GWM Tank 300 Ultra PHEV vs Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited

It locks both ends. Every Tank 300 gets an electric rear differential lock, and the Ultra grade adds an electric front locker on top of it. Behind that sits a part-time 4WD system with 2H, 4H and 4L, so the low range is a real transfer case, not a traction-control impression of one, plus crawl control. That is the same hardware answer the Rubicon Unlimited gives, which is the most surprising thing about this matchup and the reason the price gap is hard to defend. Where the Jeep pulls ahead is the gearing and the geometry, not the lockers.

The Rubicon Unlimited. With the lockers matched, it comes down to what is left, and what is left favours the Jeep heavily. It clears 43.9 degrees at the approach against 29 for the Tank as fitted with its side steps, 37 degrees at departure against 25, and sits 255mm off the ground against 224mm. It adds an electronic front sway-bar disconnect for articulation, heavy-duty Dana axles, Fox shocks, and a Rock-Trac transfer case geared to 77.2:1. The Tank has no equivalent to any of that. Take the Tank's side steps off and its angles improve to 33 and 34, which narrows the gap without closing it.

ANCAP ratings last six years. The Wrangler's dated from 2019 and expired in December 2025, so any Wrangler built from 1 January 2026 is listed by ANCAP as unrated. It is worth knowing what expired. The JL launched here in 2019 with a one-star result and only climbed to three stars after Jeep made autonomous emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring standard late that year. Adult occupant protection scored 60 per cent even then. Lane keep assist has never been available on it. The Tank 300, by contrast, holds a five-star rating that runs to December 2028.

This one deserves a straight answer, not a marketing one. ANCAP lists the Tank 300 rating as applying to all variants, covering petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles built from September 2022, and it runs to December 2028. On that basis the plug-in hybrid is covered. But GWM's own Australian brochure carries a footnote saying the five-star rating is not included on Tank 300 PHEV models yet, and ANCAP's original testing in 2022 predates the Hi4-T plug-in hybrid by more than three years. The rating stands as ANCAP publishes it. If a current rating on the exact car you are buying is what you care about, get the dealer to confirm it in writing.

The Tank 300 Ultra PHEV, and by more than the tow ratings alone suggest. It is rated to 3000kg braked against the Rubicon Unlimited's 2495kg, which is the headline. The more useful number is gross combination mass: 6261kg against 4819kg. GCM decides whether you are still legal once the van is hitched and the family, the fridge and the drawers are aboard, and the Tank has roughly 1.4 tonnes more of it to play with. It also runs a 3225kg GVM against 2574kg. Tow anything substantial and this is not a close contest.

Better than the price suggests, with one recurring irritation. Australian reviewers consistently call the cabin richer than the money and the ride comfortable, and the Ultra PHEV backs the point with dual-zone climate, second-row vents, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated wheel and twin 12.3-inch screens. The complaint is just as consistent: the driver-assist systems are intrusive. Over-eager speed-limit warnings, lane keep and driver monitoring are the most-cited weakness in nearly every review, and they are the sort of thing owners reset each time they start the car. The mechanicals are not the rough edge here. The calibration is.

The Wrangler is civilised for what it is rather than civilised outright, and Australian reviewers say so plainly. The recirculating-ball steering is vague and does not self-centre, the boxy shape and off-road tyres generate real noise at highway speed, and the short-travel ride can get busy. It drinks 10.2L/100km on the combined cycle and wants 95 RON. The driver's footwell is cramped enough that there is nowhere proper to rest a left foot, and the rear seats are better described as ornamental. Cabin quality is the surprise, and reviewers single out the materials and switchgear, but the packaging around them is an afterthought.

The Tank 300 Ultra PHEV, and the safety rating alone probably settles it. Both cars seat five, but only one holds a current ANCAP result, and the Wrangler's expired rating was three stars with 60 per cent adult occupant protection when it was live. The Tank adds dual-zone climate with second-row vents, a 360-degree camera, and a 360-litre boot that opens to 1520 with the rear seats down. The Wrangler asks about thirty thousand more for a car with a cramped back seat, no lane keep assist, and no rating at all. Being the more interesting car is not the same as being the right one.

For most buyers, no. On measurable ground the Tank 300 Ultra PHEV wins nearly everything: more power, more torque, 505kg more braked towing, 1442kg more gross combination mass, seven years of cover against five, a current safety rating, and about thirty thousand less driveaway as of July 2026. What the Rubicon Unlimited has, and the Tank cannot buy at any price, is 43.9 degrees of approach angle, a sway bar which drops out of the way, and a roof and doors which come off. Read the Jeep as worth it if those two sentences describe your weekends. Read it as indefensible if they do not.