Denza B8 vs GWM Tank 500

The premium is real either way you cut it. On August 2026 driveaway pricing the gap is $19,596 against the Tank's plug-in and $23,596 against the Vanta hybrid. The B8 spends it on capability the Tank cannot offer at any price: 425kW, a third row that survives the battery, a 3,500kg tow rating and a 7,174kg gross combination mass. The Tank counters with cover, not hardware: seven uncapped years of warranty and roadside against six years and 150,000km, plus cheaper servicing. If you will use the B8's extras, the premium is defensible. If not, the Tank banks you a serious deposit.

The B8, because its plug costs you nothing else. Both of its grades claim 100km of WLTC electric-only range from a 36.8kWh battery, charge at 11kW AC or 120kW DC, and still seat six or seven while towing 3,500kg. The Tank 500 fields the Ultra Hi4-T at $79,990 driveaway as of August 2026, good for 300kW and 750Nm with a 2.1L/100km claim on GWM's own combined cycle, yet its battery sits where the third row would, so it seats five and tows 3,000kg. Treat all these economy figures as lab-cycle claims on different test cycles, not a like-for-like ranking. The structural difference is what matters: only the B8 keeps the family layout with the plug.

The B8, and by the full 500kg. It is rated to 3,500kg braked, the ceiling for the class, where every Tank 500 stops at 3,000kg, and its gross combination mass of 7,174kg beats the Tank's 6,705kg. The fine print favours the lighter car, though. The Tank's 790kg payload is 88kg more than the B8's 702kg, and the B8's own 3,290kg kerb weight means a full 3,500kg trailer leaves only a few hundred kilograms of margin for people and gear. So the B8 pulls the bigger van, but load it with more care. Both carry 750kg unbraked ratings.

This is the page's cleanest divide. The B8 7S seats seven and the 6S seats six on captain's chairs with leg rests, and both keep the full plug-in drivetrain. The Tank 500 splits its answer: the Vanta hybrid seats seven, while the Ultra plug-in surrenders its third row to the 37.11kWh battery and seats five. So a seven-seat plug-in hybrid exists on only one side of this comparison. The B8's own catch is cargo, not chairs: with all rows raised it holds just 147 litres, so a full complement of passengers travels light.

Both wear five stars. The B8's 2025 rating reads 86 per cent adult occupant, 95 per cent child occupant and 78 per cent safety assist against the Tank's 2024 scores of 85, 93 and 74, while the Tank takes vulnerable road user protection, 81 to 75. One footnote the B8 buyer should know: ANCAP based its rating on crash tests of the smaller Denza B5, accepted evidence the results carry across, and ran extra front-end testing on the B8 itself. On fitted kit, Denza's spec sheet lists 13 airbags to the Tank's seven. Both carry the full assist suite, and both brands' driver aids draw calibration complaints from Australian testers, so drive before you decide.

Different philosophies. The Tank 500 keeps it mechanical: a dual-range transfer case, locks on all three diffs, crawl control, 800mm of wading and a fixed 220mm of clearance. The B8 runs adjustable air suspension that lifts it to a maximum 310mm of clearance and 890mm of wading when raised, carries a locking rear differential (the 6S adds a front locker), and substitutes an electronically controlled low-range gearset for a true transfer case. Its raised-suspension approach and departure angles of 34 and 35 degrees beat the Tank's 30 and 24. For technical crawling, the Tank's proven hardware and lighter body are the safer bet; for touring clearance and water, the raised B8 holds the cards.

Ownership goes the Tank's way, comfortably. GWM covers it for seven years with no kilometre cap, includes seven years of roadside assistance, and holds five years of servicing to about $2,000 at August 2026 capped prices, spaced at 12 months or 15,000km. Denza's cover runs six years or 150,000km with three years of roadside, and its five-service package costs $3,745.50, though its intervals stretch to 20,000km and the battery carries its own eight-year warranty. High-kilometre tourers should weigh the Tank's uncapped distance heavily; it is the rarer promise in this class.

If maximum towing is the reason you are cross-shopping, possibly. A 3.0-litre turbo diesel Tank 500 is confirmed for Australia around September 2026, and Australian press coverage points to a 3,500kg braked rating that would erase the B8's headline towing advantage. Until GWM publishes pricing it remains an expression of interest, so this page compares the cars on sale as of August 2026. The announcement cuts both ways: it signals the current hybrid lineup is mid-transition, which explains the Vanta's run-out pricing, and it means the B8's tow-rating edge has a shelf life.

Sort yourself by compromise tolerance. If your brief stacks seven seats, electric commuting and a 3,500kg van in the same car, the B8 7S is the only vehicle on this page that refuses to make you choose, and the 6S adds the front locker and captain's chairs for $7,549 more. If the money leads, the Tank 500 covers most of the same brief for around $20,000 less on August 2026 driveaway pricing, carries the longer, uncapped warranty, and its Ultra plug-in matches the electric trick for buyers who can live with five seats. With the B8 you accept the mass and the shorter warranty; with the Tank you choose between the third row and the plug.