GWM Cannon vs Great Wall Steed

What's the difference?

The GWM Cannon XSR is a twin-locked 4WD ute that’s reasonable on-road (it’s getting better all the time) and very capable off-road.

It certainly has enough gear onboard – including front and rear diff locks, a snorkel and all-terrain tyres – to be taken seriously as a 4WD, but it could still be better and more refined in other aspects, even at this price-point.

There are some issues with the Cannon’s general driveability but ultimately it has plenty going for it, not least its appeal as an impressive value-for-money purchase.

If you simply want a new ute at a low price, the Great Wall Steed could offer a bit of appeal - it’s not terrible, but it’s also far from great…

My advice would be to see what sort of second-hand HiLux or Triton you could get for similar money.

The XSR is 5439mm long (with a 3230mm wheelbase), 1958mm wide and 1893mm high. Official kerb weight is listed as 2230kg.

This is a substantial ute that resembles an amalgamation of Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota HiLux.

The wide wheel track gives the XSR a squat stance and its snorkel, sports bar, bash plates, chunky all-terrain tyres and red brake calipers add to this ute’s presence.

Inside, a steering-wheel design tweak (it’s now three spokes) and refreshed dashboard layout help to give the cabin a low-key classy look and feel.

It may lack the all-around polish of something like the Ford Ranger, but the XSR’s much lower price negates that perception.

The XSR holds its own in the looks department across the dual cab ute category.

The Great Wall’s exterior styling is reasonably contemporary, even if the proportions are somewhat ungainly. Consider this - the Steed is one of the longest, lowest utes out there.

The dimensions are 5345mm long on a huge 3200mm wheelbase, with a width of 1800mm and a height of 1760mm. There’s just 171mm of ground clearance for this one, which is the 4x2 model. 

The wheelbase looks enormous, and the back doors are quite small considering the length of the vehicle (plus the door handles are huge!). The B-pillars are set back further than they should be, and that makes it hard to get into and out of the second row seats. 

The interior design is pretty smart, though — compared with some of the other older utes out there, the Steed has reasonable ergonomics and the controls and materials are of a passable quality, too. 

But our car - which had just a couple of thousand kilometres on the clock - had a missing piece of exterior trim, along with a few loose bits and pieces inside. The quality is better than the first-gen Great Wall utes, but we hope the next-generation global ute from the brand will be better again. It’ll need to be.

The XSR’s five-seat interior is neat and spacious but there are parts, such as some buttons, dials and switches, that feel a bit flimsy and cheap.

Up front there are two USB ports, a wireless charging pad, a 12V plug and a deep centre console.

The new 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and has been improved by increments.

The front seats are power adjustable (driver’s six-way, passenger four-way) and both are comfortable without being too plush.

Second-row passengers get a firm but comfortable seat and amenities include USB charge ports, a 220V plug, air vents, and a fold-down centre armrest (with cupholders). There’s plenty of head, knee and legroom, unless you’re stuck in the middle where knee and foot room is pinched.

The second-row seat base can be folded out of the way to make room for more gear if no one’s in the back seat.

The second-row seat has top-tether points and there are ISOFIX anchors on the outboard seats.

The XSR’s load space (1520mm long, 1520mm wide and 540mm deep) has a durable tub liner, four tie-down points, as well as a pop-out step hidden in the top of the tailgate, and a step-up indent at each corner of the rear bumper.

This Cannon offers just as much all-round practicality and load-space flexibility as the likes of Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota HiLux.

As mentioned above, the interior of the Steed is acceptable for a budget ute, but that’s as faint praise as saying “you look fine” to the reflection of yourself in the mirror after a big night out.

The cabin has a few elements to it that are decent - the dashboard design is decent, and the controls are pretty logically placed. If you’re stepping up from a first-gen Great Wall ute, you’ll be blown away.

Things like the big media screen and leather-lined steering wheel, as well as electric front seat adjustment and leather seat trim that feels more like cowhide than repurposed garbage bags this time around will all count toward some positive first impressions.

That said, the screen is one of the most confusing ones I’ve encountered - you have to pair your phone by hitting the icon that looks like a PC tower linked to a phone. Why? Also, the load times on the screen are terrible, and when you put it in reverse the screen simply goes black. There is no reversing camera as standard, which is poor form. You can option it if you want, likewise the sat nav is optional - and it looks a lot like a UBD or Melways. Plus the volume levelling is very inconsistent. 

As mentioned above the ingress and egress for rear seat occupants is poor - anyone who has feet bigger than a size six will struggle to get in and out without getting tangled. Once you’re back there, the knee room is tight, but head room is fine. 

There is reasonable storage throughout - there are cup holders between the front seats, door pockets with bottle holders and a few loose item cubbies up front, too. In the rear there are map pockets but no other storage options unless you fold the rear seat backrest down.

The Great Wall’s biggest redeeming feature is its price and specs. 

You can get a base model single-cab-chassis version for less than twenty grand drive-away. This model is the 4x2 dual cab, which has a list price of $24,990 plus on-road costs, but it’s almost always on special at $22,990 driveaway. Need a 4x4? Pay an extra two grand and you’ll get it.

The Steed offers an extensive standard features list, including auto headlights, auto wipers, LED daytime running lights, front and rear fog lights, 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, single-zone climate control, heated front seats, leather trim, a leather-lined steering wheel, a six-speaker stereo system with USB and Bluetooth connectivity and the aforementioned optional camera and GPS navigation. You get carpet on the floors rather than vinyl, too. 

The exterior is packed with features tradies will love - there’s a big step bumper to allow easy access to the tray, which has a tub liner as standard as well as a sports bar. Accessing the cabin will be easy for shorties as there are side steps fitted as standard.

The new 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine produces 135kW at 3600rpm and 480Nm at 1500-2500rpm. It's tractable and well suited to the demands of 4WDing.

Don’t get me wrong, the previous-gen Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine (120kW/400Nm) was no slouch, either. It’s just that this bigger and more powerful engine is better.

The new engine can easily muster more than enough power and torque on- and off-road when needed. However, there are enough instances of substantial lag at crucial moments – punching off the mark from a complete stop to safely merge into traffic, for example – that when compounded threaten to mar the overall driving experience.

Another thing. The automatic transmission, now a nine- rather than eight-speed, while generally okay, proves patchy in daily driving, not upshifting as slickly as it should and sometimes hunting for the sweet spot, rather than hitting it.

In terms of all-round powertrain performance, the XSR is on par with four-cylinder, turbo-diesel rivals such as the Ford Ranger 2.0L (125kW/405Nm), Isuzu D-Max 2.2L (120kW/400Nm), Mitsubishi Triton 2.4L (150kW/470Nm) and Toyota HiLux 2.8L (150kW/500Nm).

Great Wall uses a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder with 110kW of power (at 4000rpm) and 310Nm of torque (from 1800-2800rpm), which is only available with a six-speed manual transmission. There is no automatic transmission available. But you can get a petrol engine if you prefer, which is becoming rarer in the ute segment.

The payload capacity for the Great Wall Steed 4x2 is decent for a dual cab pickup at 1022kg, and it has a gross vehicle mass of 2820kg. The Steed has the standard 750kg un-braked towing capacity, but a meagre 2000kg braked towing rating.

Listed fuel consumption is 8.4L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, which is better than the 9.4L/100km offered by the previous 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and eight-speed auto.

I recorded on-test fuel consumption of 10L/100km which is ahead of the 11.2L/100km I recorded in a Cannon XSR with the 2.0-litre four and eight-speed.

The XSR has an 78-litre tank, so, going by my on-test fuel figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 780km from a full tank of diesel.

The Great Wall has a claimed fuel use of 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres in the spec we tested, and across our testing regimen - which included on-road driving laden and empty for a few hundred kilometres, it managed 11.1L/100km. Okay, but not great.

The fuel tank capacity of the Great Wall is 58 litres, which is small for the class, and there’s no long range fuel tank option.

As noted above, there are some issues with the Cannon’s general driveability, but all in all it’s not atrocious. And if it’s a potential buy for you, you’ll always come back to the value-for-money rationale.

On- and off-road, the new engine has plenty of punch about it, but patchy delivery through the transmission sometimes works against it.

It’s a not a dynamic vehicle. No surprise, it’s a ute after all. But that point has to be made here because some people still drive these vehicles expecting sports car-like ride and handling.

The good news is the XSR’s touchy throttle and too-loose steering of days gone by have been mostly sorted out. But its thrashy transmission, stiff ride and unwieldy 13.7m turning circle remain.

Its bigger engine doesn’t carry over the previous-gen’s underdone feeling when pushed hard and it has a relaxed feel when you’re cruising along on the highway.

Some concerns have been raised over the years about driver-assist tech in Chinese-built vehicles. To the company’s credit, GWM seems to have addressed those issues… at least to some extent.

Suffice it to say, I’ve experienced a few tricky situations as a result of driver-assist tech in GWM vehicles. From annoyingly intrusive traffic sign recognition and jarring adaptive cruise control through to one particularly hair-raising AEB-related incident. (For more, read my yarn)

Overall, the XSR remains okay on sealed surfaces, but it’s not as refined or compliant as it could or should be.

As for off-roading…

On dirt tracks the XSR is jittery over corrugations and tends to thump through deeper potholes. Otherwise it is reasonably composed.

But with twin differential locks, decent underbody protection and Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres, this Cannon handles low-range 4WDing with ease.

The new bigger engine delivers on promised grunt in the dirt, giving the Cannon plenty of punch when the going gets tough.

Ground clearance of 228mm, wading depth of 700mm and off-road angles of 30 degrees (approach) and 26 degrees (departure; rampover is not listed) don’t hurt its 4WDing potential, either.

Off-road traction control and other driver-assist systems including hill descent control are adequate without being as smooth as the equivalent systems in more expensive vehicles.

It has 'Crawl Mode' (allowing for no-pedal, low-speed driving) and 'Turn Assist' (which brakes the XSR’s inside rear wheel to reduce the ute’s turning circle on traction-compromised surfaces).

While 4WDing, swapping between high- and low-range, changing off-road modes or switching diff locks on or off has been at times a clunky process, with the transition taking on a feeling not unlike shunting trains. No big deal, I reckon, but worth mentioning.

Wheel travel is adequate and this ute’s Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres perform well in the dirt and mud.

The Cannon XSR has towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked trailer) and 3000kg (braked).

All in all, off-roading is the one area in which the Cannon eclipses something like the BYD Shark 6 or Kia Tasman and matches, if not bests the Ford Ranger.

A lot of utes these days are aiming to be dual purpose vehicles, with passenger-amenable ride, handling, steering and powertrain combinations that mean you can use them for work and play.

The Great Wall? Well, it’s more work-oriented. That’s a nice way of saying you won’t want to subject your family to this truck, but your workmates? Too bad for them.

The ride is harsh without weight in the back, bucking over bumpy sections of road and jolting after a sharp edge.

The steering is light but requires a lot of turns lock to lock, and the turning circle is large. You need to keep that in mind when you’re parking, plus the vision from the driver’s seat isn’t as good as it could be.

The engine enjoys using every gear but first, but the manual shift action isn’t enjoyable and the torque on offer doesn’t come on smoothly. 

I will say this - with 750 kilograms in the back, the rear suspension didn’t sag very much at all. The Steed offers a big payload, and the chassis can cope with it.

What can’t cope with the weight is the engine - we had 750kg in the tray and four adults on board, and it was worse than sluggish. I struggled to get it moving from a standstill, revving harder than I usually would in a diesel-engined ute. There’s a lot of lag to contend with, and the engine simply doesn’t like low-speed moves at all.

But at higher speed it got into a groove, and the ride was actually really well sorted with mass over the rear axle. Plus the fact it has four-wheel disc brakes - unlike many of its newer, more high-tech rivals - means the braking performance was pretty promising, too.

There isn’t a lot of happy reading here.

The Great Wall Steed scored an abysmal two-star ANCAP crash test safety score when it was tested in 2016, though under the disclaimer that score applies to ‘4x2 petrol dual cab variants only’. That’s nasty, especially considering it has dual front, front side and curtain airbags as standard in dual cab form.

There is tyre pressure monitoring and rear parking sensors as standard, but a camera isn’t fitted as standard. There is no auto emergency braking (AEB) or any other advanced safety tech, either.

But it has ABS anti-lock brakes, electronic brake distribution, stability control, hill descent control and hill hold control. There are three-point seatbelt for all seating positions, and if you dare, there are dual ISOFIX child seat anchor points and three top tether points in both models.

The XSR is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty and five years of free roadside assistance.

The first service is scheduled at the 12 month/10,000km mark, then services are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km.

Capped price servicing is available and for a Cannon with a warranty start date on or after January 1, 2026, the costs are $365, $470, $515, $520, and $685 per service. That’s a total of $2555 (and an average of $511 per workshop visit), which is more expensive than some of the Cannon’s rivals on the market.

Great Wall introduced a five-year/150,000km warranty in April this year, which is good for a challenger brand but doesn't push the boundaries for the ute segment. There is three years of roadside assist cover as well.

There is no capped price servicing plan, but the Steed requires maintenance every 12 months or 15,000km (following an initial six-month checkup).

Concerned about problems, issues, faults, common complaints, transmission or engine reliability? Check out our Great Wall problems page.