GWM Ute Cannon Everest 2022: Navara Warrior, Raptor rival under consideration for Australia

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At this week’s 2021 Chengdu motor show, Great Wall Motors (GWM) had plenty of new off-road focused products on display including the GWM Tank 600 and the Ute Cannon Everest Edition. 

The Everest Edition is perhaps the most intriguing for Australians given the segment’s popularity. The new variant of the GWM Ute promises to be a dual cab tough enough for a weekend away without compromising on-road performance – think of it as Great Wall’s answer to the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior. 

While the Everest Edition is not confirmed for Australia, GWM Australia & New Zealand marketing and communications chief Steve MacIver did confirm the local arm’s interest in the new product.

“We’re in discussion with head office but have no answer for you yet on whether it will come to Australia,” said Mr MacIver.

What is the GWM Ute Cannon Everest Edition?

According to Chinese automotive news site, Pikache, GWM has outfitted the Everest Edition with the basics needed like locking centre and rear differentials and a switchable 2H, 4H and 4L transfer case in place of the standard car’s Borgwarner full-time 4WD system.

Finishing off the functional modification list is a winch rated to pull 4300kg, a reinforced ladder frame chassis and a snorkel which increases wading depth from 500mm to 700mm.  

Maker GWM has not claimed any changes in clearance, though we expect the Everest Edition to improve on the regular Cannon’s 232mm ground clearance, 27 degree approach angle, 21 degree breakover angle and 25 degree departure angle figures.

The assistance systems have been fettled with GWM adding an ‘off-road expert’ mode which disables stability and traction control when off the beaten path. There’s also a ‘creep’ mode, though GWM has not made clear what that does. 

The most obvious difference is outside where the Everest Edition looks a whole lot more sinister than the rest of the chintzy, chrome heavy Cannon range. The Everest Edition sports matte black fender flares, sports bar, side steps, unique alloy wheels and grille surround.

However, inside the Everest Edition should offer luxury on par with the current range-topping GWM Ute Cannon-X with touches like a leather-appointed wheel, power seats, 7.0-inch digital driver’s display and a 9.0-inch touchscreen with a 360-degree monitor. 

Tribute to GWM Ute’s Mt Everest expedition

The vehicle we know as the GWM Ute Cannon is sold across the globe under different names – in South Africa it’s the P-Series, and the Poer in China. There are minor spec differences, but each vehicle is essentially the same, so it’s no fantasy that Australia’s GWM Ute Cannon could get this treatment.

GWM chose the name Everest to pay tribute to the team that used a variant of GWM Ute Cannon as a support vehicle to conduct an elevation measurement of Mount Everest last year.

Are the underpinnings any different? 

The new variant sits on GWM’s ‘P71’ platform and shares the same dimensions as the rest of the Ute Cannon range, measuring 5410mm long and 1886mm wide. GWM has yet to confirm whether there are any changes to ride height for the Everest variant.

Hence, we expect the GWM Ute Cannon Everest to retain the same 2.0-litre diesel ‘four with outputs of 120kW/400Nm. It’s also likely the Everest will be offered exclusively with the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

How much would the GWM Ute Everest Edition cost in Australia?

With the GWM Ute Cannon-X listing at an affordable driveaway price of $41,990, the Chinese competitor drastically undercuts similarly equipped competition. Expect it to be a similar story if the Everest Edition makes it down under.

Given the price difference between a Nissan Navara Pro-4X ($60,630 before on-road costs) and Warrior ($69,990 before on-roads) we speculate the Everest Edition could command a $10,000 premium over the GWM Ute Cannon-X.

That puts the theoretical driveway figure around $51,990, much more attainable than the Toyota HiLux Rugged X ($69,990 before on-roads) and the segment’s progenitor, the Ford Ranger Raptor ($77,690 before on-roads).

If the GWM Ute Cannon Everest Edition does make its way to Australia, we anticipate a launch date as soon as the middle of 2022.