If you take a look at our roads, one can say that Chinese automakers have penetrated the crossover segment. Heck, we’re also starting to see more sedans made in China, too. But if there is one segment the Chinese have yet to crack in the Philippines, as well as Asia and Oceania, it’s the pickup market.
One of the manufacturers taking a crack at the fiercely competitive truck segment is Great Wall Motor or GWM. It plans to take away some sales from the likes of the Hilux, Ranger, and Navara with the Cannon. GWM was formally launched in the Philippines back in April with a wide range of Cannon variants along with it. But over in other parts of the world, there are even more versions of GWMs pickup.
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One of the variants available for the Cannon is the XSR, an off-road oriented version of the truck. Already out in China, it’s set to be released in Australia with reservation books open. We checked out the specs, and we could say that it has one feature that off-roaders will love.
But before we get to that, what makes the Cannon XSR unique from the other variants? For starters, the XSR gets more ground clearance (+34mm), bumping it up to 224mm (laden/loaded). It also has a unique suspension arrangement that gives the truck a wider wheel track at the front and rear. The Cannon XSR rides on 18-inch alloy wheels and traction on the rough stuff is provided by a set of chunky all-terrain tires measuring 265/65 R18.
That’s not all. The XSR benefits from an underbody skid plate for added protection when taking on rocky trails. River crossing abilities are improved thanks to a snorkel, so that that should help boost its water wading capacity from the standard model’s 500mm factory rating. Also added to the XSR are steel bumpers to the front and rear of the pickup, along with a steel sports bar on the bed, a unique grille, and heaps of black cladding.
But one feature the Cannon XSR has that most of its competitors do not is a front locking differential. Yes, you read that right, this version of the Cannon has front AND rear lockers whereas pickups such as the Hilux, Navara, and Ranger only have rear diff lockers. As it is, rear diff locks give heaps of traction in tricky off-road situations and help the vehicle plow forward by providing power to both rear wheels at all times. Adding a locker to the front axle multiplies that traction even more, on top of the vehicle’s four-wheel drive system.
Powering the GWM Cannon XSR is the same engine that’s used in the rest of the lineup. The XSR has a 2.0-liter turbodiesel that’s good for 161hp and 400Nm of torque. It then shifts with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
