Tank – Chinese SUVs ranging in size from Niva to Land Cruiser
Almost every car group in China has several sub-brands in different directions. One of the startups of the well-known Great Wall company is called Tank. Under its own brand, Great Wall makes pickup trucks, the Wey and Haval brands are mainly represented by crossovers and Tank will deal with frame SUVs.
The designation system is unpretentious and most likely will remain the same in all markets (tanks have already been exported to Saudi Arabia). In the line of models 300, 400, 500, 700 and 800. The larger the index, the larger and more expensive the car.
Only two are in production so far.
Tank 300 originally released as a sub-brand of Wey, but quickly morphed into a new brand. Full face and in profile, the car resembles the Haval Dargo stylistically. But they are not competitors. “Three hundred” frame and larger, in size (length 4760 mm) is almost equal to our UAZ Patriot. She has a 2.0 turbo engine with 227 powers and an 8-speed automatic transmission. The dashboard with a few displays under a single glass and turbine deflectors resembles a Mercedes. Why not replace the German GLC or GLE, which we can’t actually buy now?
In China, the Tank costs 300, in terms of our money, from 1.8-2.8 million rubles. In the spring of 2021, the car was shown to Russian dealers together with Dargo.
Tank 400 as long as it exists as a concept. A frame structure, an intentionally brutal design with broken lines and unusual devices in separate “pits” – that’s really all that is known. More precisely, it can be seen from the photos.
In terms of size, the car looks close to the next 500 model in the hierarchy and will therefore most likely share units with it.
tank 500 waved lengthwise to Prado, Japan. A 3.0 V6 engine with an output of 354 hp is mounted along the frame. Classic automatic, four-wheel drive with locks on both cross-axle differentials and 11 transmission modes: a serious guy!
Taking into account that the well-known Haval H9 is smaller, weaker, simpler and costs from 4.6 million rubles, the cost of the “five-hundredth” in Russia will be about 5.5-6 million rubles.
tank 700 – almost a copy of the 400 model, only a class above. And also an understanding. At the show, it sported 22-inch wheels and separate second-row seats—options that don’t sit well with an intentional off-road design.
Tank 800, as in the case of a few 400/700 models, is an enlarged analogue of the 500th SUV. The car was once shown as a prototype and since then the progress of the project has not been heard of.
The first example was generously trimmed in the cabin with suede and fitted with massagers in four seats.
A 3.0 V6 turbo engine is expected under the hood.
Tank is not of purely academic interest to us. According to reports, the process of Russian certification of the Tank 500 model has already started. Note: the Chinese did not choose the most affordable “three hundred” to start with, but a more expensive SUV, on which revenues are higher.
Hengchi 5 – an attraction of unheard of generosity
“Link” brand Hengchi to well-known brands in Russia will not work. This is a project of the Chinese development company Evergrande Group, one of the largest in the country.
Two or three years ago she decided to start a car division and soon she was firing as many as nine concepts of different classes. All are electric. Everything looked promising and combined with the great potential of the developer it is quite achievable. It wasn’t until 2021 that he had major problems and his image in China deteriorated enormously. However, Hengchi managed to survive and even brought his first model with a concise index 5 to the series.
However, the exit was accompanied by several postponements and “canards” in the media, which gave the machine no confidence. But for the “five” they still opened the acceptance of orders and announced an attractive starting price: from 179,000 yuan, which corresponds to 1.6 million rubles in translation. You’ll be amazed at what’s on offer to Chinese buyers at a price that can’t be bought in Russia for a single new crossover, let alone an electric car.
The SUV is quite large: 4725 × 1925 × 1676 mm with a base of 2780 mm. These are the dimensions of the C-class crossover, and ‘overgrown’. The front-mounted electric motor produces 204 hp. with., front-wheel drive only. On a 73 kilowatt battery, they promise a power reserve of up to 602 km. This is according to China’s CLTC cycle, which is close to the obsolete NEDC. But even if in reality it turns out to be about a quarter less, it is still good autonomy. The dashboard shows off solid glass across the entire width. Behind it are no less than three LCD screens hidden.
Hengchi 5 buyers get a lifetime warranty, free lifetime maintenance twice a year, a free charging station with installation, 10 GB internet for a regular media system for five years. If the car does not suit you, you can return it within 15 days of purchase and you will receive a full refund.
Sounds more than appealing.
- We have collected reviews from the owners of the Chinese crossover here.
- “Behind the wheel” can also be read in Telegram.
These machines will appear with us – and probably very soon.
Source: Z R
