When Great Wall Motors Philippines relaunched a few years ago, it had big plans. This was a company that first entered with the original Chinese wave in the 2000s, but which saw only marginal success thanks to a line-up that felt a bit outdated and derivative.
This new Great Wall Motors is a different animal, with a line-up full of flashy new hybrids and electrics, taking advantage of new tax breaks and a changing market. The sole exception was the Cannon, a more traditional diesel pickup truck. An important exception, mind, as Great Wall is the biggest selling pickup brand in China.
But the two-liter diesel of the launch model just wasn’t enough to play with the big boys in the Philippines. This new Cannon fixes that—with an all-new 2.4-liter motor and an impressive tech package. But will that be enough to sway buyers from the usual suspects?
Styling
The Cannon’s new sculpted front bumper gives the previously flat and anonymously American-ish front end a much more modern, albeit still very “American” look. Black-out trim on the grille, badges, and fenders sit nicely against the body, but I wish they’d use textured plastic instead of a smooth finish. Seems like a scratch magnet. The glossy black 18” alloy wheels are much less delicate, and are a nice touch.
Changes around the rear are mostly limited to minor trim differences and a new tailgate with a larger rear handle and “GWM” stamped into the steel. It’s a handsome package, overall, but still lacks some personality. The “Q” logo isn’t distinct enough to catch the eye when blacked out, and the Ranger-ish styling doesn’t help, either. Great looking truck otherwise.
Interior
The interior is a great place to be. Soft-touch materials cover almost everything within reach, and there’s silver and matte faux carbon trim on everything that isn’t. There is some cost-cutting in the rear doors, which have hard plastic door tops, but everything else is lovely. The dashboard and console are designed with an eye towards practicality, with rubber-lined upper shelves for stray keys, cellphones, wallets and water bottles under the AC vents and deep cupholders amidship. They’re perfect for big 500ml drink bottles, but too tight for bulkier HydroFlasks.
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There’s the expected 50w wireless pad—easy to access—as well as USB-A, USB-C and 12V charging. There’s a small shelf that slides out over the cupholders or back under the center console box cover, perfect for forgetting your cards and keys in. That center box is nice and deep, if a bit short, with internal ventilation to keep drinks cool, though the interior airflow is rather sluggish compared to some of the better ones.
Power-adjustable front seats feature both heating and ventilation and are quite comfortable, though the dark color means they’re pretty warm after parking in the sun. The rear bench sits a nice distance off the floor—not as low as in some competitors. Thanks to the long wheelbase, there’s more than enough room to spread out and cross your legs, as long as you’re not too tall. The seat recline is decent enough for long trips, and there’s a wide center armrest set in there, too, with two different rest positions, for passengers of different heights.
But the Cannon’s neatest interior party trick is its split 60:40 folding rear seats. Remember how I said that the bench sits a nice distance off the floor? It can fold up into the bulkhead, like the ULT seats on the Honda Jazz—the rear backrests sliding up to allow them to sit more flush against the rear bulkhead. Underneath, you find a nearly flat floor, great for handling medium-sized boxes or dry cargo. Even with the seats down, there’s enough space underneath for small to medium-sized bags. It’s a brilliant idea, and it’s strange more trucks don’t do this.
For big and wet cargo, there’s always the rear bed. And the Cannon gets a big one. The 1.52x1.52 meter tub is big, square and deep, and is rated for 1,050 kilograms of load. There’s a bed liner keeping things tidy, as well as a clever built-in step that you can pull out of the top of the tailgate when it’s open. Not as clever as the one on the Changan Hunter—the spring-loaded button and sliding mechanism can be balky—but it does feel like it will stand up to quite a bit of abuse. There’s no 220V rear power ports here, as on electric competitors. Not that we expect any on a diesel, but it would be nice if there was at least a 12V power point!
Engine performance
No disappointments under the hood, though. The shiny new 2.4 liter turbodiesel engine develops 181hp and 480Nm of torque, +20 and +80 over the older 2.0. Mated to an all-new internally developed nine-speed automatic, it goes from 0-100kph in a respectable 10 seconds. No wheelspin or drama, thanks to the Borg Warner full-time four wheel drive system.
The ridiculously short first gear gets you off the line rather quickly, and the truck shuffles through quite a few gears on its way to 100kph. Once at cruising speed, it settles into ninth gear pretty easily. Fuel economy on the highway is around 18-19 km/L at a push, though most people will get something like 16 km/L, as the truck doesn’t shift up into ninth gear until well over 80kph. Best cruising economy is achieved at somewhat lower speeds.
Around town, you get what you expect from a big 4x4 diesel—about 6-8 km/L. Not bad, but it makes you wish Great Wall had brought in their plug-in hybrid to compete with the big boys!
Ride and handling
This being a diesel, however, makes it about 500kg lighter than electrified competitors from BYD or Changan. Which you can really feel while driving. The ride is reasonably settled, body motions are well controlled, and the steering is predictable if not particularly sharp. The handling is nose-led and honest—the 265/60R18 Giti XRoss HT71 providing surefooted grip with little complaint. Better than expected from Chinese HT tires. Giti has come a long way over the past few years!
You can opt to control the nine-speed transmission via paddle shifters behind the wheel. Given how short first gear is, it’s tempting to lug away from stops in second gear, but the engine doesn’t quite have the instant shove of the Toyota 2.8 or the Isuzu/Mazda 3.0. Other than from a dead stop, there’s little need to use the paddles, as the transmission is mostly smooth and unobtrusive. The easy-to-reach multi-mode dial gives you a choice of Eco, Normal and Sport, which alters transmission logic and power delivery to taste. You can adjust steering effort separately, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference whether it’s set to comfort or sport. It’s pleasingly medium light in any mode.
There’s also a four-low and a rear differential lock switch, but those are for off-road use only. From our experience with the 2.0, the platform has good clearances and articulation, and the Borg Warner automatic lockers make tight turns easy off-road. The only real concern is grounding out due to the long wheelbase, but that’s not fundamentally any different from most big modern pickup trucks.
On-road, the Cannon is easy to drive, loping along quietly on the highway with little wind or road noise. The lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control—controlled by a wand behind the steering wheel—keep things tidy. Unfortunately, with the assists active, you can’t access the trip computer and tire pressure monitoring except by holding down the home button on the wheel. And even that doesn’t always work, as the system often decides that warning you about lane markers is more important than letting you know if a tire is low. The blind spot assist is a bit more convenient, with orange lights built into the A-pillars rather than the mirrors, making them much easier to see than mirror-mounted lights.
The Cannon’s large size and tall nose make it a bit of a chore to drive in the city. U-turns, in particular, take some getting used to, as it’s hard to see the inside line from so high up. Thankfully, the 360 degree cameras have comprehensive curb-watching, object detection and 3D modes to ease the pains of parallel parking.
Extra features
Aside from the parking assists and Level 2 driving automation, the Cannon features electric seat controls, seat heating and ventilation, and rear A/C. There’s push-button start and keyless entry with touch-sensitive door handles, and even courtesy lighting that comes on when you approach.
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The 12.3” infotainment screen is attached to a healthy set of speakers, with good clarity and even a good bit of bass. It features Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as more mundane Bluetooth and USB media options, including video. There are safeguards that keep you from watching USB video while moving, but unfortunately, these safeguards can be turned completely off. Not good if your reckless anak is borrowing the car for a long barkada road trip.
While the system isn’t quite as high-spec as you might find in a BYD, GWM’s menus and layout are well thought out and pleasing to look at. Very little of what you need is stuck in sub-menus, aside from the thermostat and seat ventilation controls, but physical shortcut buttons take you straight there.
Among the usual function buttons are three ‘12V’ switches which act as cut-offs for 12V power circuits which you can wire accessories like winches, light bars or exterior power points into. A nice touch, and shows that this truly was a truck designed for a trucking lifestyle.
Verdict
Overall, the Cannon feels like a thoughtfully designed and engineered truck. Designed to take the ASEAN market class leaders head-on, with a surprisingly deep set of features for the price.
This upper-tier S-Lux trim stickers at P1.698 million, which is great value for money. An SLux Plus trim adds a roller cover and some cosmetic trim for P1.888 million, and there’s a regular Lux trim at P1.578 million, without the power seats, leather, extra airbags or ADAS systems. If you want to go even more basic, you can still get the old 2.0 diesel in the Cannon Pilot, which stickers at P1.338 million.
For those hoping for more rather than less, no, we aren’t getting the 400hp Alpha hybrid—at least not yet. With its more traditional powertrain layout, with blended diesel+electric power to all four wheels, it should be more popular with 4x4 enthusiasts than its range-extended EV competitors.
But for now, the diesel SLux is Great Wall’s premiere truck offering, and we doubt any truckers will come away disappointed. It may not have the headline-grabbing performance of the electric ubertrucks, but outstanding features and aggressive pricing make it a big headache for everyone else.
Specs: 2026 GWM Cannon SLux 4x4 AT
Price: P1,698,000
Powertrain: 2.4-liter turbodiesel I4
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Power: 181hp
Torque: 480Nm
Layout: 4WD
Seating: 5
Score: 8.5/10
More photos of the 2026 GWM Cannon SLux 4x4 AT:
