Toyota Fortuner vs GWM Tank 300

What's the difference?

So, after a week of driving the Toyota Fortuner Crusade, did it have a podium finish for my family?

I was hopeful, but no. The driving performance was mixed and only being able to fit two car seats will limit flexibility for younger growing families. I don't like the way the third row is stowed as it makes the boot a bit awkward to use. Combined with the retro-feeling tech and short servicing intervals, there can be some improvement here, especially in a market that is surging forward with all of those elements. I did enjoy the high driving position, safety features and the forgiving suspension, though. 

My son liked the 'Feverish Red' colour and that he didn’t need my help to climb in and out of it.

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.

Nothing discernible to me has been changed since the last model but let me paint the picture for you. Imagine a dual-cab HiLux with a boot and you’ll come up with something similar to the Fortuner.

It sits proudly at 1835mm tall. The sides are almost slab-like and it's squared off at the rear, which the chunky C-pillar and dark windows do nothing to detract from. It’s definitely prettier up front with a nicely tapered bonnet.

City-dwellers need not beware, at 4795mm long and 1855mm wide, it’s accommodating in a tight car park.

The interior is classically Toyota. Everything is where you expect to find it but it’s lacking some wow factor. There are a lot of hard plastics throughout that highlight this.

With tech, trims and ambience all getting upgraded in the market, the interior is a bit of a let down.

However, there’s a certain comfort in seeing a traditional gear shifter, handbrake and manual clock in an off-roader. In my mind, it lends a certain weight to the vehicle's capability.

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 interior isn’t terribly practical for a seven-seater, so there’s room for improvement. And that seems to be the running theme for the Fortuner.

First and second-row occupants will enjoy the most room but it’s best to think of the third row as 'sometimes seats'.

It was easy for my six-year old to get in and out with the side steps, and he had a great view from the wide rear window.

Individual storage is good with a double glove box, cooled middle console, two cupholders and drink bottle holders in the first and second rows plus an extra two retractable cupholders in the dash (hurrah!). Third row occupants miss out on them completely, though.

However, I think the storage bins and map pockets are a tad too shallow to be that useful.

The boot space is on the smaller side and the way the third row stows on the side encroaches on the space and creates a large blind spot on an already chunky C-pillar.

With all three rows in action, there is 200L of cargo capacity available, but you can stow the third row to get 716L. If you want maximum cargo capacity, the middle seats can also be folded and that figure jumps up to 1080L.

The tech feels retro and not in a good way. The 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is plain on the graphics and laggy, plus on the smaller side for the market now.

It also only has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but it's fairly easy to connect.

Also, there is only one USB-A port in the whole car and no wireless charging pad. You do have a couple of 12-volt ports and a handy 220-volt plug for when you’re camping or something but that’s it for charging, which is surprising for a family SUV nowadays.

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.

All Fortuner models share the same 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine but it’s the main star that perfectly complements the 4WD system.

With a maximum output of 150kW and a massive 500Nm of torque, most weekend adventures can be pursued. It also doesn’t feel like you’re digging deep for that power, which is great.

The six-speed auto transmission is fairly smooth but occasionally the pick up is slow, so I wouldn’t be zipping across traffic in this. 

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.

The official combined cycle fuel number is 7.6L/100km. Real world testing saw my figure at 9.1L and I covered a good mix of urban and open road driving this week.

Considering its size and that it’s a turbo, I thought it was fairly efficient for how I drove it, but it could be better given it’s a diesel.

The Fortuner has an 80L fuel tank with an approximate range of 880km, using our on-test average fuel economy figure.

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.

Mostly okay but there are points to consider for long-term use.

We’ve already covered that the engine has enough grunt for off-road pursuits but I enjoyed the torque because it means it's fairly easy to maintain a consistent speed on hills, which isn’t always the case for large SUVs.

However, the steering feels heavy at lower speeds. It makes the car feel older than it is and cumbersome to turn in car parks.

I'm not a fan of the steering wheel, either. The leather is hard/rough and the wood panel insert at the top is slippery, which is an odd combo for an off-roader where you want to stay very much in control.

The taller centre of gravity does give some roll in corners but it’s also not the sort of car you go hard in on bends, anyway. So, that's not surprising.

However, the Aussie suspension tuning gets an A+ because the ride comfort is good and you won’t really notice potholes or bumps.

This has a 360-degree view camera set-up with guidelines but the image is disappointingly blurry for a top-spec model. 

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.

Ongoing costs are always something to consider and the Fortuner comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is standard for the market.

Unfortunately, it only comes with a three-year capped-priced servicing plan, which is unusual for this class.

The services are affordable at $290 per service but the intervals are painful at every six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. 

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.