Known as the Shanhai Cannon in China, the P500 rates as the most imposing product to emerge from the People's Republic's thus far. Images: Charl Bosch
The proverbial “a lot to prove” adage has been a constant to the Great Wall Motors (GWM) P500 since its first showing on South African soil in February.
Besides being the brand’s new flagship bakkie above the P-Series, the P500 is also one of the biggest with an overall length of 5 445 mm, which makes it 95 mm longer than a comparative Ford Ranger Wildtrak.
ALSO READ: GWM P500 bakkie out to show Ranger and Hilux size matters
Taller by 38 mm, narrower by 24 mm and longer by 23 mm on the wheelbase front, the P500, known as the Shanhai Cannon in China, faces a secondary obstacle arguably bigger than its dimensions.
As with sister brand Tank’s 500, the P500 breaks from Chinese vehicle tradition by asking an almost seven-figure price tag to become the second priciest vehicle in South Africa made in the People’s Republic.
At the obligatory “not-a-million” R999 990 for the top-spec Ultra Luxury tested here, the P500 finds itself in a quandary as, unlike in its home market, GWM has opted for a hybrid powerplant instead of a big displacement petrol or at best, a suitably torquey turbodiesel engine with six-cylinders or twin-turbocharging.
As such, the firm’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol has been left at home and the 2.4-litre turbodiesel reserved for the base Luxury and mid-range Super Luxury variants.
The Ultra Luxury is therefore a hybrid-only model that pairs the 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol from the Tank 500 and 300 with an electric motor and battery pack developing 78kW/268Nm.
In total, the configuration develops 255kW/648Nm or in simple terms, 10 kW less than the V6, but with an uptake of 148 Nm of torque.
Besides being more powerful than the Blue Oval’s 3.0-litre Lion turbodiesel V6, the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) setup makes the P500 Ultra Luxury torquier than the Ranger Raptor’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost bent-six by 65 Nm, but down by 37 kW.
Although small sounding on paper, the downside involves a portly 2 575 kg kerb mass and the lingering effects of how it will manage this, plus a load, when the battery isn’t charged to its maximum.
Arriving for the weeklong test in the less than appealing, optimistically titled Majesty Silver paint option, the P500’s ultimate tenure surprised considerably in more ways than one, although not with an expected bow from the Ranger, Toyota Hilux or even the Isuzu D-Max.
As much as styling remains subjective, the P500’s appearance will invoke a second glance in a way the P-Series will never come close to matching.
Distinctly American truck macho but not as brash, the combination of the oversized grille and P-Series logo, angular LED headlights and profile makes for an imposing entrant easily capable of rivalling the Ranger and even the Hilux GR Sport for kerb appeal.
The same though couldn’t be said of the 18-inch alloy footwear which looked small and lost within the bulging wheel arches.
Fitted as standard with a pair of chunky side-steps and satin roof rails, the P500’s biggest aesthetic innovation also elicited somewhat of a worry despite also being rather effective.
A first for South Africa but not in the Americans as it features on the Honda Ridgeline and Fiat Toro, the multi-function tailgate opens in two stages, the default being a split barn-door-type design requiring pressing of a rubber button located within the P-Series logo.
Pressing it harder or giving the gate a descent shove unlocks the mechanism that sees the tailgate “lock” and drop down in the usual manner without opening horizontally.
Well devised and useful when loading heavy items often requiring “resting” on the tailgate before being dragged and shoved into the loadbin, uncertainty still surrounds the durability of the locking mechanism and how it will stand-up to constant slamming when not wanting the tailgate to open in a door-like fashion.
Less of a concern is the P500’s luxury aspiration as per its moniker, GWM has been more than thorough by equipping it with every conceivable feature it has at its disposal.
Similar once again to upmarket versions of American bakkies – or should that be trucks? – the minimalist design looks and feels premium with soft plastics and leather, a good helping of satin silver and piano-key black detailing, and a monogram of the front facia on the passenger’s side that illuminates at night in conjunction with the ambient lighting.
As much as the tacky and cheap feeling imitation wood trim tries to ruin the cabin, the main winner is comfort and a distinct lack of any space concerns at the front or rear.
In fact, the bakkie oddity that is the panoramic sunroof failed to encroach on headroom, while in another novelty, the rear seats can be adjusted electrically while also being heated and ventilated.
It doesn’t stop there as opening the rear door reveals a small storage hold integrated into the C-pillar capable of accommodating a torch or any other small cylindrical item.
Another novelty is the sliding rear window similar to that of the Nissan Navara, albeit opened and closed via the touchscreen infotainment system.
Speaking of the latter, its comparatively segment massive 14.6-inch design is only the starting point of a tech-loaded features list not seen in any bakkie to date.
Almost dwarfing the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, the system appears straightforward to use, but becomes bewildering and frustrating to use by the sheer amount of menus and sub-menus for every function.
Once mastered, it becomes plain sailing with good resolution, especially for the 360-degree surround-view camera system, and monitoring the real-time workings of the hybrid system.
Despite the tech-laded approach, GWM has refrained from using touch-sensitive switchgear as chunky buttons feature below the retro clock and air vents, and on the centre console around the macho aircraft-style gear lever.
An overall triumph that makes the biggest case for the Ultra Luxury’s price tag, never mind the array of features so vast that it will require an article of its own, the P500’s main point of concern became a topic of astonishment after being let loose at Gerotek.
Being a self-charging hybrid, the powerplant starts-up in electric mode and engages the petrol engine above 30 km/h.
Dispraisingly, the transition is anything but smooth with an abrupt jerk being present each time the combustion engine kicks-in.
If that isn’t enough, the all-too-familiar Chinese vehicle handicap of a slow responding throttle tune results in a low-down delay slightly negated by the electric hardware, but still present and irksome in getting the P500 up to speed.
Once on the move, the delivery is smooth and the grunt impressive considering its size. That being said, the ride felt on the bouncy and with a grating sensation on less well-kept surfaces.
The opposite applied to smoother tar and while attempts to try out the P500’s 224 mm of ground clearance, pair of locking differentials and low range didn’t materialise, it still felt sure-footed and the nine-speed automatic gearbox about as smooth as one could wish for.
More welcome was the ability to switch most of the overzealous safety systems off without having to repeat the process manually each time the ignition had been turned off.
Given its hybrid hardware and amount of twist, the P500 was unlikely to escape the trek down to Gerotek to establish whether it could become the fastest bakkie Road Test Editor Mark Jones had ever tested.
With the battery charged using the regenerative braking system and Sport mode engaged, the P500 made little fuss of its supposed limitations to record a best 0-100 km/h sprint time of 7.7 seconds.
While GWM doesn’t quote any acceleration times, consulting Mark’s performance catalogue made it clear; a full 1.5 seconds faster than the Ranger V6 Wildtrak and 0.4 seconds up on the previous generation 190 kW Volkswagen Amarok V6 TDI.
Unsurprisingly, the offset in power prevented the P500 from coming close to the Ranger Raptor’s 6.9 seconds, however, it had provided considerable food for thought.
What’s more, and despite Mark’s best attempts, running the battery down and then setting a time as a comparison, failed to materialise.
As impressive as this had been, the trek to and from Gerotek highlighted a more unnerving aspect; less than sufficient pedal pressure that resulted in spongy brakes requiring significantly more than usual input to bring the P500 to a stop.
If not enough still, the weeklong stay over 655 km delivered anything but a hybrid fuel consumption figure of an indicated 11.5 L/100 km best.
As much as it can be described as a gamechanger as to what a luxury bakkie should be, scepticism surrounding the GWM P500 is unlikely to disappear even with its staggering performance.
Add to this the mindset shift of paying R1-million for a Chinese vehicle, plus the unproven reliability of the hybrid system in the long-run, the odds are stacked against it in a section of the market where proven old-school technology is favoured above complexity.
That being said, it is still an impressive product tech, luxury and yes, value-wise its key rival simply cannot ignore any longer.
NOW READ: WATCH: First look at GWM’s new flagship P500 bakkie
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
