Driven: China’s Tank 300 Hybrid Is a Budget Take on the Wrangler and Bronco
This off-roader is another example of why Chinese automakers are gaining ground abroad.
Miguel CortinaWriterFeb 19, 2026
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco got together and had a baby, the answer would look a lot like the Tank 300. Its front end looks like it was designed in Dearborn, while its boxy profile and rear evoke the unmistakable shape of a Wrangler Unlimited. Styling aside, the Tank 300’s starting to win hearts and minds around the world. To find out what all the hype’s about, we recently spent a few days rolling around in a Tank across Mexico City, where Great Wall Motors has been selling the SUV for nearly two years. And although it didn’t impress us as much as some other Chinese vehicles we’ve driven, it’s easy to see why many buyers have gravitated toward this hybrid-powered, off-road SUV.
What Is the Tank 300?
Great Wall Motors, one of China’s most prominent automakers, launched Tank as a standalone brand in 2021. Focused on off-road-themed vehicles, the brand has quickly gained traction and is now sold in more than 30 markets worldwide. In some of those markets, including Mexico, the Tank 300 competes directly with the Wrangler and Bronco, two of America’s iconic off-road SUVs with decades of heritage behind them. As a newcomer in the space, Tank clearly lacks the history Jeep and Ford rely on, but on the flip side, it also presents an opportunity for the Chinese brand to chart its own path.
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Sold exclusively as a hybrid in Mexico, the Tank 300 already holds an advantage over the Wrangler and Bronco for buyers looking to save money at the pump. It uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 241 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, paired with an electric motor; together, the system delivers a combined 341 hp and 477 lb-ft of torque. Power is routed through a nine-speed automatic transmission, delivering power to all four wheels.
Unlike the Wrangler and Bronco, which utilize a two-speed transfer case, the Tank 300’s four-wheel-drive setup relies on a system with a transfer case offering only a low-range (4-Lo) mode. As a result, it isn’t as capable as its American rivals. That’s not to say the Tank 300 can’t venture off the beaten path, but the Wrangler and Bronco’s two-speed setups give them a clear advantage when tackling slick rock, deep sand, or thick mud.
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While our schedule didn’t allow for any hardcore trail excursions, we did spend plenty of time testing the Tank 300 on pavement. There, its hybrid powertrain felt sluggish and unrefined, with a noticeable delay in responding to throttle inputs. Unlike other hybrids that deliver smooth, eager acceleration, the Tank’s setup often reacted late, and when it finally did, it surged as if wide-open throttle had been requested, causing noticeable head toss in the cabin. Much of the blame appears to lie with the nine-speed automatic, which was slow to downshift and frequently failed to react when we needed it most.
So, the powertrain operation isn’t great, and it won’t win any drag races, either, due in part to its size and weight that help prevent it from feeling particularly peppy. Great Wall Motors claims a 0–62-mph time of 8.1 seconds, which puts it well behind the now-discontinued Wrangler 4xe but slightly ahead of certain four-door Broncos. For context, a 2025 Wrangler 4xe Willys 1941 we tested, which offers similar output at 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, reached 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds. On the slower side, a four-door Bronco we tested back in 2021, with 315 hp and 410 lb-ft on tap, managed the sprint in 8.3 seconds.
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The Tank 300’s on-road ride quality wasn’t particularly impressive, either. Its body-on-frame architecture made the ride feel bouncy, and we noticed vibrations making their way into the cabin while rolling over Mexico City’s poorly paved roads. On the plus side, the steering was nicely weighted for an off-road SUV, and while it lacked the precision of a Porsche, it felt acceptable and predictable.
A Mercedes-like Interior
Yes, the Tank’s mug brings a Bronco to mind, but on the inside, it’s decidedly Mercedes-like. The jet-engine-style air vents, complete with aluminum trim and integrated ambient lighting, are clear callbacks to Mercedes’ cabin design language. Our all-black test vehicle interior featured plastic trim on the dashboard and door panels that both looked and felt premium, though we couldn’t help but wonder whether its upscale interior matched the Tank 300’s rugged, off-road-focused exterior vibe.
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We did appreciate, however, the mix of physical and touch-based controls in the cabin. A dedicated row of buttons below the air vents handle climate control, while the heated and ventilated seat buttons are conveniently placed next to the shifter on the center console. Drive mode and transfer-case controls also sit close to one another, though we did miss having a traditional volume knob. Instead, volume is adjusted via touch-sensitive buttons positioned between the infotainment display and the driver’s screen.
The dual 12.3-inch screens met our expectations overall. Both displays offered decent graphics, and the infotainment screen responded quickly to inputs. That said, while we spent most of our time using Apple CarPlay, we found the native infotainment menus unnecessarily complicated. Simple settings, such as turning blind-spot monitoring alerts on or off, were harder to locate than they should have been.
The material quality inside the cabin was impressive. The leather on the seats and steering wheel felt premium, and the plastics used on the center console and switchgear featured pleasing finishes. Overall, most passengers will be happy with what they see and touch, though the strong resemblance to Mercedes-Benz interiors is hard to ignore. A bit more originality would go a long way in giving the Tank 300’s cabin its own identity.\nDriven: China’s Tank 300 Hybrid Is a Budget Take on the Wrangler and Bronco\nThis off-roader is another example of why Chinese automakers are gaining ground abroad.\n\nMiguel CortinaWriterFeb 19, 2026\n\n\nIf you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco got together and had a baby, the answer would look a lot like the Tank 300. Its front end looks like it was designed in Dearborn, while its boxy profile and rear evoke the unmistakable shape of a Wrangler Unlimited. Styling aside, the Tank 300’s starting to win hearts and minds around the world. To find out what all the hype’s about, we recently spent a few days rolling around in a Tank across Mexico City, where Great Wall Motors has been selling the SUV for nearly two years. And although it didn’t impress us as much as some other Chinese vehicles we’ve driven, it’s easy to see why many buyers have gravitated toward this hybrid-powered, off-road SUV.\n\n\nWhat Is the Tank 300?\nGreat Wall Motors, one of China’s most prominent automakers, launched Tank as a standalone brand in 2021. Focused on off-road-themed vehicles, the brand has quickly gained traction and is now sold in more than 30 markets worldwide. In some of those markets, including Mexico, the Tank 300 competes directly with the Wrangler and Bronco, two of America’s iconic off-road SUVs with decades of heritage behind them. As a newcomer in the space, Tank clearly lacks the history Jeep and Ford rely on, but on the flip side, it also presents an opportunity for the Chinese brand to chart its own path.\n\nADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW\nSold exclusively as a hybrid in Mexico, the Tank 300 already holds an advantage over the Wrangler and Bronco for buyers looking to save money at the pump. It uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 241 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, paired with an electric motor; together, the system delivers a combined 341 hp and 477 lb-ft of torque. Power is routed through a nine-speed automatic transmission, delivering power to all four wheels.\n\nUnlike the Wrangler and Bronco, which utilize a two-speed transfer case, the Tank 300’s four-wheel-drive setup relies on a system with a transfer case offering only a low-range (4-Lo) mode. As a result, it isn’t as capable as its American rivals. That’s not to say the Tank 300 can’t venture off the beaten path, but the Wrangler and Bronco’s two-speed setups give them a clear advantage when tackling slick rock, deep sand, or thick mud.\n\nADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW\n\n\nWhile our schedule didn’t allow for any
