GWM Tank 500 vs Toyota Prado

The Tank 500 is clearly the cheaper way in. As of mid-2026 it runs from the mid-$70,000s driveaway, undercutting the Prado, whose entry GX opens around $79,000 driveaway and climbs past $109,000 for the Kakadu. Both are quoted driveaway, so the comparison is like for like. For that lower price the Tank 500 also throws in more power, a bigger screen, seven seats and a longer warranty, which is the heart of its value pitch. The Prado's answer is not a lower sticker but lower long-term cost through stronger resale, which narrows the gap over years rather than at the dealer.

The Tank 500 wins outright. Its petrol-hybrid makes 255kW and 648Nm, and the plug-in hybrid pushes to 300kW and 750Nm, against the Prado's 150kW and 500Nm from its 2.8-litre turbo-diesel. On paper that is close to twice the power, and it shows in how much more urgently the Tank 500 accelerates. The Prado's diesel is torquey, proven and well suited to towing and touring, and outright power is not what most Prado buyers are shopping for. But if straight-line performance matters, the Tank 500 is comfortably the stronger of the two.

The Prado has the towing edge that counts for this class. It is rated to 3500kg braked, the outback benchmark, while the Tank 500 tops out at 3000kg. For a caravan or big boat near the upper limit, that 500kg is the difference between legal and not, and it is a genuine reason serious towers stay with the Toyota. The Tank 500 still pulls a substantial trailer and has the power to do it easily, but it is the wrong pick if you regularly tow heavy. The Prado's proven diesel and touring range only reinforce it here.

This one is close. Both the Tank 500 and the 250-series Prado hold a five-star ANCAP rating dated 2024, so on rating recency they are even, and both scored 85 per cent for adult occupant protection. The separation is hardware: the Prado carries nine airbags to the Tank 500's six, and Toyota's longer safety-engineering record is part of what the badge buys. Both include autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist and blind-spot monitoring as standard. Neither is unsafe, and both are current five-star cars, but on the detail the Prado has the edge.

The Prado is the safer long-term bet, and Australian reviews are consistent on why. Toyota's decades-long reliability record and the Prado's strong resale are proven, where GWM is a newer brand whose long-term durability and residual values are not yet established locally. That is a track-record and resale gap rather than any documented failure, and reviewers rate the Tank 500 a genuinely capable vehicle. But for a buyer keeping a truck for a decade or trading it in a few years, the Prado's certainty is worth real money, and it is the single strongest card the Toyota holds against the cheaper, more powerful Tank.

Fuel use is closer than the power gap suggests. The Prado's diesel claims 7.6L/100km, a little thriftier than the Tank 500 hybrid's 8.4, so on a straight petrol-hybrid-versus-diesel basis the Toyota edges it. The Tank 500 plug-in hybrid changes the maths entirely: charge it regularly and short trips run on electricity for a claimed 2.1L/100km, but leave it flat and it drinks like any heavy petrol SUV. So a diesel Prado is the safer bet for consistent long-distance economy, while a plugged-in Tank 500 PHEV can be cheaper around town.

The seat count splits by drivetrain and grade. The Tank 500's hybrid grades seat seven, but the plug-in hybrid drops to five, its battery taking the third-row space. The Prado seats seven on most grades, with a dedicated five-seat GXL option for buyers who would rather have the extra boot space than the third row. Both fold their rear rows for cargo, though the 250-series Prado drew criticism for a raised boot floor, a consequence of packaging its mild-hybrid battery, which eats into load space with the third row folded. Even with that caveat the Prado holds more folded than the Tank 500's 1,459 litres, 1,829 on the seven-seaters and 1,895 in the flat-floored five-seat GXL, so maximum cargo is the Prado's advantage rather than the Tank's.

It is a genuine alternative, and that is new for the class. The Tank 500 matches the Prado's brief as a seven-seat body-on-frame family 4WD, then beats it on power, equipment, warranty and price, which is why Australian reviewers treat it as a real challenger rather than a curiosity. What it cannot yet match is the Prado's 3500kg tow rating, its airbag count, and above all the proven reliability and resale that come from decades in the Australian outback. Buyers led by the head and the budget will find the Tank 500 compelling; buyers who value certainty above all still have their answer in the Prado.