John Kendall gets behind the wheel of the latest pickup – from a new entrant – to hit the UK market.

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What is it? Pickup truck   How much? From £31,495 CVOTR   Gross payload? 1,000kg   Economy? 32.7mpg (WLTP combined)  Drive? 184hp 2.4-litre turbo diesel with nine-speed automatic transmission

A few years ago, the pickup truck market was in a much-reduced state in the UK following the departure of Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi and Nissan. It’s quite a different story today with Ford, Ineos, Isuzu, KGM, Maxus, Toyota and Volkswagen all selling pickups – and they are now joined by a further manufacturer from China.

GWM, formerly known as Great Wall Motor, sold over 1.2 million vehicles globally last year, mostly from its Haval SUV brand, with Great Wall taking 177,000 sales in 2024. Currently the company sells vehicles under the ORA (EV), Haval (SUV), Wey, Tank (luxury off-road) and POER (pickup, also branded Cannon in some markets – and pronounced ‘power’) brands and its final one will be the badge on the GWM pickup trucks here, sold alongside ORA and Haval.

The POER300 is a fairly conventional double-cab pickup, featuring GWM’s own 2,370cc four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with variable geometry turbocharger, offering 184hp at 3,600rpm and 480Nm of torque between 1,500 and 2,500rpm. GWM will only offer one transmission option, its own nine-speed torque converter automatic. The POER300 is a conventional body-on-chassis design and there will only be a double-cab version. GWM claims a rigid structure using steel and aluminium.

POER300 will come with normal, sport and eco drive modes. The two- and four-wheel-drive options include 2H, the default on-road mode. The vehicle’s torque-on-demand (TOD) system will automatically engage 4H if it senses loss of traction. For off-road work, 4L needs to be selected manually and there’s a locking rear differential for when the going gets particularly tough. The transmission also includes an anti-wind-up release mechanism, triggered automatically to counter transmission wind-up in 4L on surfaces with more grip. The truck will tow a braked 3,500kg trailer.

POER300 will come with three specifications: Lux, Ultra and Vanta. Entry-level Lux includes LED headlamps, automatic folding door mirrors, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 12.3-inch infotainment system, 7-inch driver display, wireless phone charging pad, rear parking assist and park assist.

Ultra gains items such as a heated steering wheel and front seats, which are also ventilated, along with leather trim, electrically adjustable front seats, privacy glass, tailgate step, front parking sensors and a 360° surround view camera.

Vanta effectively adds black external trim to Ultra spec.

All this with prices starting lower than any other pickup truck available in the UK.

There are several neat touches – for instance, the vehicle is pre-wired for auxiliary electrical equipment such as beacons, with switches in place on the centre console. Ford offers something similar on its vans so it’s not new, but a useful feature. Similarly, the tailgate can be fitted with a fold-down ladder to give simple access to the load bed, a neat touch.

We drove the POER300 towing a trailer with a car mounted, then solo off-road and on. It feels like a solid piece of kit. It was quite comfortable towing the car/trailer combination, tackled the off-road course without trouble, while demonstrating the wind-up release system and having no difficulty with steep slopes up or down. On road, the automatic transmission makes for relaxed driving. What will probably hold the POER300 back is that it is an unknown with no track record here, so despite the attractive pricing, potential customers might be inclined to stick with what they know. Some of those concerns might be removed through leasing though and that might be the key to opening up the market for this pickup.

Verdict

A solid and conventional entrant into the pickup truck market, the POER300 is attractively priced and well-specced. Neat touches such as the auxiliary pre-wiring and tailgate access ladder add to its attractions.

In Brief

Key fleet model GWM POER300 Ultra

Thumbs up: Well specified, keenly priced with some neat touches.

Thumbs down: An unknown to UK customers.

Seven-word summary: Well specified and attractively priced new pickup