GWM UTE vs Foton Tunland

What's the difference?

In a very competitive ute market, the GWM Cannon XSR represents plenty of bang for your buck, but it’s just not as refined as you’d hope. 

It should be better at this price-point, especially when it’ll be unfavourably cross-shopped with lower-spec variants in the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota HiLux line-ups.

It’s a nice enough vehicle on-road, and the XSR is an effective 4WD on the dirt without ever being truly exceptional – but that’s fine for those who want to save big bucks and still drive away in a well-equipped twin-locked off-road vehicle.

You have to give Foton some credit because the 2026 Tunland V9-S 4x4 is a big US-sized ute without the big US-style price-tag.

On the surface this is an impressive vehicle. It’s well-equipped, comfortable, reasonably capable off-road and is generally nice to drive.

But under closer scrutiny, and when driving the Tunland, some substantial flaws soon become obvious, not the least of which is an underdone powertrain and some annoying driver-assist tech.

Still, it is a lot of ute for the money, so the Tunland represents a strong case as a budget buy.