GWM SUV Range

Yes it is. All engines use a small amount of oil, but recently, car makers have started using low-tension piston rings to reduce internal friction and save fuel. In turn, that means some modern engines consume a bit more oil than some older engine designs. That has led some car owners, more used to seeing very small levels of oil consumption, to become concerned when their new car consumes more oil than their old one. But this is pretty normal and the fuel saving is deemed worth the trade off.

Your level of oil consumption is absolutely normal and is no cause for concern. As with any car, however, it pays to keep an eye on the dipstick between services, as modern, low-friction engines and ever-longer service intervals mean some have ben caught out with an empty sump before the next service is due. Checking the oil every month is a good idea; checking it every week is an even better one. What you’re looking for is a change to the usual oil consumption rate, as well as making sure the oil is between the low and full marks on the dipstick.

It sounds like the fact that Haval’s warranty on this car of seven years/150,000km as a commercial vehicle (as opposed to unlimited kilometres for a privately operated vehicle) was not fully explained to you when you bought the car. Either that or you didn’t advise the dealer of your intentions for use of it.

However, I wouldn’t be too worried about the car falling to bits at the 150,000km mark. Modern cars (even cheaper ones) are pretty robust things these days, and provided they’re serviced properly, I don’t think 250,000km is too much to ask. That said, your car is a hybrid, so the life of the EV battery is probably the biggest question mark, and not something we can speculate on with any accuracy as the Havals using this tech aren’t old enough to have started failing yet.

The best bet is to be fastidious with your servicing and keep a close eye on the car’s habits and performance including its fuel economy. Because you’re driving the car a lot, you should be pretty well tuned in to the normal noises it makes and the way it feels to drive. Any change in this is when you need to start looking deeper.

I’ll presume you mean the indicator stalk which uses a soft touch to indicate a lane change, and a firmer push to keep the indicators on until a turn has been made. There’s also some confusion when trying to cancel the indicators manually, and inadvertently indicating the wrong way. Plenty of people have complained about this, and some owners don’t seem to ever get used to it. That said, drivers of other models rarely find this setup to be a problem.

I checked with GWM who told me that there were no plans to make any changes to the indicator system on the current model Tank 300. The vehicle passes all safety standards for Australia and there’s no problem with the system that would require a safety recall or any other intervention. However, this feedback has reached GWM and – though nobody at GWM has said so – I wouldn’t be surprised if the next incarnation of the Tank 300 has a different indicator stalk system.