GWM Tank 300 vs Mahindra Scorpio

The Tank 300, clearly. Its five-star ANCAP rating, awarded in 2022, came with 88 per cent adult occupant protection and a full active-safety suite fitted to every grade. Put the Scorpio through the same regime and ANCAP handed it zero stars, its adult occupant protection rated at just 44 per cent. The Scorpio's MY26 update added the active-safety acronyms it launched without, but ANCAP has not re-tested it, so the zero-star result stands. The five-star Global NCAP score Mahindra quotes is a different test in a different market. If independent crash safety leads your list, the Tank 300 is the one that clears the bar.

The Scorpio. As of mid-2026 it opens about $43,990 driveaway for the Z8+, with the better-equipped Z8L+ at about $48,990, while the Tank 300 range starts near $47,990 for the Lux Diesel and climbs past $60,000 for the Ultra plug-in hybrid. So the Scorpio is the cheaper entry, and the only one here to give you seven seats for the money, undercutting the established diesel wagons by around $10,000. The Tank 300's answer is not a lower price but more for it: a five-star safety rating, an unlimited-kilometre warranty and a much richer cabin. On the entry sticker alone, though, the Scorpio wins.

Correct, and it is the cleanest split in the Scorpio's favour. The Scorpio is a seven-seater across both grades, while the Tank 300 stays five-seat, with no third row offered at any price. The catch is that the AU press is unanimous the Scorpio's third row is really a five-plus-two: the rearmost seats are kids-only and the boot is tiny with all three rows up. So if you occasionally need to carry six or seven, the Scorpio can and the Tank cannot. If you only ever need five, the Tank 300's cabin is roomier and better equipped, and it keeps the safety rating the Scorpio gives up.

They are close, and both are the real deal rather than soft-roaders. The Tank 300 pairs low-range gearing with locking diffs front and rear, 224mm of ground clearance, a 29-degree approach angle and 800mm of wading depth. The Scorpio brings its own dual-range gearing, an auto-locking rear diff, terrain modes and hill descent control, sitting a touch higher at 227mm of clearance. The GWM holds the extra front locker and the deeper published wade; the Mahindra holds the marginally taller ride and an off-road tune the AU press rates highly. Short of seriously extreme terrain, either will out-travel where most owners ever venture. On the hardware alone, it is a dead heat.

The Tank 300. Its diesel and plug-in variants are rated to 3,000kg braked with a 5,580kg gross combination mass, while the Scorpio tows 2,500kg with a 5,155kg combined-mass ceiling. Neither reaches the 3,500kg the bigger ladder-frame wagons manage, but the Scorpio's rating trails the class by a full tonne where the Tank is only 500kg short. A mid-size van or boat is within either car's reach. For anything heavier the Tank has more in hand once family and gear are loaded. The number to watch is not the tow rating but the payload left with a loaded trailer on the ball, so confirm the weights for the exact variant before you buy.

It is closer than the price gap suggests. Warranty runs seven years on both, backed by seven years of roadside cover, and each services every 12 months. As of mid-2026 the Scorpio's capped servicing runs about $2,358 over five years on 10,000km intervals, a little under the Tank 300's roughly $2,500, though the GWM stretches its intervals to 15,000km so you visit less often. The bigger ownership difference is the warranty distance: the Tank 300 covers unlimited kilometres against the Scorpio's 150,000km cap, which matters most to high-mileage tourers. Both are newer nameplates without the long reliability record the established players can point to, so factor that in whichever way you lean.

Only when seven seats and the lowest price lead your list. The Scorpio is the cheapest true dual-range 4WD with a third row in Australia, and its off-road hardware matches the Tank's, so on capability-per-dollar it makes a strong case. But the Tank 300 answers with a five-star ANCAP rating against the Scorpio's zero, an unlimited-kilometre warranty, a stronger diesel plus a plug-in option, and a far richer cabin, for only a few thousand more. If crash safety, tech and towing outrank the seat count, the Tank 300 is the sounder money. The Scorpio earns its place when the third row and the driveaway price are what decide it.