GWM Cannon Alpha vs Ford Ranger

The Cannon Alpha Lux PHEV is $59,990 against $67,190 for the Ranger XLT 4x4 V6, a $7,200 saving up front. The running-cost story is where the PHEV shines: with around 115km of electric range, a home-charging owner can do most daily and around-town driving on cheap electricity, only burning petrol on longer hauls and while towing. Its 1.7L/100km combined figure assumes a charged battery, so treat it as a best case, not an everyday number.

The Ranger is a conventional V6 diesel at a claimed 8.4L/100km, roughly $2,390 a year in fuel over 15,000km. A home-charging Cannon Alpha can undercut that significantly; one that's never plugged in will not.

Warranty favours GWM at 7 years/unlimited kilometres versus Ford's 5 years, with the Cannon Alpha's high-voltage battery covered separately for longer. The Ranger's ace remains resale, as Australia's best-selling vehicle it has the deepest used market and strongest residuals, cushioning its higher purchase price.

Both are 5-star ANCAP, the Cannon Alpha dated 2024 and the Ranger 2022. Both come with comprehensive active safety, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise, as standard.

Both are heavy utes that carry a mass advantage in a crash, the Cannon Alpha especially so at 2,810kg, the weight of its battery pack. Both seat five with ISOFIX points. There's little to separate them on everyday safety; the Cannon Alpha's newer rating reflects assessment against more recent protocols.

The Cannon Alpha leans plush and big, with a premium-feeling cabin, large screens, and limousine-like rear legroom thanks to its 5,445mm length. It's pitched as much at families and tourers as tradies, and the quiet electric drive around town adds to that upmarket feel.

The Ranger is the segment benchmark for breadth and support: Ford's slick SYNC 4 software, wireless smartphone mirroring, and the deepest accessory ecosystem of any ute in Australia, canopies, bars, drawers, trays and suspension for every use. If you personalise or kit out a work truck, nothing matches the Ranger network.

Payload is the Ranger's practical win at 931kg versus the heavier Cannon Alpha's 685kg, the battery weight eats into what the GWM can legally carry. The Ranger also clears more ground (234mm vs 210mm) and is lighter, which helps on soft sand and tight tracks.

The Cannon Alpha's plug-in hybrid system makes a combined 300kW and 750Nm, far more than the Ranger V6's 184kW and 600Nm, and with instant electric torque it feels genuinely rapid for a 2.8-tonne truck. Crucially, it does all this while keeping the full 3,500kg braked tow rating, the headline advantage over the BYD Shark 6, which is capped at 2,500kg.

The Ranger answers with the most relaxed, proven towing experience in the class. Its 3.0-litre V6 diesel makes heavy towing effortless and never asks you to think about battery charge, and it's lighter, so more of its gross combined mass is available for the trailer. Charging on the Cannon Alpha is modest, a 50kW DC peak, so you'll charge it overnight at home rather than relying on public chargers, which suits the use case fine.

So both tow 3,500kg, but they get there differently: the Cannon Alpha with electrified muscle and cheap running for a home charger, the Ranger with effortless, no-fuss diesel torque and more payload headroom.