop light or after a lengthy pause at a roundabout.

The Tank 300 did however prove to be an effective off-roader. It handled the gravel track to our 4WD test site with ease.

This route is peppered with light corrugations, as well as, deeper into the bush, severe ruts and potholes, so it’s not an easy drive for any standard 4WD.

But this GWM wagon in 4WD high-range, did well, and was only ever rattled (a bit) when we hit a section of much deeper wheel ruts and potholes where modified 4WDs had damaged the track. 

My patented ‘Watch out for that 'roo!' emergency-braking test again revealed the Tank 300’s tendency to pitch forward dramatically under heavy braking and it took some work to keep the vehicle on track. 

The Tank 300 is well suited to low-range 4WDing. It may not have a ton of torque on tap (380Nm), but that pulling power is available across a decent rev range and this 4WD makes efficient use of what it does have.

Its off-road driving modes, including 'Mud/Sand', 'Rock', 'Mountain' and 'Pothole', seem calibrated appropriately for the demands of different terrain, although I wouldn’t rely on them, too much.

In the middle of an Aussie summer I didn’t get to test the ‘Snow’ setting, but when you engage some of the modes it will lock diffs where appropriate.

Low-range gearing is sound, without being Jeep Wrangler Rubicon great, and with its front and rear diffs locked, the Tank 300 tackled every 4WD challenge with ease.

Visibility is restricted in places due to the cabin build style, but that’s not such an issue when you’re 4WDing at very low speeds – you can always stop and get out of the vehicle to check the track ahead.

However, the Tank 300’s 'Transparent Chassis' function goes some of the way to improving driver visibility.

This system is similar to the 'Transparent Bonnet' view in the Land Rover Defender in that its aim is to extend the range of the around-view camera to include a view under the Tank 300 (represented on-screen as a ‘ghost vehicle’ outline when Transparent Chassis is selected).

Wheel travel is decent enough – the Tank 300 has a live rear axle – but the standard Michelin Primacy SUV tyres (265/60 R18) are not well suited to 4WDing. Fit a decent set of aggressive all-terrains to make this 4WD wagon even better off-road.

The Tank 300 loses a few off-road efficacy points, though, because…

It feels low. Ground clearance is listed as 224mm, and it has official approach and departure angles of 33 and 34 degrees, respectively (no ramp-over angle is listed), but it feels vulnerable to scraping its undercarriage on the earth.

Its pronounced side steps also seem to nudge the ground when you’re traversing rough terrain. Not among the Tank 300’s best features.

Listed payload is 446kg, which will quickly be used up once you add aftermarket equipment, passengers, camping gear and your dogs to the mix.

Unbraked towing capacity is listed as 750kg, while braked capacity is 2500kg. 

The Tank 300 has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2022.

As standard, it has seven airbags and a comprehensive suite of driver-assist tech including AEB, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane centre keep, emergency lane keep, adaptive cruise control (it worked for me on this test), traffic sign recognition, rear cross traffic alert with brake, tyre pressure monitoring, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree around-view camera.

The Q30 is offered with a four-year, 100,000km warranty, and servicing is suggested every 12 months or 25,000km.

Infiniti offers a fixed three-year service schedule, with the GT and the Premium both costing an average of $541 over the three services provided.

The Tank 300 has a seven-year/unlimited kilometre factory warranty, five years of roadside assistance and five-year capped price servicing. 

Servicing intervals are set for every 12 months or 10,000km. 

Capped price servicing puts the costs at $300 each for the first, second and fifth service, and $550 each for the third and fourth service. That's an annual average of $400.