GWM Cannon Alpha vs Lexus LS600H

What's the difference?

The Cannon Alpha Ultra PHEV combines five-star safety, a confident warranty, lavish luxury and short-haul electric driving for a competitive price. However, from a pure workhorse perspective, its class-benchmark 3500kg tow rating is offset by a modest payload limit, plus an awkward spare tyre location which could be a deal-breaker for some tradies as it compromises working floor space and the securing of loads.

The Lexus LS 500 and 500h are both exceptional cars. The ‘obnoxious’ styling especially to the grille makes the offerings from BMW, Benz and Audi look bland and overly corporate inside and out. It’s really in the dynamics department that the LS falls short of its rivals and only the LS 500 is enjoyable if you like to drive with a degree of conviction. 

Both the LS500 and 500h, though, have wonderfully comfortable rides and this together with those sumptuous interiors makes these the perfect place to be if you’re in the back being swiftly and quietly taken to you next meeting.

For me the sweet-spot pick would be the LS 500 F Sport for its value and dynamic ability.

Our test vehicle shares the same body-on-frame chassis design, twin A-arm/coil-spring front suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and electric power-assisted steering as the model it replaces, but the previous leaf-spring live rear axle has been replaced by a multi-link coil-spring arrangement. External chrome has also been greatly reduced.

Its luxurious leather-accented interior has a spacious and classy feel with a panoramic sunroof and opulent mix of surface finishes, but some tradies might consider such indulgences too fancy for carting muddy-booted crews.

The PHEV’s larger rechargeable battery pack uses up all the underfloor space behind the rear axle usually occupied by a full-size spare tyre. As a result, the steel-rimmed spare has been moved to a conspicuous location in the load tub, which not only looks like an afterthought but is far from ideal for workhorse duties (see Practicality).

“You’re either going to love them or hate them.” You can bet that whenever you’re told this just before being introduced to somebody then that somebody is going to be downright obnoxious. The same goes for the LS, well it’s face anyway, because those are the kinds of statements made about that grille.

The thing is, the LS needs an obnoxious face because its up against The Establishment -  the Mercedes-Benz S -Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8, and given there’s no way they’ll ever let Lexus into their little ‘club’ it’s good that the LS has steered clear of imitating them and is boldly different.

This was also the type of thinking which inspired the grille’s creator, Tokuo Fukuichi. The so called ‘spindle grille’ first appeared in 2010 on the CT200h before rolling out to the rest of the Lexus line-up. The look polarised the opinions of fans and even executives inside Lexus. But Fukuichi was adamant the key to the brand’s survival and success was to not to be boring.

That massive gaping mouth is anything but boring, and for this new-generation LS the spindle grille has been overhauled. Yes, some car companies might make a few tweaks to a grille, but not Lexus. Using a CAD computer program, it took designers six months to refine each of the 5032 surfaces on the F-Sport’s grille and the more than 7000 on the Sports Luxury’s. If only you didn’t have to slap a number plate on these exquisitely spun net-like structures.

New LED headlights and the ‘Zorro blade-slash’ LED running lights are equally obnoxious and therefore perfectly suited for the LS’s face. So too are the enormous air inlets below them in the bumper. If only the rest of the car’s exterior was as wild and not mild and milder the further you get from the grille. The rear looks stately, modern and sleek but could have done with something more adventurous (similar to IS’s taillights).

But the LS’s insides make up for that dullness, with a cabin that’s decadent and alien at the same time. A dash which sweeps from door to door features asymmetrical string-like design elements which are a theme carved through wood and glass and stitched into leather throughout the cabin. The quality is superb, while the fit and finish is better than I’ve seen on some of its competitors.

There are four no-cost interior packages on the Sports Luxury ranging from 'Moon White' trim with walnut decorative inlays to black trim with 'Crafted Latte' inserts. But it’s the $9800 optional 'Black with hand-pleating' and 'Kiriko' glass which is a stand out. It’s an intriguing look, the pleated fabric which cascades around the hand-cut Japanese glass.

The F Sport’s cabin is less decorative with seats that hold you tighter in three no-cost option leathers from 'Moon White' to 'Flare Red' with aluminium door and dash decorative elements.

Both cabins are sumptuous, although they fall a little short in gob-smacking tech like those amazing, expansive, floating dash screens and the virtual instrument cluster in the S-Class. Yes, there’s the large screen up front and the seat-back screens in the rear but the styling of the graphics and typeface reveal the Toyota DNA.

The LS has the presence a prestige brand’s flagship car should - imposing, long and wide. Look at the LS’s dimensions. At 5235mm end-to-end and 1900mm across, the LS is longer and wider than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but swoops in lower at 1450mm. The LS’s wheelbase is longer than a regular S-Class’s at 3125mm, too.

Apart from the grille you can tell an F Sport from a Sports Luxury by its black brake calipers and black elements in the front bumper, boot lid and sill.

To tell a 500 from a 500h, the difference is subtle. There are the badges, of course, but the 500's rear bumper also has a different design with chrome exhaust surrounds.

Our test vehicle’s substantial 2810kg kerb weight is 235kg heavier than its hefty Alpha Hybrid predecessor, due largely to the bigger battery and electric motor. That makes it about half a tonne heavier than numerous conventional turbo-diesel 4x4 dual cab utes.

This substantial kerb weight contributes to a sizeable 3495kg GVM, yet results in a 685kg payload rating which is modest compared to some turbo-diesel rivals with genuine one-tonne capabilities.

It’s also rated to tow up to the class-benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer, but with its 6745kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that would require a 250kg reduction in payload (from 685kg to 435kg) to avoid exceeding the GCM.

While it’s unlikely owners would need to tow at the 3500kg maximum, it’s important to be aware of these numbers if the need arises, as that 435kg of payload could easily be used up by a crew of tradies before you could load any of their tools.

The vertical mounting of the spare wheel in the load tub not only reduces floor space and load volume but also restricts the securing of loads, given there’s no anchorage point accessible in the right rear corner of the tub.

So, all load straps extending rearwards must share the same left-side anchorage point, which is far from the ideal even spread provided by four-corner load restraint. This spare wheel location needs a rethink (perhaps a swing-away carrier favoured by 4x4 wagon owners would be better).

We also noted the big button on the two-way tailgate, which enables it to split into a pair of hinged doors, stopped working during our test. Fortunately, it could still open the tailgate as a conventional single unit.

There’s ample interior space, not only for front seat occupants but also those in the back. That includes tall people, given I’m 186cm and have at least 40mm of knee room when sitting behind the driver’s seat when set in my position.

There’s also about 80mm of rear headroom, despite the presence of a full-length sunroof which can often compromise this dimension. However, shoulder-room is tight for three adults, so two would be preferable for long trips.

Front-of-cabin storage includes a large-bottle holder and bin in each front door, plus a large glove box, overhead glasses holder and a pull-out compartment for the driver in the lower dash.

The centre console offers wireless phone-charging and a lidded box (with internal air-con flow available) and two small-bottle/cupholders. Another storage nook in the lower right-side of the console offers two USB ports, a 12-volt socket and enough space for a phone.

Rear passengers get a large-bottle holder and bin in each door, pockets on the rear of both front seat backrests and small pull-out drawers under each outer seat. The rear of the centre console also offers adjustable air-vents, a pair of USB ports plus controls for seat heating/cooling and the sliding rear window.

The fold-down centre armrest offers another wireless phone-charging pad, pop-out twin cupholders and a hidden compartment for storage of phones or other slimline items.

Anything with a 3.1m wheelbase has to be practical right? Well, legroom in the back is excellent, but I can’t properly stretch out in that reclining rear seat with the ottoman without my feet hitting the seatback.

Headroom is also a bit a restricted in that rear row for me, too. That’s something to keep in mind for taller passengers (I'm 191cm tall).

A cargo capacity of 480 litres is 30 litres shy of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, while the cooler box in the rear (that comes with the Sports Luxury trim) eats into the boot space and drops the total to 440 litres.

The LS is a five-seat sedan, but that centre rear seatback folds forward to become the armrest and houses the controls to the massage and reclining functions, plus two cupholders.

There’s another two cupholders up front and pockets in all the doors. While the storage area under the centre console armrest in the front and back is good – that’s about it for storage.

An access mode will raise the car by 30mm when getting in and lower it by 10mm when getting out. Those wide opening doors also make entry and exit easier.

The line-up is simple. There are two powertrains: the turbo-petrol V6 LS 500, and the petrol-electric LS500h hybrid, and there's no price difference between them. Then, there are two trim levels: the F Sport for $190,500 and Sports Luxury for $195,500. 

Coming standard on the F Sport are 'F Sport' seats with leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, dual-zone climate control, 28-way power adjustable front seats and head-up display. The multimedia system comes with a 12.3-inch screen, sat nav, DVD player, DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth connectivity and a 23-speaker Mark Levinson sound system.

There’s also LED headlights, 20-inch alloy wheels and a kick-open tailgate. While the F-Sport misses out on some of the plush features of the Sports Luxury it does get hardware for better on-road dynamics which you can read about in the driving section below.

The Sports Luxury has that large screen, those power adjustable front seats and the multimedia system with that Mark Levinson stereo, too, but adds much more. The front passenger seat slides and folds itself forward to allow the seat behind it to recline and extend its ottoman-style leg rest. 

Both rear seats are 22-way power adjustable and heated. If you’re lucky enough to be lounging back there, you’ll also two 11.6-inch seat-back screens with a DVD player. Plus, there’s four-zone climate control, a rear cooler box and power sun shades.

The F-Sport and Sports Luxury have their own choice of no-cost interior options. The Sports Luxury also gives you the option to buy (for $9800) one of four special interior packs – you can read about the standout one with the hand-cut glass below.

There are 11 body colours to choose from: Sonic Quartz, Sonic Silver, Titanium, Liquid Metal, Onyx, Graphite Black, Vermillion, Scarlet Crimson (a dark red), Metallic Silk, Deep Metallic Bronze and Deep Blue.

The Alpha PHEV drivetrain consists of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that produces 180kW of power and 380Nm of torque. This is paired with an electric motor that adds another 120kW/400Nm, so combined they officially produce 300kW and 750Nm.

The electric motor draws its energy from a 37.1kWh lithium-ion rechargeable battery. GWM claims it can be charged from 30 to 80 per cent in less than 30 minutes using 50kW DC charging, or around 6.5 hours using AC charging.

It also has up to 6.0kW of V2L (Vehicle to Load) functionality, using a dedicated adapter cable which plugs into the vehicle’s charging port and provides a standard three-pin AC outlet for numerous electric tools and appliances.

The nine-speed torque converter automatic, which offers sequential manual-shifting using steering wheel-mounted paddles, is paired with the familiar Borg Warner ‘Torque on Demand’ 4x4 system.

For road use, this has three selectable drive modes ('Standard'/'Sport'/'Eco') with the centre differential remaining unlocked to automatically adjust torque delivery between the front and rear wheels in response to any loss of traction.

For off-road use, selecting '4H' (4x4 High Range) or '4L' (4x4 Low Range) locks the centre differential to provide an even 50:50 torque split between the front and rear wheels. 4L traction can be optimised by engaging the front and rear diff-locks.

Let's talk engine specifications .The LS 500 has a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 making 310kW/600Nm, with drive being sent to the rear wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission. That's impressive horsepower, but this car is heavy is a weight of about 2.3 tonnes.

The LS 500h has a 220kW/350Nm 3.5-litre V6 (a different engine to the 500’s) plus two electric motors driving the rear wheels. The total power output is 264kW. Shifting gears in the 500h is a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Just a reminder, too, the LS 500h is not  a plug-in hybrid. Regenerative braking re-charges the lithium-ion batteries.  

If you're looking for a diesel, you won't find one here. Same goes for a manual gearbox. And, while buyers can choose an all-wheel drive (awd) Lexus LS in other markets around the world, ours are all front-wheel drive.  

GWM claims official combined average consumption of only 1.7L/100km when the highly-charged battery allows most driving to be done in pure electric mode. GWM also claims an official ‘low charge’ figure of 7.9L/100km, when the battery is depleted and the petrol engine is doing most of the work.

It has an NEDC electric-only driving range of up to 115km and a ‘hybrid’ driving range (petrol engine and electric motor combined) of up to 1060km. The petrol engine drinks standard 91 RON unleaded.

The dash display was showing average petrol consumption of 6.4L/100km at the completion of our 324km test, which comprised a mix of suburban, city and highway driving of which about one third was hauling a heavy payload. This was lineball with our own figure of 6.2 based on fuel bowser and tripmeter readings.

Starting with 90 per cent battery charge, we completed 72km of electric-only driving before it automatically switched to hybrid mode when the charge reached 14 per cent. The system would not allow charge to drop lower than that for the remainder of our test, which was conducted in hybrid mode.

So, based on our own test figures, GWM’s claim of more than 1000km of hybrid driving range is credible from its combined 37.1kWh battery and 75-litre fuel tank capacities.

The LS 500 has an official fuel consumption of 9.5L/100km while the 500h’s is 6.6L/100km after open and urban road driving. We drove both cars on mainly country roads and saw an average of 10.1L/100km in the LS 500 and 9.1L/100km in the 500h.

It has good steering feel with sophisticated ride quality, the latter thanks to four-coil suspension and substantial sprung weight which helps iron out the bumps and deliver a ride that’s more SUV than ute.

Flatten the accelerator from a standing start and up to 750Nm of torque responds with impressive force, even though you can feel that every one of those Newton metres is required to overcome more than 2.8 tonnes of inertia to get this jigger moving swiftly.

Although the option of sequential manual-shifting is available using the steering wheel paddles, we spent most of the test in auto mode as it felt like it was getting the best out of this complex drivetrain.

It’s a competent highway cruiser, too, with the petrol engine requiring 2200rpm to maintain 110km/h with low noise levels.

To test its GVM rating we forklifted just over half a tonne (505kg) into the load tub, which with driver equalled a 600kg payload that was less than 90kg under its limit. The rear coil springs compressed about 50mm, but there was no evidence of bottoming-out on our test route.

Ride, handling and braking were largely unaffected, along with the drivetrain which made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h.

Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, was equally impressive. It never exceeded the 60km/h speed limit, even though its total vehicle weight of around 3.5 tonnes was being restrained by only a 2.0-litre four and regenerative braking.

My first experience of the new LS was from the back seat of a 500 Sports Luxury being driven from the airport to the venue where Lexus Australia would deliver the presentation on its fifth generation of the car.

Seat reclined, I was whisked quietly and comfortably through the traffic, barely any road or wind noise, the ride was superb on that air suspension, a little floaty but still damped well enough for it not to become bouncy, with minimal head sway (the movement that makes you car sick).

Cocooned in leather with seat-back screens for audio and DVD the ride and environment was just right for a limousine chauffeuring important business types who need swift and tranquil transportation. Not for weirdos like me who were only interested in the way the front and back multi-link suspension kept a 2.3-tonne car with a 3.1m wheelbase so civilised, even through roundabouts. I wondered if this was actually the best way to experience the LS – from the back seats, being driven?

When I did drive the 500 and 500h in the two trims later it more or less confirmed that first impression. The 500 in F Sport trim was the best to drive, while the 500 in Sports Luxury was the best to be driven in. Why? I’ll explain.

The LS 500’s 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 makes more power than the hybrid for starters, which is always a good thing when you need to move a car this heavy. Even then the LS 500’s acceleration isn’t super quick, and the engine needs to work hard when asked to get a wriggle on. That 10-speed automatic transmission is excellent though. 

The same can’t be said for the CVT in the 500h which under harder acceleration does what CVTs do in that situation, make more noise without seeming to get the drive effectively to the wheels.

The 500h’s naturally aspirated V6 is a good thing, but it seems the weight of the car and the CVT work against it being exciting to drive. After a couple of hundred kilometres in a 500h blasting through the countryside steering it became tiresome rather than rewarding with the engine constantly kicking in and whining incessantly when asked for more beans, please. 

This car is far better suited to slipping silently through city streets than it is galloping through the bush – that’s where the 500 is a lot more at home.

The 500 and 500h are rear-wheel drive cars, and this, along with an almost 50-50 balance, sets the ground work for good cars to pilot. The F-Sport trim adds an active rear stabiliser bar as standard equipment and brings a more sophisticated version of Lexus’s 'Vehicle Dynamic Integrated Management' (VDIM) – a stability system using data from suspension, ABS, traction control, electric power steering, the stabiliser bar and rear steering. The result is the control of longitudinal, vertical, yaw, roll and pitch movements for better ride and handling.

The F Sport trims adds bigger brakes, too with 400mm x 36mm discs on the front and 359mm x 30mm at the back, plus staggered tyres with 245mm rubber at the front and 275mm at the rear.

The electric steering is light, which makes it easy to manoeuvre in carparks, and an 11.2m turning circle is great for the class. 

On the open road at speed the steering is pinky-finger light even in Sport+ mode, and while it’s smooth and accurate, I want to feel more connected to the wheels and where they’re pointed.

While the LS 500 is more the driver’s car than the 500h neither perform as well dynamically as Benz’s S-Class, but from the back seat the LS feels just as comfortable and even plusher.

The Lexus LS has not been crash tested, but all the signs are there that this is an exceptionally safe vehicle, from the structure of the car to the advanced safety technology such as AEB (forward and reverse) with pedestrian detection, lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control.

For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts across the rear seats.

Both the 500 and 500h are fitted with run-flat tyres.  

Warranty cover is seven years/unlimited km with an eight years/unlimited km traction battery warranty and seven years of roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. GWM offers seven years of capped-price servicing totalling $4615, or an average of $659 per service.

The Lexus LS is covered by a four-year/100,0000km warranty. Servicing is recommended every 15,000km or 12 months. There is no capped price servicing program. Being a Toyota family product the Lexus LS also comes backed by the same reputation for reliability and you may experience lower maintenance costs than perhaps its German rivals.