GWM Cannon vs Porsche Cayenne

What's the difference?

It’s often said the poor man pays twice, and there’s no doubt that some budget cars are destined to be throwaways once the warranty period expires (which doesn’t explain paper drinking straws). The GWM Cannon doesn’t give off that vibe. Rather, it stands out as a way to get nearly all of the experience of a similar vehicle costing $20,000 or even $30,000 more.

We’d like dual-zone climate-control, a shifter that shifts manually, and the driver assistance programs need polish. But the fundamentals are there and its fair to say the Cannon has never been a bigger threat to the dual-cab establishment.

The specification of the flagship model seems odd to us, but this car, the Ultra is destined to be the volume seller anyway and, viewed through that prism, along with the improved performance and towing, the whole Cannon ute thing starts to gel.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Of all the super SUVs I've piloted, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is the best all-rounder in terms of performance, comfort, cabin technology and style.

As a family car it's roomy, practical and easy to use and drive daily.

As a performance car the Turbo GT is stupidly quick, with the agility of a sports car. Sure, a 911 would leave it behind on a twisty race track, but this SUV is close to having that sportscar experience and keeping your family, as well.

As mid-cycle refreshes (read: facelifts) go, this is a biggie. Even the way the company refers to its product has changed and what was the GWM Ute is now officially the GWM Cannon. Beyond the semantics, the facelifted Cannon is slightly bigger, has a new look inside and out, gets more performance and towing capacity.

The size increase amounts to an extra 6mm in length and 13mm in width, but GWM admits that’s all in the bumpers and the fender flares. If anything, the overall look is a bit more subtle, with a new bonnet, grille, fog lights, flares and a new tailgate with the GWM logo embossed into it. Even so, there’s a still a suspicion that GWM doesn’t mind if folks look at the Cannon and imagine a full-sized American pick-up.

Inside, the trend of twin screens continues, this time with a pair of same-size 12.3-inch screens; one for the driver’s information and a central one for everything else. A rectangular theme makes up the dashboard’s elements including the basic structure and even the shape of the air vents.

Getting the vehicle to handle ever increasing payloads and towing limits has called for constant revisions in cooling systems, suspension and, most recently, the vehicle’s body-on-chassis structure to improve capacity while still meeting in-house and engineering requirements.

This might be a personal thing but to me nearly all Porsches look better from the back than the front.

It's the wide stance and powerful haunches, the hunkered down suction-capped-to-the-road look that does it for me and the Cayenne Turbo GT, despite being an SUV, passes this important Porsche checklist item.

The GT aero kit only serves to make this SUV look more of a beast, and the gold-bronze looking satin Neodyne wheels are a Porsche theme that I've not always been a fan of, but I get the historic connection.

If only the Turbo GT could look a little less like other Cayennes from the front. This is the king of the SUV range and despite the apron and bumper already being exclusive to this model, there should be more.

Vents in the wheel arches, carbon bonnet with nostrils GT3-style perhaps? Or is that going too far? If you do want something more lairy then there's always the Urus.

The Cayenne Turbo GT's cabin is stunning in its plushness and modern surprises such as the passenger display, the hoodless instrument digital cluster, the lashings of Race-Tex upholstery everywhere. It's perfectly Porsche. High-performance meets high-end.

It's also highly practical. Let's talk about that.

Having twin screens of the same size in the cabin makes for a techy look, but in reality, the centre screen is less than perfect. That’s because it’s clearly made for a left-hand-drive car and some of the menu items are w-a-y over to the left, out of reach for a driver of normal stature. The script is also pretty small in places, and those who wear reading glasses might find it all a bit indecipherable, especially on the move.

That Top-Gun T-bar shifter is also a bit confusing at first thanks to the Park button placement, but it’s also a bit baffling when you can’t work out how to select gears manually even though you’ve shifted into M (Manual) mode. There just doesn’t seem to be any way to get the shifter to, er, shift. And that’s because it doesn’t. Instead, you use the shifter to select Manual mode and then use the paddle shifters on the steering wheel to actually change the gears.

The front centre console is home to a single USB-A and USB-C charging port as well as a 12-volt outlet, and there are plenty of storage cubbies around the cabin. The interior plastics on the Ultra, meanwhile, actually feel better than they look. The door cappings, especially, look a bit hard and brittle but are actually quite compliant to the touch. Our other observation would be that the standard sunroof opening is actually quite small and there seems to be lots of buffeting from it at speed.

The rear seat is better than some dual-cabs by having a more rational back-rest angle, and there’s lots of foot-room under the front chairs. There’s also plenty of head-room in the back, mainly because the roof lining dips up at the point the sunroof stops (perhaps explaining the small sunroof opening). Rear seat passengers will also appreciate the pair of charging ports, central air vents and the fold-down armrest.

The tray of the Cannon is competitively sized (and, crucially, will accept a standard pallet between the wheel arches) but the spray-on bedliner looks a bit half-finished at its edges; almost as if the masking process before spraying was rushed. Still, the sprayed-on surface itself is grippy and feels like it would be fairly durable. Our biggest complain would be a lack of tie-down points. There are two up front which are too high to be really useful, and two in the rear corners. The problem there is that heavy loads which need the lower tie-downs would ideally be placed farther forward in the tray, not right at the back.

There’s some nice thinking with the damped tailgate, though, and the bonnet also lifts on gas struts which is a bit of a novelty on this type of vehicle. The fold-out tailgate step is another neat touch and is easy to use, even if it’s still a decent step up to get a foot squarely on it. And the sports bar? About as useful as anybody else’s version of the same thing. Which is to say, not very.

The new, bigger engine has enabled GWM to bump the Cannon’s towing maximum to a competitive 3500kg with a braked trailer. All variants apart form the XSR also have a 995kg payload which is also among the better figures in this class of vehicle.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT only makes one compromise on practicality and that's the removal of the middle seat in the back, which, with just two kids isn't used all the time but on average we might need it once a week for school mates and cousins.

Instead of a middle seat there is a shallow tray, which will fit a phone or in our case leaves and rocks found at the park.

So, yes, the Turbo GT is a four-seater only, but this is a spacious, large SUV with good head and legroom, wide-opening doors for easy entry and exit, and air suspension which can raise and lower the height for easy access.

Storage is excellent with enormous door pockets in the front and back and there are four cupholders.

There's a wireless phone charger in the front and two USB-C ports as well, plus two USB-C sockets in the back.

Four-zone climate control means the kids in the back can set their own temperatures. They also have heated seats.

I was disappointed to see there aren't sunshades for the rear windows - pretty vital in Australia where it feels like we're only about 50 metres away from the sun.

The Turbo GT's 576-litre boot just managed to fit our pram and a week's shopping, which is our minimum standard for living. Any more space is a bonus.

The Turbo GT is the king of Cayennes, so it shouldn't surprise anybody that it's also the most expensive with its list price of $364,700.

Lamborghini's Urus lists for $409,744  and is the Cayenne Turbo GT's not-so-subtle Italian cousin, sharing the same platform and engine.

Both are in my mind the best performance SUVs on the planet. It just depends how conspicuous you want to be.

Then there's Bentley's V8 Bentayga which isn't blessed with the Porsche's good looks but would still be all over the Cayenne if the two happened to meet at a race track.

So, why is the GT Turbo the king of the Cayennes? What makes it better? For all the reasons you'd think - it's the fastest, most powerful, most luxurious and most equipped Cayenne in the range.

We'll get into mind-bending engine and performance specs soon, but first let me take you through the standard features on a car that's anything but standard.

Coming standard and exclusively to the Turbo GT are 22-inch 'GT Design' wheels in satin 'Neodyne' with full-colour Porsche centre caps, an active rear spoiler, Turbo GT front apron, dual titanium exhaust, rear apron with diffuser, 'SportDesign' side skirts, wheel arch extensions, a lightweight carbon roof and tinted LED HD-matrix headlights.

Inside, and also exclusive to this grade, is the 'GT Interior Package' with 'Race-Tex' upholstery throughout with 'Deep Sea Blue' stitching on the front seats and centre console and the armrests and dashboard.

There's also the 'Carbon Interior Package' which includes dashboard and door trim elements.

Race-Tex trim is applied to the 'GT Sports' steering wheel, roof lining and gearshift, too.

The adaptive active air suspension, which can lower the car by 15mm, is standard and only available on the Turbo GT, too.

The soft-close doors are standard (a cost option on lower grades), as are the stainless steel pedal covers.

The rest of the features are also found on lower grades and include the 12.65-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up display, proximity unlocking, 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen with sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, a 10-speaker Bose sound system, heated front seats, rear privacy glass and an auto tailgate.

Four-zone climate control is standard on the GT Turbo, too, and so are heated rear seats.

Our car had several options fitted such as the front passenger display ($2860) and the Deep Sea Blue Accent Package.

The passenger display is a crowd pleaser, but as a family car my kids felt like they were missing screens in the back seats, too. Well, in my day...

The engine bay is the scene of perhaps the biggest improvements GWM has made to this vehicle. While the previous version’s eight-speed automatic was good enough, there was a feeling out there that the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with its 120kW and 400Nm was seen as a bit marginal when fully loaded or hitched up to a decent-sized trailer.

So, the new 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel (lifted from the Cannon’s Alpha big brother) makes for 15kW extra (135kW) and a meaningful 80Nm boost to take torque to 480Nm. The eight-speed automatic is now a nine-speed unit.

The basic four-wheel-drive system of the Cannon is a permanent one which constantly drives all four wheels. (Unless, that is, you engage the Eco drive mode which disconnects the front axle to save fuel). The dual-range transfer-case gives low-range ratios for off-roading and there are multiple drive modes including Standard, Sport and Eco. An electronic rear differential lock is also standard.

But the flagship makes the move to a part-time all-wheel-drive set-up which, to some may seem like a backward step as it removes the option to use high-range four-wheel-drive on the bitumen, which is a huge plus when towing on a damp road, for instance. Instead, the XSR can select two or four-wheel drive as well as the same choice of high or low range.

Fundamentally, unless you’re on a slippery, off-road surface, the XSR must stay in rear-wheel-drive only. But you do what GWM calls All Terrain Response which includes Mud, Snow and Sand modes, as well as an extra drive called Expert, which allows the driver to tailor various responses. The off-road orientation of the XSR model also dictates a front differential lock.

Front suspension on all Cannons is independent by coil springs, while the solid rear axle is suspended by leaf springs.

As a middle-aged parent with two children, a Porsche that I don't have to crawl into and out of like a cubby house is a great thing.

What's even better is that this ‘easy access' Porsche is every bit as brutally powerful and fast as the quintessentially ‘pure' Porsche, the 911. Actually, it's more powerful and faster.

The Turbo GT's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine makes 485kW and 850Nm with drive going through an eight-speed transmission to all four wheels.

In comparison, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, arguably the most brutal and anti-social 911, has 386kW/485Nm.

I haven't made a mistake. Those are the real numbers. And it's only when you step on the accelerator in the Cayenne Turbo GT, and it feels like somebody's sat down on your chest, that you realise what a big deal this is.

That is such a colossal amount of oomph that this 2.2-tonne family SUV can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds.

The 911 GT3 RS can do it in 3.2 and it has a roll cage and a fixed rear wing the size of a bedroom door.

And yes, we're now coming into a digital age where Teslas and other electric SUVs are quick, too, but can they go around corners like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT?

Do they have the same rumble and roar as a twin-turbo V8 that's terrifying and enticing at the same time.

The correct answer is, absolutely not.

Get this: Despite more power and torque, the official combined fuel economy figure has fallen a whole litre from 9.4 litres per 100km for the old car to 8.4 litres for the new version. That also means lower tailpipe emissions.

Speaking of which, the engine in the Cannon is Euro 5 compliant (rather than Euro 6) so it doesn’t require AdBlue. Taking into account the 78-litre fuel tank and the real-world fuel consumption figure of 10 litres per 100km, bank on a theoretical range of around 750km before you need to find a service station.

Seriously? This is a 2.0-tonne twin-turbo petrol V8 with a 90-litre fuel tank. Even the Porsche specs sheet doesn't understand the question because in the column for fuel efficiency there are three letters - tbc.

My own testing saw me record 22.5 L/100km at the fuel pump, which means I enjoyed driving the car very much.

A little digging around reveals Porsche globally claims the Turbo GT will use 12.6L/100km, over a combination of open and urban roads.

You might not have as much fun as I did but easing back a little might get you closer to the 700km of range this more frugal consumption figure appears to offer.

While efficient it isn't, I'm not going to mark the Turbo GT too much here because compared to its petrol rivals the fuel consumption is what I'd expect from such a high-output heavy SUV.

On the road, it doesn’t take long to appreciate the benefits of the new, torquier engine. Although there’s a little diesel clatter at idle and a slightly gruff soundtrack beyond that, it all soon smooths out above about 1200rpm. From there, it’s quite a rush as the engine is clearly tuned for bottom-end torque rather than top-end rush and, in this type of vehicle, that makes perfect sense.

If anything, the nine-speed transmission seems a little hesitant to set sail until there’s some boost for the taking, and this can feel a bit weird when you’re trying to merge into freeway traffic or jump into a space in traffic. The gearbox also reveals itself to be a bit too keen to hold on to the current gear when your throttle position and speed suggest a shift up would be logical. That said, when it does upshift, the shift quality is extremely good with a crispness that means the multiple gears never seem an overwhelming number.

The ride only starts to get rowdy on faster, really bumpy sections where the leaf-spring rear axle starts to run out of reaction time, but below that threshold, the Cannon rides remarkably sanely and corners relatively flatly into the bargain.

Our main gripe is with the steering, but only in terms of the driver-assistance dumbing down of the whole experience. With the lane-keeping assistance switched off, the steering reveals itself to be fairly neutral with a slight dead-spot at the straight-ahead (normal enough for off-road vehicles). But with lane-keeping active, the Cannon’s constant corrections and nudging at the tiller will drive you mad. It’s too sensitive, too aggressive and too insistent, and we suspect GWM knows it.

Certainly, the brand professes to be constantly refining these assistance packages but it’s also fair to say that some carmakers simply have a better grasp of this tech.

Off road, the Cannon is a pretty sure bet to take you anywhere 99 per cent of the population will want to go 99 per cent of the time. The limiting factor here will be the tyres, and with a pretty non-aggressive tread pattern on the standard hoops, the first thing most adventurous owners will do will be to fit a set of All Terrains and tick that box for that last one per cent of ability.

Never have I met a car this powerful and superbly athletic that is as pleasurable to drive alone on great, fast roads as it is to pilot at 50km/h in the suburbs with a family on board.

It exceeds my understanding of engineering that something this large can move so quickly. That in an instant can turn and tip into a corner with such precision and effortlessness.

Yet it can switch seamlessly and happily to coping with speed bumps and potholes, delivering a ride so comfortable it'll send babies off to sleep. And it did.

The only issue, and this is such a tiny thing, is the dash-mounted gearshift, which means having to reach up and select Drive or Reverse or Park, which, when executing a three-point turn, is necessarily frustrating.

Still, I'm giving the Turbo GT a 10 out of 10 for driving under all conditions, and we didn't even go off-road, which of course you can do, as long as it's not too wild.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT hasn't been locally crash tested and so doesn't have an ANCAP rating.

That's quite normal for super high-end cars. But, when this third-generation model first arrived in 2017 it was tested by ANCAP's European equivalent, Euro NCAP, and was awarded the maximum five stars.

There's AEB which operates at city, urban and highway speeds, and lane keeping assistance, and lane change assistance which is a form of blind-spot warning, and adaptive cruise control. You can option rear cross-traffic alert, as well.

A space saver spare wheel is under the boot floor.

The Cannon ute comes with GWM’s standard factory warranty of seven years/unlimited kilometres. That’s not quite industry-leading any longer, but it’s still a heck of a lot of peace of mind. You also get five years of roadside assistance that applies anywhere in Australia.

GWM also offers capped-price servicing for the first five years with major and minor services included. There’s no word on the cost of that yet, but GWM told CarsGuide that the price would not be dramatically different from the previous model’s capped-price scheduled maintenance. That suggests somewhere around the $360 per service mark.

There’s a first service due at six months or 5000km, and then regular services every 12 months or 10,000km after that.

The Cayenne Turbo GT is covered by Porsche's three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is lagging behind in terms of duration even compared to other luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz, which offers five years.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 15,000km, although there isn't a capped price maintenance plan with final costs determined at the dealer level (in line with variable labour rates by state or territory).