GWM Cannon Alpha hybrid gains 5-star ANCAP rating

MANILA: Great Wall Motor’s (GWM) hybrid-powered Sahar Poer, otherwise known as the Cannon Alpha in other markets, has gained a five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

As detailed on the ANCAP website, the GWM pickup truck model managed to secure an 84 percent rating for the adult occupant protection category. To note, it returned a perfect score (6 out of 6 points) from the organization’s side impact test. 

It also received a child occupant protection rating of 93 percent and a vulnerable road user rating of 82 percent. 

For the unaware, the road user protection category considers how a certain vehicle prevents incurring injuries to cyclists and pedestrians during an accident. Particularly for the Cannon Alpha, ANCAP noted it gave good protection to the head of a struck pedestrian. 

It also achieved a good rating when it comes to cyclists in various test scenarios. The model’s automatic emergency braking (AEB), in particular, managed to mitigate collisions with a moving bicycle at test speeds. 

Lastly, the ANCAP gave the Cannon Alpha a rating of 81 percent for the safety assist category. Its AEB was functional in varied test scenarios, including car-to-car and junction collision mitigation tests. 

Per the Australian car safety organization, the rating that the GWM Cannon Alpha received applies to all hybrid variants.

With the aforementioned results, GWM Australia’s entire model lineup has received a five-star rating from ANCAP. As such, the car company’s arm in the Land Down Under has claimed the reputation of being a “five-star family.”

As a side note, the Cannon Alpha is the Chinese marque’s first-ever hybrid model. It is not sold locally at the moment, but the internal combustion-only version it is based on is available locally as the GWM Cannon. 

The hybrid does have the same underpinnings as the local version. Specifically, both share the same body-on-frame platform that is also used on the Tank 300. The aforementioned does not necessarily mean the local version is as safe as the Australia-spec Cannon Alpha. Still, it can assure prospective buyers of the marque’s capability of providing a robust and high-quality product. 

For reference, the Philippine-spec Cannon is sold in six different variants with a price ranging from P1.048 million-P1.498 million. The top-spec Cannon SLux is a 4x4 model with a 159-horsepower 2.0-liter turbodiesel mill under its hood. 

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