Riding on the wave of the immensely successful Ford Bronco, these two made-in-China SUVs are looking at a slice of that pie. The folks from CarAdvice.au down under got a chance to savor both SUVs on a media drive in July last year.

Overview

The revival of the Bronco nameplate by Ford has gone down exceptionally well. Demand for the SUV is off the roof, and Ford had to even stop taking reservations for the Bronco at one point and has asked potential customers to check about the SUV's availability with their local Ford Dealer. Add to the ongoing chip crisis and industry experts expect that it will be a while before you start seeing more Broncos on the road.

Given the hype and popularity of the Bronco, China’s Great Wall Motors decided to borrow some elements from the Bronco’s rule book and have come up with their own versions inspired by the Ford SUV. They also came up with some brawny model names to signify the Bronco’s butch image. Behold, say hello to the Haval Big Dog and the GWM Tank 300.

Now clones of mainstream global bestsellers, are nothing new in China and are probably a popular sight there. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s Jeremy Clarkson and Mat Watson giving a rundown on some copycat cars from the PRC.

Haval Big Dog

Now, that's quite the model name, isn’t it? Going by the proportions, the Big Dog is clearly gunning for the Bronco Sport. However, look a little closer and you’ll find a hint of the old Honda Element and even the more recent Mercedes Benz GLB. Now despite the bold name, it looks like just about any other mid-size family crossover.

What lurks under the hood unfortunately isn't as rowdy as the Big Dog moniker. You have a modest 2.0-liter turbo-gas engine mated to a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox. It can be had with either two or four-wheel drive.

The guys at CarAdvice couldn’t check the Big Dog’s off-road prowess, however, they were able to take the other SUV that we’re going to look at next, for a quick spin on a test track located just outside of Melbourne.

GWM Tank 300

When you first lay eyes on the Tank 300, you might just get confused and wonder, hmm, now where have I seen this before. The Tank takes cues not just from the Bronco, but from several off-roaders.

Step inside though and the cabin might look rather familiar. The Mercedes influence is clearly evident. Be it the seats, the layout of the displays on the dash, or those circular air vents, the Tank’s cabin clearly draws a lot of inspiration from the three-pointed star. But strangely despite its large footprint, it's only a five-seater.

Now unlike the Big Dog, the Tank 300 seems to live up to its name (sort of). It is built on a body-on-frame design, has decent approach and departure angles, and locking front and rear diffs. Not too bad I suppose.

Final Thoughts

So, to sum it up, the term Plagiarism it seems doesn’t seem to be taken that seriously in the world's biggest car market (in terms of volumes) as several automakers like Land Rover and BMW have found out. These clones follow a pretty simple recipe, take bits and bobs of stuff that's already working undercut the mainstream models, and voila.

Can they ever be as good as a Bronco? You be the judge. You can take a closer look at both these SUVs in the video below