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Chinese brands are doing a number on the European market. Their electric cars are very good, and their cheap SUVs are proving immensely popular. But could the pickup truck segment be the next to undergo a far-Eastern onslaught?

GWM certainly thinks it could be. Pickup truck sales in the UK are dominated by the Ford Ranger, but further down in price terms Asian brands such as KGM, Maxus and Toyota all offer the sort of thing buyers are looking for – strong capability, just enough comfort and luxury features, and a competitive price tag. It’s here where GWM’s pitching the new Poer300 – undercutting every alternative on price but, on paper at least, beating them in most other areas. But does it stack up in reality? I’ve been finding out with some on- and off-road driving.

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The GWM Po-what now?

It’s called the Poer300 – pronounced ‘Power 300’, so no toilet humour, please. In the Aussie market it’s called the Cannon, and in China it’s known as the Pao. In terms of styling, it’s pretty generic – the blunt grille has a huge logo, meant to look a little like a map pin – but I reckon it just resembles a big Q.

The rest of the truck is quite plain, though the big ‘GWM’ embossed into the tailgate is a nice touch. I still think the Ranger is the best-looking of all the trucks, but when you get down to the cheap ones like the Musso or D-Max then I struggle to get too excited – so the Poer300 looks just fine to me.

Under the bonnet, you’ll find a 2.4-litre diesel engine. GWM reckons that, compared with the KGM, Isuzu, Maxus or Toyota alternatives, this has more torque, comparable power and greater performance, but lower CO2 emissions and higher fuel economy. It’s paired to a nine-speed gearbox and four-wheel drive.

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There are three well-equipped trim levels but all variants are capable of hitting the big two numbers – that is, they can tow 3,500kg and carry over 1,000kg in their load beds (the latter qualifies the Poer300 for VAT exemption). ‘Lux’ gets LED headlamps, artificial leather seats, a wireless phone charger, rear parking sensors and a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone connectivity.

Ultra for an additional £3,300 adds a few nice touches such as heated and ventilated, power-adjustable, full-leather seats, ambient lighting and a 360-degree camera. Vanta adds nothing important and just gives you black trim on the outside – a waste of £2,000, if you ask me.

What’s it like inside?

Rather nice, considering this is the cheapest truck you can buy in the UK right now. I’ll stop short of calling it plush, but the seats are comfy, the switchgear largely sensible and it feels comfortably hardwearing – if not quite as wipe-clean as something like a D-Max.

There are some infuriating details. A physical ‘Home’ button for the infotainment would be great, as would some proper climate controls – and even on my top-spec tester the centre console was littered with blank switches.

The 7.0-inch driver’s display is a bit annoying too – the middle information section is overridden by every other function the truck has, so you need to turn all the safety gear off if you want to see your fuel economy, for example. At least there’s a shortcut on the steering wheel to take you into the driver assistance menu.

Storage is a bit lacking – you get two cupholders, a wireless phone charging pad, and a decent glovebox and centre console – but most alternatives get a useful double glovebox as well as more storage for oddments.

Passengers in the back get a fairly flat bench and will find their knees up quite high. Legroom’s good but headroom is lacking for tall passengers. The seats do have a party trick, though – as well as folding down flat, you can raise and lock the bases to give you a tall storage area.

What’s it like for carrying stuff?

The load bed has more volume than the Musso, Hilux or D-Max, according to GWM – and it’s quite tall, so even if you fit a roller top you should still have a decent amount of loading height.

A payload of over a tonne and towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes is on par with those alternatives and what you’d expect from the class. Nice touches include gas struts for the tailgate and a foldout step with 150kg capacity.

And is it any good to drive?

It’s okay – there are good and bad points. The 2.4-litre diesel engine is punchy, with 184hp, and actually reasonably quiet in operation. The nine-speed automatic gearbox that comes as standard, though, is really slow to get going – you end up punching the throttle and setting off in a noisy rev-fest.

The steering is nicely weighted but there’s not a lot of grip, and you end up washing wide if you take a corner too fast. It’s also quite jiggly over low-speed bumps around town, smoothing out a little as you go faster. These are both criticisms of all the alternatives, though – and far from being dealbreakers.

The Poer300 will off-road about as well as the rest of the class, too. It has decent ground clearance, plenty of power, and a low-range gearbox and rear differential lock. It’ll certainly tackle any terrain you’d try in a Musso or D-Max.

Should I buy one?

Double-cab pickup trucks in the UK are funny things. They’re ostensibly working vehicles, and qualify for VAT exemption. But a recent law change has closed the loophole that allowed people to drive ultra-luxurious and quite expensive new pickup trucks, and pay the same flat rate of company car tax.

That means that purchase price now matters – and as a result a Poer300 will cost you thousands less each year as a company car than a pricier Ford Ranger.

If you want a truck for its capabilities, and not because it’s stylish or good to drive – then there’s really very little reason not to go for a Poer300 rather than a Musso or a D-Max. GWM has plenty of service centres around the country, its warranty is a generous five years and 125,000 miles, and all the engines and oily bits are well-proven in challenging markets like Australia.

If you want to pose, though, or if a pickup truck to you is a full family car as well as a working vehicle – then something more plush, like the Ranger or VW Amarok, would be a better bet.

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