Test drive Tank 700: new Chinese SUV

The large Tank 700 SUV was presented back in November at an exhibition in Guangzhou, but mass production has only just begun; before that, the car was assembled in small batches. By the way, the president of the entire Great Wall Motor concern, Mu Feng, was driven in one of the “700s” at the Beijing Motor Show, which clearly indicates the status of the model.

Moreover, this Tank 700 is from a limited edition of 70 cars, which is distinguished by an additional “chandelier” on the roof, a rear spoiler, a “blanket” on the hood, a front bumper splitter and 22-inch wheels of a special design.

The Tank 700 SUV has become the flagship of the Tank brand, the model range of which is rapidly expanding. It is larger than the Tank 500 – length is 5113 mm, width is 2061 mm, and the wheelbase is exactly 3000 mm. That is, it is noticeably larger in size than the well-known Land Cruisers 200 and 300 in Russia.

Although the Tank 700 does not look bulky at all – wide wheel arches and a decent height mask its dimensions. And, of course, it’s clear from which car the designers drew inspiration – special body kits are already being produced for Tank 300 SUVs to make the famous “Gelik” out of it, and in the case of the “Seven Hundred”, even fewer parts will be needed.

The interior of the Chinese SUV will easily challenge Mercedes! The seats are trimmed with soft leather, the ceiling and body pillars are in soft suede, there are two large screens on the front panel, while on the center console there are two rows of “physical” buttons for controlling the microclimate and the most important functions of the car.

There is a lot of space in the back, there is a separate climate control “zone” with an individual control unit, ventilation, heating and massage, plus charging for gadgets. But the sofa itself is a bit high. At the same time, the interior is strictly five-seater – the Tank 700 does not have a version with three rows.

However, the 700-ke flagships will not last long – at the end of the year they should present a production version of the even larger and status-conscious Tank 800. During our visit to the test site, we saw its camouflaged prototype – will the design really differ from the concept car presented in 2021?

Unlike the Tank 300 and Tank 500, the flagship models received a new platform. The frame, of course, has not gone away, but instead of a solid rear axle, the 700 and 800 have a multi-link suspension. The springs have been replaced with air springs – and, judging by the first driving impressions, this has saved the Chinese SUV from unnecessary transmission of vibrations from small irregularities to the body.

Under the body lies a hybrid power plant, which consists of a gasoline V6 with a capacity of 360 horsepower, a nine-speed automatic transmission and an electric part with a battery produced by Great Wall Motor’s subsidiary, SVOLT. Total output – 517 hp. and 750 N∙m of torque, and on electric power the giant can travel up to 90 km.

So this monster takes off quickly (acceleration to hundreds is 5.6 seconds) and slows down surprisingly well! But intensive maneuvers on slalom are not easy for him – the giant barely fits into the markings and heels heavily. It’s not surprising, since the car weighs 3.2 tons, and the total weight falls out to 3.5 tons, which is why the Tank 700 does not fall into our category B driver’s license (this issue will be resolved before the start of deliveries to Russia).

It is possible that the Tank 700 would have behaved better on the asphalt in other operating modes of the air suspension, but it was not possible to understand the Chinese characters on the go. And we didn’t have time to study the menu – only one Tank 700 was given out for the entire crowd of several hundred people.

Cross-country ability is in order here – the ground clearance can be increased to 282 mm by raising the car to the highest possible position, there are “iron” differential locks, a low-range range and a bunch of different operating modes of this entire equipment and electronic systems – the arsenal is the same as that of the Tank 500. All-wheel drive The transmission has an electromagnetic clutch that connects the front wheels, so you can drive on hard surfaces in automatic mode.

But this particular Tank 700 alarmed me. Firstly, it has frightening delays in the action of the gas pedal – it has long been released, and the huge SUV still continues to accelerate on the “snake”. And on a specially constructed obstacle, the Tank 700 skids with unloaded wheels for too long before moving further when hanging diagonally. Nothing like this was noticed with the Tank 500, so we’ll attribute this to the pre-production version and “raw” electronics settings.

Even in China, the Tank 700 costs about 500 thousand yuan (6.5 million rubles), so in our country it will obviously be more expensive. Moreover, the flagship Premium equipment of the Tank 500 SUV is valued by dealers at 7,099,000 rubles.

And it is obvious that a car with air suspension, a powerful hybrid powertrain and luxurious trim will ask for more money. Official deliveries to Russia should begin before the end of 2024. And in the third quarter we will conduct a full test drive of the new product.