2027 GWM Tank 300 Revealed: Bigger Body, 260mm Longer Wheelbase and a 200km-Range Hi4-Z PHEV

Image credit: GWM

GWM has pulled the covers off the next-generation Tank 300, and the retro-boxy off-roader has done what most second acts do: it has grown up. The new car is longer, wider and taller than the one on sale in Australia today, but the headline is not the size. It is the powertrain. Alongside the familiar petrol and Hi4-T plug-in hybrid options sits a brand-new Hi4-Z plug-in hybrid carrying a 59.6kWh battery and a claimed 200km of electric range. That is a battery bigger than some fully electric cars run, bolted into a body-on-frame 4x4.

For now this is a China reveal, so nothing is locked in for Australia. But GWM Australia has already flagged that it sees "potential" for the Hi4-Z version locally, and the current Tank 300 has been one of the brand's quiet success stories here since it landed. So it is worth breaking down exactly what has changed, and clearing up one thing early, because the long bonnet in these photos has people asking the obvious question.

No, the Long Bonnet Is Not for a V8

First look at the profile and the stretched nose reads like it is hiding a big engine. It is not. The longer bonnet is a side effect of packaging, not power. GWM has pushed the front axle further forward and stretched the wheelbase by a full 260mm, which lengthens everything ahead of the doors. There is no V8 in the Tank 300, and there never has been. GWM's V8 plug-in hybrid is reserved for the much larger Tank 500-and-above flagships, the Tank 700 and the Tank 800, which are separate vehicles aimed at LandCruiser 300 and Nissan Patrol money. The Tank 300 stays a four-cylinder and V6 proposition.

A Genuinely Bigger Body

The growth is real and most of it lands where it counts, in the wheelbase. A 260mm stretch between the axles is a big jump for a mid-size off-roader and should translate directly into more rear-seat legroom and a longer load floor, two areas where the current short-wheelbase Tank 300 asks you to compromise.

Image credit: GWM

The styling stays firmly in the boxy, tailgate-mounted-spare, round-headlight lane that made the Tank 300 stand out in the first place. New touches include a roof-mounted LiDAR unit for higher-tier driver assistance and revised "Tank" badging. GWM is reportedly not carrying the new China-market interior design across to every market, so the cabin that reaches export countries may differ from the one shown at home.

The Powertrain Story: Hi4-Z Is the One That Matters

The China range spreads across four powertrains, with a fifth reportedly in development. The important addition is the new Hi4-Z plug-in hybrid.

The Hi4-Z is the headline because of that battery. At 59.6kWh it is roughly 60 per cent larger than the Hi4-T pack the current Tank 300 Hi4-T already sells here, and the claimed 200km of electric range would let a lot of owners run the car as an EV around town and never touch the petrol tank on the daily commute. In practice this blurs the line between a plug-in hybrid and an extended-range EV, and it is exactly the kind of powertrain that suits a heavy 4x4 you still want to drive to the desert on the weekend.

What It Means for Australia

The current Tank 300 is on sale here now from $49,990 for the Lux petrol, with the Hi4-T plug-in hybrid version from $55,990 and a diesel joining the range. That pricing is the whole reason the Tank 300 works: it lands boxy off-road style and a genuine low-range 4x4 system for tens of thousands less than a Toyota Prado or Ineos Grenadier, and thousands under a Ford Everest.

GWM Australia has confirmed it sees "potential" for the Hi4-Z powertrain locally but stopped short of committing to the new-generation car, its timing or which variants would come. Read that as interest, not a promise. The bigger body and the 200km-range PHEV are the two things worth watching, because a plug-in 4x4 that can do the school run on electricity and still tow and go bush is a rare combination at this price point. If GWM prices it anywhere near the current car, it reshapes the sub-$60,000 off-road shortlist again.

The CarSorted Angle

Here is the way we would frame it for buyers. If you need a boxy, low-range 4x4 right now, the current Tank 300 is already on sale and already sharp on price, and the new car being confirmed for China does not date it overnight. If you can wait and you do a lot of short urban trips, the Hi4-Z is the one to hold out for, because a 59.6kWh battery in a 4x4 means most of your week could be electric with the petrol engine only waking up for long hauls and towing.

The one thing not to do is wait for a V8 Tank 300, because it is not coming. If a V8 is what you want from GWM, that is the Tank 500-sized Tank 800 and Tank 700 flagship territory, at a very different price. For a real cross-shop of what is on sale today, our SUV directory lists every off-road-capable option with live pricing and specs.