Africana55 Radio 
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
They say you can see the Great Wall of China from space, and I think the same goes for Great Wall Motor’s pickup, just about. It’s roughly the same length as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and a little taller than a Range Rover. Of its total 5.4 metre length (nearly six yards), some 1.5 metres are accounted for by the boxy load area (as wide as it is long), and it’s a perfectly competitive product, at least in most respects. The payload is 1,050kg and it’ll tow 3.5 tonnes, and carry five adults. It’s a substantial proposition, in every way.
Having had the pleasure of taking the GWM Poer300 (pronounced “power”, I guess that’s a copyright thing) off-road on some seriously challenging terrain, I can vouch for its capabilities there, and it’s as impressive as much more costly, better-known machinery. The badge on the back says 4x4, but in normal road conditions it defaults to two-wheel (rear) drive, only switching to all four at higher speeds.
Naturally, there’s four low-ratio gears for mud plugging and the like, plus a throttle-adjustable hill descent control and a button to lock the differential, which serious off-roaders need. An interesting innovation is the paddle shift, which is mostly irrelevant with the nine-speed automatic gearbox in most uses, and can actually be selected to change gears within the low-ratio box. In short, this is quite a good way to learn about off-roading, and should be more than sufficient capability for most professional users.
These should prove to be the core market for the GWM Poer, which is an unashamedly value offering. You can spec the vehicle up almost as much as you like, with stuff like heated and ventilated leather chairs, a sunroof, and a 360-degree camera on my “Ultra” trim example, but the best value is in the base model, which comes in handily around £30,000 and has the only real accessory you can’t live without – rear parking sensors. (The full suite of driver assistance features, such as lane departure and speed limit warnings, are on every model from every brand now, because they’re mandated by EU law – and have been universally adopted by the auto industry for the UK market, irrespective of Brexit.)
Indeed, I’d actually go so far as to say that the ideal GWM Poer option is the commercial version, with two seats up front and the rear passenger compartment in the double cab configuration converted into what seems like a sheep pen. They’re all fully VAT deductible for “business users”.
The Spec
GWM Poer300 Ultra
Price: £36,430 + VAT (as tested, prices start at £31,495 + VAT)
Engine capacity: 2.4l, 4-cyl, turbo diesel, 9sp auto
Power output (hp): 184
Top speed (mph): 99
0 to 60 (seconds): 11
Fuel economy (mpg): 32.7
CO2 emissions (WLTP, g/km): 221
On the road, things are very much as you’d expect for a heavy motor with steering optimised for off-road use. I found it a bit unsettled on some stretches of motorway, and a little unrefined by comparison with the likes of, say, the market-leading Ford Ranger and the newly reintroduced (and legendarily well-engineered) Mitsubishi L200 – but it’s not that uncivilised a drive, the seats are comfy, and it’s just as butch as any of its rivals.
There is actually a “Sport” mode you can select, which delivers a slightly disturbing burst of enthusiastic performance, but, sadly, also some depressing fuel economy readouts. I should add that the GWM is extremely easy to clamber into, despite its height, and there is a reassuring 5 star ANCAP (the Australian standard, because it’s popular there) safety rating, though that bluff front does look like it could inflict some damage on a human being, even an Aussie.
My only niggles with this latest import from China are very specific. Strangely, you have to pop into the touchscreen in order to activate some of the steering-wheel controls – for example, to see how much range you have left – and the roller cover for the load compartment was faulty, something that could easily be fixed by the dealer, albeit GWM outlets aren’t all that thick on the ground.
I’m not sure, if I were a farmer – or, more politically fashionable, a plumber – whether I might not prefer a used Toyota Hilux to a Poer, as a known quantity, but if you have to buy new and you’re prepared to go with the base model, then the Poer300 will provide basically sound, comfortable companionship for at least its generous 5 year/125,000-mile warranty. A lot of ability for the money.