2026 GWM Cannon Alpha Lux PHEV review

How much is the GWM Cannon Alpha?

GWM prices most of the range as drive-away, so read the basis next to each figure. On our records the grades line up like this:

• Lux Diesel (2.4-litre): $52,990 RRP, before on-road costs.
• Lux PHEV: $57,490 drive-away, advertised in VIC.
• Ultra Diesel (2.4-litre): $57,990 drive-away, advertised in VIC.
• Lux 3.0L Turbo-Diesel: $58,990 drive-away, advertised in VIC.
• Vanta 3.0L Turbo-Diesel: $63,990 drive-away, advertised in VIC.
• Ultra PHEV: $64,490 drive-away, advertised in VIC.
• Ultra HEV: $64,490 RRP, before on-road costs.

Some of those drive-away figures were campaign prices with an end date, and GWM changes its offers often. Treat them as the price on the day we checked, and get a written drive-away quote before you sign.

What each step up buys

The Lux Diesel is the base of the range, and it is not bare. GWM lists a 12.3-inch touchscreen and 12.3-inch driver display, eight speakers, dual-zone climate, synthetic leather trim, keyless entry, a power tailgate, built-in navigation, digital radio, 18-inch wheels on 265/60 R18 tyres and a full-size spare. The full assist suite is standard on it too.

Stepping to the Ultra Diesel adds a 360-degree camera, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel and Infinity-branded audio. The Lux PHEV swaps the diesel for the 300kW plug-in system and adds wireless mirroring, wireless charging, a heated wheel and vehicle-to-load at 6kW. The Ultra PHEV moves up to a 14.6-inch touchscreen, a 10-speaker Infinity system, Nappa leather and the 360-degree camera.

The 3.0-litre diesel grades are GWM's newer engine, with 170kW and 620Nm against the 2.4's 135kW and 480Nm. Our rows for the Lux and Vanta 3.0 hold the 14.6-inch screen, the 360-degree camera, wireless mirroring and over-the-air updates; the Vanta adds 19-inch wheels and leather-accented trim. We hold fewer figures for these two grades so far, so some of their tables print "No data" where the 2.4 rows are complete.

What it costs on the road and per week

For the RRP-priced Lux Diesel, our drive-away estimate is about $56,680 in VIC and $55,960 in QLD once stamp duty, registration and CTP are added. Stamp duty is calculated on the price, so the gap between states is small at this money. On our weekly-cost model, with a $5,000 deposit over five years at an assumed 7.5%, the Lux Diesel comes to about $297 a week in VIC and $296 in QLD for repayments, fuel, rego and tyres. The Lux PHEV, on its $57,490 advertised drive-away, works out at about $315 a week in VIC and $314 in QLD on the same basis, with fuel costed as if the battery is never charged. Neither figure includes servicing or insurance, because we do not hold a capped-price schedule or an insurance estimate for this car.

How it compares at the same money

The obvious rival is the BYD Shark 6. The Shark 6 Premium is $57,900 RRP with 321kW and a claimed 100km of electric range, but it is rated to tow 2,500kg braked. The Shark 6 Performance at $62,900 RRP lifts towing to 3,500kg and power to 350kW, and its electric range drops to 80km. So for a buyer who wants both a long electric range and a 3,500kg rating, the Lux PHEV is the one that ticks both boxes on paper.

Against the diesel establishment, the Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 double-cab pick-up with the 2.0 bi-turbo is $63,890 RRP and the Kia Tasman SX 4x4 is $54,490 RRP, both on 3,500kg tow ratings. Ford's own plug-in, the Ranger PHEV XLT, is $76,000 drive-away in VIC with 207kW and a claimed 49km of electric range. If you like the GWM approach but want a wagon, the Tank 500 Lux hybrid is $59,990 RRP and tows 3,000kg.

Cross-shopping the plug-in utes? Line them up in our best plug-in hybrid utes guide and the wider best utes roundup.

Diesel and hybrid fuel use

The 2.4-litre diesel is rated at 8.9L/100km combined, 10.2 urban and 8.2 extra-urban, from a 78-litre tank. At $1.90 a litre and 15,000km a year that is about $2,540 of diesel, and the tank divided by the combined figure gives a calculated 876km between fills. The 3.0-litre diesel is rated lower, at 7.3L/100km combined, which is about $2,080 a year on the same sums: a newer engine that is both stronger and thriftier on the label.

The Ultra HEV is the outlier. Its 9.8L/100km combined is higher than either diesel, and unusually its urban figure (8.9) is lower than its extra-urban (10.4), which is the hybrid doing its work at low speed. On 91 RON unleaded at $1.95 that is about $2,870 a year, from an 80-litre tank.

The plug-in hybrid, charged and uncharged

The PHEV's 1.7L/100km label figure is a test-cycle number that starts with a full battery, so it says little about your own use. The two figures that matter are the claimed 115km of electric range and the 7.9L/100km GWM quotes once the battery is flat and the car runs as a hybrid.

Put numbers on that. A full 37.1kWh charge at the Victorian reference tariff of 27.5c/kWh costs about $10, so a commuter who charges at home every night and stays inside the claimed range is paying roughly that for each 115km. If you never plug in, the same 15,000km year is about $2,310 of 91 RON petrol at 7.9L/100km, which is close to what the 3.0 diesel uses on its label. The plug-in only saves money if you plug it in, and the more of your week that fits inside one charge, the bigger the saving.

Charging is the soft spot. Peak DC charging is 50kW and home AC charging is 6.6kW, so a flat battery takes most of a night on a wallbox. Vehicle-to-load at 6kW is standard on the PHEV rows, which is handy on a worksite or at a campsite.

Warranty, servicing and roadside

GWM covers the Cannon Alpha for seven years with unlimited kilometres, and roadside assistance runs for seven years too, renewed each time the car is serviced through GWM. Service intervals are 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. That 10,000km figure matters for a ute: anyone doing 20,000km a year will be booking two services a year, not one.

We do not hold GWM's capped-price service figures for the Cannon Alpha, so we cannot give you a per-visit cost or a five-year total. Ask the dealer for the printed schedule for your exact powertrain, because the diesel, hybrid and plug-in have different maintenance needs, and that number belongs in the comparison against a Ranger or HiLux.

We also do not hold a high-voltage battery warranty figure for the PHEV or HEV rows, nor a resale figure. GWM is a younger brand in the ute market than Toyota or Ford, so if you trade every few years, ask a dealer for a guaranteed future value or check used listings for early Cannon Alphas before you assume resale.

ANCAP and the assist list

The Cannon Alpha holds a five-star ANCAP rating from 2024, with scores of 84% for adult occupant protection, 93% for child occupants, 82% for vulnerable road users and 81% for safety assist. The rating carries an expiry date of 31 December 2031. Seven airbags are fitted on the rows we hold.

On the Lux Diesel and Lux PHEV rows, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, speed-sign recognition and fatigue detection are all standard. The 360-degree camera is on the Ultra Diesel, Ultra PHEV and both 3.0-litre grades. The assist table below shows each item in four states: standard, optional with its printed price, not fitted, or no data.

For families, there are ISOFIX points on the two outer rear seats and top tethers on the same two positions. The back seat is a three-across bench, so check the centre position for your own child seat before you commit.

Dimensions, garage and tray

This is a big truck. At 5,445mm long, 1,991mm wide and 1,924mm tall, the Cannon Alpha needs a garage of at least that length plus room to walk around it, and many older suburban garages are shorter than 5.5 metres. The 13m turning circle means three-point turns in tight streets. Use the garage-fit tool below with your own measurements rather than guessing.

Ground clearance is 224mm on the diesel and hybrid and 210mm on the PHEV, where the battery sits underneath. GWM quotes a 28.5-degree approach angle, 23-degree departure, 19-degree breakover and 800mm wading depth.

The tub is 1,524mm long, 1,560mm wide and 485mm deep, with 1,110mm between the wheel arches. That last figure is the one that decides whether a standard Australian pallet sits flat on the floor: at 1,110mm it does not, so plan on loading pallets on top of the arches or using a tray body. Five seats, two rows, and synthetic leather trim on most grades, with Nappa on the Ultra PHEV and leather accents on the Vanta.

Screens, phones and sound

Most grades use a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 12.3-inch driver display. The Ultra PHEV, Ultra HEV and both 3.0-litre grades step up to a 14.6-inch touchscreen. Apple CarPlay is standard across the range on our rows; wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are listed on the Ultra Diesel, Lux PHEV and the 3.0-litre grades.

Audio runs from six speakers on the Lux PHEV and eight on the Lux and Ultra Diesels to a 10-speaker Infinity system on the Ultra PHEV and Ultra HEV. USB-A and USB-C sockets are both fitted. Over-the-air updates are listed on the 3.0-litre rows but not on the earlier grades, and the tech table below shows which features we hold for the variant at the top of this page.

The GWM Cannon Alpha Lux PHEV has 107 kW for every tonne of kerb weight, 750Nm of torque, a claimed 0-100km/h of 6.3s. It weighs 2,810kg and turns in 13m. These are the figures that shape how quickly a car gets moving and how easily it parks.

Diesel, hybrid or plug-in?

The 2.4-litre diesel makes 135kW and 480Nm through a 9-speed automatic and 4WD, with a claimed 0-100km/h of 10.5 seconds. The Lux weighs 2,489kg, the lightest of the grades we hold a kerb weight for, and that is why it carries 821kg, the highest payload among those rows.

The 3.0-litre diesel lifts output to 170kW and 620Nm while lowering the fuel label to 7.3L/100km, again with a 9-speed automatic. We do not yet hold its kerb weight or payload, so we cannot say what it gives up for the extra torque.

The Ultra HEV pairs a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol with an electric motor for 255kW and 648Nm through a 9-speed hybrid automatic, with a dual-range transfer case on our row. It weighs 2,575kg and carries 735kg.

The plug-in hybrid is the showstopper on paper: 300kW, 750Nm and a claimed 6.3 seconds to 100km/h, 4.2 seconds quicker than the 2.4 diesel's claim. It is also the heaviest of the rows we hold at 2,810kg, which is what pulls its payload down to 685kg even with a higher 3,495kg gross vehicle mass.

Towing and the mass sums

Every Cannon Alpha we hold is rated at 3,500kg braked and 750kg unbraked, with a 350kg towball download. The number to watch is the gross combination mass: 6,555kg for the diesel and 6,745kg for the PHEV. On the PHEV, 2,810kg of truck plus a 3,500kg trailer is 6,310kg, leaving 435kg for people, fuel and gear before you hit the GCM. On the 2.4 Lux Diesel, 2,489kg plus 3,500kg is 5,989kg, leaving 566kg. A family of four, a full tank and a loaded tub can eat that quickly, so weigh the rig rather than trusting the brochure maximums.

For heavy towers who can charge at home, the PHEV keeps the full tow rating and adds electric running for the commute. For high-kilometre drivers with nowhere to plug in, the 3.0 diesel's 7.3L/100km label and the 2.4's 821kg payload are the better numbers.

The verdict

The Cannon Alpha lets you pick your trade-off, and the figures make each pick clear. The 2.4 Lux Diesel at $52,990 RRP is the payload choice, with 821kg and a 3,500kg tow rating for less than a Tasman SX or Ranger XLT. The 3.0 diesel is the one for long-distance drivers, with more torque and a lower fuel label. The PHEV is for a family that charges at home, tows a caravan on weekends and wants 115km of claimed electric range without giving up the 3,500kg rating, which the cheaper Shark 6 Premium does give up.

Look elsewhere if you need to carry a lot in the tub: the PHEV's 685kg payload is low for a dual-cab, and every Cannon Alpha is long, heavy and wide. If you have a short garage or a tight driveway, measure first. And if resale is a big part of your sums, a Ranger or HiLux has the longer track record.

Compare every grade side by side on the Cannon Alpha listing, or line it up against the Shark 6 with the compare tool.