GWM Tank 300 VS Lexus NX

I covered about 400km in total, on sealed surfaces in between off-road testing and overall the Tank 300 was rather impressive.

It’s quiet and refined on-road but has few alarming characteristics, which I’ll get to soon.

The petrol engine is lively and punches this 2106kg wagon along at a nice clip.

Steering has a sporty weight to it and is precise enough for easy driving in the city, suburbs and on the highway.

Ride and handling is nicely composed – mostly. It feels a bit floaty at times, some body-roll creeps in during livelier turns and there is a spongy feel to the coil-spring suspension.

But, other than that, this 4WD consistently feels stable and planted.

NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels are kept to a minimum, though there’s some wind rush around the chunky wing mirrors.

Visibility is reasonable but a bit pinched in places. The big bonnet can impact the driver’s forward vision, and that’s why, when you’re 4WDing, the Tank 300’s transparent chassis function comes in handy.

As for those 'alarming characteristics' I mentioned earlier…

Under heavy braking the Tank 300 pitches forward severely, with seemingly all momentum forcing the vehicle into a disconcerting nose-dive. Not good.

Driver-assist tech is generally seamless, but lane keep assist is too harsh and too pre-emptive in its application – wrenching you into line whenever it ‘thinks' you have drifted too far off-centre.

Auto stop-start engages abruptly and there is a disconcerting amount of lag before the vehicle starts again from standstill.

Not good at all when you need quick off-the-mark pace to safely merge with traffic from a stop light or after a lengthy pause at a roundabout.

The Tank 300 did however prove to be an effective off-roader. It handled the gravel track to our 4WD test site with ease.

This route is peppered with light corrugations, as well as, deeper into the bush, severe ruts and potholes, so it’s not an easy drive for any standard 4WD.

But this GWM wagon in 4WD high-range, did well, and was only ever rattled (a bit) when we hit a section of much deeper wheel ruts and potholes where modified 4WDs had damaged the track. 

My patented ‘Watch out for that 'roo!' emergency-braking test again revealed the Tank 300’s tendency to pitch forward dramatically under heavy braking and it took some work to keep the vehicle on track. 

The Tank 300 is well suited to low-range 4WDing. It may not have a ton of torque on tap (380Nm), but that pulling power is available across a decent rev range and this 4WD makes efficient use of what it does have.

Its off-road driving modes, including 'Mud/Sand', 'Rock', 'Mountain' and 'Pothole', seem calibrated appropriately for the demands of different terrain, although I wouldn’t rely on them, too much.

In the middle of an Aussie summer I didn’t get to test the ‘Snow’ setting, but when you engage some of the modes it will lock diffs where appropriate.

Low-range gearing is sound, without being Jeep Wrangler Rubicon great, and with its front and rear diffs locked, the Tank 300 tackled every 4WD challenge with ease.

Visibility is restricted in places due to the cabin build style, but that’s not such an issue when you’re 4WDing at very low speeds – you can always stop and get out of the vehicle to check the track ahead.

However, the Tank 300’s 'Transparent Chassis' function goes some of the way to improving driver visibility.

This system is similar to the 'Transparent Bonnet' view in the Land Rover Defender in that its aim is to extend the range of the around-view camera to include a view under the Tank 300 (represented on-screen as a ‘ghost vehicle’ outline when Transparent Chassis is selected).

Wheel travel is decent enough – the Tank 300 has a live rear axle – but the standard Michelin Primacy SUV tyres (265/60 R18) are not well suited to 4WDing. Fit a decent set of aggressive all-terrains to make this 4WD wagon even better off-road.

The Tank 300 loses a few off-road efficacy points, though, because…

It feels low. Ground clearance is listed as 224mm, and it has official approach and departure angles of 33 and 34 degrees, respectively (no ramp-over angle is listed), but it feels vulnerable to scraping its undercarriage on the earth.

Its pronounced side steps also seem to nudge the ground when you’re traversing rough terrain. Not among the Tank 300’s best features.

Listed payload is 446kg, which will quickly be used up once you add aftermarket equipment, passengers, camping gear and your dogs to the mix.

Unbraked towing capacity is listed as 750kg, while braked capacity is 2500kg. 

The NX 250 truly is a tale of two cars.

Around town, it is utterly capable and benign. The 2.5-litre atmo four-pot petrol unit is a revvy, raucous sort of engine, pulling away strongly off the line, responding quickly to pressing down on the throttle, shuffling up through seven of the lower gears smoothly (top is a highway overdrive), and generally being an easy vehicle to drive.

About the only concern is how noisy the engine can become if you’re needing to accelerate hard, with a definite mechanical zing that gives the Lexus a bit of a hoon attitude. We’re also a little hesitant about using the Sport mode in built-up areas, as ratios are held on to whether up or down shifting, amplifying the loud nature of this powertrain.

Other aspects of the NX 250’s driveability around town rate highly: light yet linear steering, with a tight turning circle providing easy manoeuvrability and parking; firm yet still absorbent suspension, offering an appropriately isolating ride over most bad road surfaces; and an overall sense of sound engineering. It seems quieter than an equivalent RAV4, more importantly.

Which led us to initially conclude that, in an urban environment, you’d naturally pay the extra $3K for the NX 250 Hybrid, to eliminate that noisy engine when pushing down hard on the throttle. Easy.

However, then we ventured out on a long rural drive, a few couple of hundred kilometres from the big city. On country roads, the NX 250 really sparks up in a most compelling way.

Yes, the engine is still a bit rowdy, but as the revs rise and the needle edges near the 6800rpm red line, the Lexus just keeps on building up speed rapidly, providing an unexpectedly sporty edge. Above 5000rpm this thing still has plenty of oomph, relying on a deep well of power to really extend its legs.

It also makes sense to slot the auto lever into manual, and use the finely positioned paddle shifters. That’s when you’re most aware of the gearbox being a torque-converter auto, with defined and assertive selections. It’s a good way to feel involved in the experience too.

Actually, as a mechanical ensemble, it all comes together at speed; that light and easy steering remains relaxed yet reactive, weighing up nicely if you choose Sport. The handling maintains a fluid, connected feel, with ample levels of grip from the Bridgestone tyres.

It occurred to us that driving the NX 250 Hybrid out on rural backroads would deny the enthusiast of the base model’s lightness and agility, since the latter weighs hundreds of kilos less; the brakes are perfectly modulated instead of feeling vaguely mushy and/or trigger happy as with many electrified SUVs; and – even with the road noise being well-supressed – you’re far less aware that the atmo petrol engine is singing loudly at speed.

Plus, the ride out in the sticks, even on our craggy old test strip that would jar the bones of some other midsized SUVs, remains calm and comfortably firm. That’s real progress for the NX.

We’d appreciate a bit more nuance in the way the stability control kicks in (quite late) to catch the tail; while the driver-assist tech like the adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist do their jobs admirably, the latter’s constant chiming can be annoying; and there's a fair amount of road-noise intrusion over coarse bitumen. Like most midsized luxury SUVs, actually. Still quieter than a RAV4, though.

No jarring faults then. Lexus has done its homework and fixed most of the things that annoyed or infuriated us about the previous generation version. Good work.