GWM Tank 500 vs Renault Clio

What's the difference?

The arrival of the GWM Tank 500 Ultra PHEV is noteworthy because it’s the first plug-in hybrid Tank model in Australia.

It’s also a major event for the Aussie adventure-travel community because it’s a plug-in hybrid 4WD with five seats, high- and low-range gearing, and a front, centre and rear diff lock.

The Tank 500 PHEV gets more power and torque than its hybrid stablemate, offers about 120km electric-only driving range (listed), and it can be used as a 6kW mobile power station (V2L) at your campsite. Towing remains at 3000kg.

There’s a lot in this Tank’s favour: it’s a body-on-ladder-frame chassis large 4WD with a packed standard features list and real off-road adventure potential.

All of that – and more – for under $80 grand.

But does the plug-in set-up add anything substantial in terms of daily driveability or does it simply make this Tank an $80,000 camp-site generator?

Read on.

I'm going to reveal something of myself here - I used to be a RenaultSport Clio owner. This is what the purists call what we now know as Clio RS, and I find myself constantly corrected yet unrepentant. It was a 172 - a nuggety three-door with wheels that looked too small, a weird seating position and a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine that was big on torque as long as you belted it.

It was a classic and you could still see the links back to the epoch-making Renault Clio Williams, that blue and gold Mk 1 Clio we never saw in Australia that redefined the genre. The current Clio has been around for four years now and I even drove this current RS Clio at its launch in 2013, memorable for the sudden bucketing rain that drenched the circuit and made things very interesting indeed.

This Clio was a big change from the cars that went before - slimmer-hipped, less aggressive-looking and with a 1.6-litre turbo engine, five-door-only body and (gasp!) no manual, just Renault's twin-clutch EDC transmission. It was a hit, at least with enthusiasts. Back then it was the dawn of a golden age in small hot hatches. But that was then, this is now. With a small power bump and a couple of features thrown in, is the ageing RS still at the pointy end?