If you were to look for a city in China that has extremely high requirements for vehicle power, handling, and assisted driving performance, Chongqing would definitely be a natural testing ground.
The fact that Chongqing was chosen as the test drive site for the all-new Tank 400 shows that Tank Auto has great confidence in this new car. After an in-depth experience of the all-new Tank 400, we found that this confidence is not groundless.
Every time you see the Tank 400, it's hard not to be attracted by its eye-catching appearance. The new Tank 400 has not made too many changes to the previous outstanding exterior design, and still retains the shape created by the two major design principles of multi-dimensional cutting zero curve and starry sky geometry. The overall design is highly recognizable. Officials said that the overall appearance of the new Tank 400 has a total of 74,595 straight lines, 64,598 planes and 21,532 edges and corners, which together create the iconic trendy and cool mecha style.
There are slight adjustments to the details, such as the front grille has been replaced with a double horizontal chrome stripe; the shape of the rear spare tire cover has been slightly adjusted to adopt the same exposed spare tire cover as the Tank 300, giving the overall shape a more capable look. In addition, the body color has been expanded to include the original Phantom Night Black, Wing Silver, and Nebula Gray, and the new Dunhuang Purple color has been added.
Inside, the changes are more noticeable than those on the exterior. The biggest change is the removal of the large gear lever from the center console, replaced with the more popular hand-held gearshift, freeing up space in the center console. A more intuitive benefit is the inclusion of two 50W wireless charging panels for mobile phones. The physical buttons for core functions like the tank U-turn and low-speed four-wheel drive remain, still placed in the center console and embellished with chrome trim, offering excellent usability and quality.
In terms of comfort and technology, the new Tank 400's central control screen has been resized from the previous model's 16.2 inches to 15.6 inches, but its resolution has been increased to 2.5K. It is equipped with the third-generation Coffee OS car-machine system and Coffee GPT large-scale model voice interaction. It is also equipped with headrest speakers and an onboard refrigerator with -6°C to 50°C temperature control. For today's consumers, these are essential features and extremely practical.
Power is one of the important changes in the new Tank 400. Previously, the Tank 400 had a variety of power options - Hi4-T, gasoline, and diesel, and this time the new Tank 400 has added the Hi4-Z power for the first time.
With the addition of the Hi4-Z, the new Tank 400 has a distinct division of labor among its four power options. Gasoline and diesel engines are more suitable for use outside of cities or in areas where charging is not readily available. The Hi4-T is a powertrain based on a traditional gasoline-powered four-wheel drive system. The powertrain consists of a 2.0T engine, a P2 motor, and a 9AT transmission. Its driving characteristics and usage habits are closer to those of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The four-wheel drive system retains a purely mechanical transmission system, making it ideal for users who have off-road needs and need to discharge electricity outdoors for camping.
The all-new Tank 400, equipped with the Hi4-Z, is arguably the top-of-the-line model in the lineup. Structurally, the Hi4-Z utilizes a 2.0T engine with dual motors, generating 635kW of combined power and 1195Nm of torque. Despite a curb weight approaching three tons, it achieves a 0-60 sprint of 4.3 seconds. Even on Chongqing's frequent uphill climbs, this power allows it to handle both static starts and acceleration and overtaking with ease.
At the same time, thanks to the addition of the three-speed DHT gearbox, the new Tank 400 equipped with Hi4-Z has a low-speed gear, which can amplify the torque to cope with hard-core road conditions during low-speed off-roading, and during urban commuting and high-speed cruising, it can rely on medium and high-speed gears with different gear ratios to reduce energy consumption and improve fuel economy.
In addition, since there is an electric motor on each of the front and rear axles, the new Tank 400 can achieve smooth and rapid acceleration in the low-speed range where the 2.0T engine torque is relatively insufficient. The engine can also automatically lock in the optimal thermal efficiency range under steady-state conditions such as high-speed cruising, and convert redundant power into electrical energy through the planetary gearbox power split structure, realizing "charging while driving". At the same time, the 59.05kWh battery pack can also provide the new Tank 400 with a pure electric range of 200km WLTC and a maximum external discharge power of 6kW.
In actual driving, even when the battery is less than 20% depleted, the new Tank 400 can still achieve a brisk acceleration experience on Chongqing's frequently changing slopes. This is very important for a new energy hard-core SUV that has to face off-road conditions. This means that even if the battery is low, the new Tank 400 will not lack power support in off-road scenarios. At the same time, even if the engine often intervenes when the battery is low, the noise suppression inside the car is still good, and the passengers can feel excellent quietness.
In terms of chassis, the new Tank 400 adopts a combination of front double wishbones and rear multi-links. While retaining the clear road feel of the non-load-bearing body, the seat padding and suspension tuning filter out most minor bumps, making the overall comfort good in urban driving conditions. At the same time, the overall style of the suspension tends to be supportive, which is of great benefit to the passability in off-road scenes. Only when going over speed bumps can people feel the bounce brought by the relatively firm suspension.
Similar to its powertrain, the improvement in intelligent driving is another significant change in the all-new Tank 400. The new car is equipped with Coffee Pilot Ultra assisted driving system, Great Wall Motors' third-generation intelligent assisted driving system. It can achieve full-scene connectivity from driving to parking, from highways to urban and rural areas, providing users with an intelligent travel experience without high-precision maps, full-scene coverage, and point-to-point navigation, allowing users to start from the starting parking space and park at the destination parking space.
We also experienced the new Tank 400's parking-to-parking (E2E) function during Chongqing's morning rush hour. With assisted driving activated with one click, the new Tank 400 can autonomously park in and out, turn left or right, maneuver around, and enter and exit parking lots. Thanks to its LiDAR + vision fusion map-free solution, it can accurately identify U-turns on overpasses, illegally parked vehicles on the roadside, and even roving electric scooters. It selects excellent cornering routes and maintains lane centering. When encountering vehicles cutting in, braking is linear and smooth, actively avoiding electric scooters on the roadside and overtaking them within a safe gap. Only when facing frequent traffic cuts did the vehicle-following logic at the start feel a bit conservative, slightly impacting traffic efficiency.
Overall, the new Tank 400 retains its personalized mecha appearance, and effectively improves the driving experience of the new car by improving the interior luxury, power performance and intelligent assisted driving. This series of upgrades can be said to accurately meet the needs of hardcore off-road users. Especially for those who want to cover urban commuting to cater to the entire off-road scene, the new Tank 400 can become an excellent choice that meets the usage scenario needs of different users.
