Review: GAC GS3 Emzoom Premium R – The Eccentric Alternative!

Great, Yet Another Chinese SUV…

Hailing all the way from Guangzhou and into our market is yet another Chinese automaker by the name of GAC Motor, and featured is their debut GAC GS3 Emzoom B-segment SUV offering.

The top-spec Emzoom Premium R benefits from a very striking body kit.

From the get-go, one immediately notices that the Emzoom is pretty bold-looking, thanks to its mecha-inspired design. This is especially true for the top-spec Premium R variant, which features an elaborate body kit comprising an aggressive front bumper, side skirts, a very prominent rear faux diffuser, and a sporty rear wing that houses an F1-inspired third brake light.

On top of the elaborate body kit, the Emzoom base design is also quite striking by itself, with key highlights including the mecha-wing front grille, sharp LED headlights, diamond-shaped ‘Light Dart’ LED taillights, prominent shoulder lines with flushed door handles, as well as the 18-inch wheels the SUV rides on.

In terms of dimensions, the Emzoom stood slightly bigger than some popular B-SUVs, measuring 4,446 MM long, 1,850 MM wide, 1,600 MM tall, and a wheelbase of 2,650 MM.

Truth be told, we wholeheartedly agreed that the Emzoom might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Should you wish to stand out from the crowd though, then this sporty Sino-badged SUV is definitely a perfect pick.

Cool! What About The Interior?

This is where the Emzoom follows convention set by some of its Chinese peers. Familiar design aside, this B-SUV offers a pretty good list of equipment and cabin amenities, albeit with a certain degree of hits and misses.

While both displays offer pretty nice performance and brightness, each of them lack some key functions that would otherwise made them very decent.

Starting with tech bits, users will find the 10.25-inch infotainment screen to be quite handy, but the lack of Android Auto support (wireless Apple CarPlay is available) and its slightly lacklustre performance might be a bit of a drawback for some. Notably, the 7-inch three-way split, jet fighter-style digital instrument cluster seems quite neat at first, until you use them in broad daylight and find the hood-less display to be glare- and reflection-prone.

On the topic of sun, we find the expansive panoramic sunroof to be quite decent, although the automated shutter blind is a bit too thin to handle the blazing eternal summer climate of Malaysia.

Fortunately, not all things are to be loathed inside as we found the Emzoom’s central console stack to be quite neat. It is primed with the toggle-style gear selector, a wireless charging tray, and more. Not to forget, the physical A/C control panel is a pretty refreshing addition, especially in this day-and-age of massive screen interiors. Elsewhere, the perforated leather-wrapped steering wheel provides drivers good confidence in driving, although absent paddle shifters may turn down a certain pact of owners.

Space is surprisingly not an issue in this sporty B-SUV crossover, as the Emzoom boasts a pretty roomy cabin space at both front and rear.

In terms of space, don’t let its sporty, mecha-inspired design fool you, as the Emzoom offers a spacious rear cabin. Combined with the almost-flat flooring, the Emzoom can easily fit three adults at the back—something not every B-SUV in the market can handle. Unfortunately, only one climate vent and USB port are present here, meaning that rear passengers can’t be selfish and must learn how to share them.

We wrap things up inside with boot space, and the Emzoom’s 341-litre (expandable to 1,271 litres) cargo area is okay for this segment, plus the presence of a space-saver spare tyre is yet another refreshing addition to this mecha-inspired SUV.

Enough Talk, How Does It Drive?

With elaborate sporty design come high expectations for a sporty driving performance, and that’s exactly what the Emzoom *almost* managed to deliver.

The 1.5-litre turbocharged mill and 7-speed DCT combo delivers a segment-leading torque output of 270 NM.

Under the hood lies a 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo petrol mill that GAC claims to be the peppiest in the segment—at least the torque figure is. To match segment rivals, the Emzoom’s 174 HP and 270 NM-rated mill is mated to a 7-speed DCT automatic gearbox that facilitates power delivery to the front wheels (FWD).

Despite its meaty torque output and a claimed century sprint time of 7.5 seconds, the car feels a bit sluggish from the get-go, whereas turbo lag is quite noticeable at higher speeds, and the DCT unit seems to be less responsive to gear shifts at times. Fortunately (or not), this lacklustre sensation also makes the car less prompt to wheel spins and torque steer, which is common in many other turbocharged rivals.

Also setting the Emzoom apart from other B-SUVs is the presence of an active exhaust system - something unheard of in this price segment. Via a dedicated button on the steering wheel, drivers can release the full force of its promine dual exhaust system, which offers some decent pops and bangs to enhance your aural driving experience, although we’re certain your neighbours might think otherwise.

As for handling, we find the Emzoom’s suspension and chassis tuning to be slightly on the softer side, which doesn’t really match with its sporty facade. Don’t let its ‘softness’ fool you, as the Emzoom still feels quite agile in corners and twisties, just don’t expect top-notch handling as what the X50 and CX-30 boasts.

Said soft tuning brings extra points for the Emzoom’s ride comfort, which felt less bumpy and quite decent for all passengers. Decent too are the comfort and grip levels of the factory-shod Sentury Qirin 990 tyres, although the wet grip performance is predictably subpar.

Yes, the turbocharged engine may feel a bit lacklustre compared to its rivals, but the GAC GS3 Emzoom delivers a pretty good balance between driving performance and comfort. This, we reckon, may bode well with some buyers. Say what you want about the active exhaust gimmick; we certainly have to commend GAC’s bravery to offer such a novelty at this price.

Interesting… How Economical and Safe Is The Car?

Aptly, turbocharged engines aren’t really known for frugality, but after driving the Emzoom for almost a week, we can confirm that things aren’t that bad for this SUV.

Out of its 47-litre fuel tank, GAC claims the Emzoom can sip as low as 5.9 litres per 100 KM on average, which puts it right in the middle between some of its local rivals. Granted that we couldn’t manage to reach the claimed fuel economy rate from days of spirited driving sessions, we’re certain that light-footed drivers can easily get close to said claimed fuel economy rate.

As for safety, most Chinese cars today are known for offering some of the most comprehensive active and passive safety features, even against their Japanese counterparts. Active safety features primed here include a suite of ADAS like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Integrated Cruise Assist, Front Collision Warning (FCW), Lane-Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), and more.

Unfortunately, like many of its compatriots, most of these settings and functions are hidden deep inside the car’s main infotainment unit, which can be a drag to access, especially on the fly. While some of these ADAS functions worked as advertised, we still find a few of them to be quite ‘unnatural’ and pretty aggressive in their mitigation manoeuvres. Then again, these circumstances are somewhat expected in bargain-priced ADAS-equipped vehicles.

Passive safety features, on the other hand, are quite comprehensive, and includes four airbags, traction (TCS) and stability (VSC) controls, a 360-degree camera view, a vehicle immobiliser, as well as Blind-Spot Vision (BSV) a la Honda’s Lane Watch Camera. More importantly, a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is also present, which is surprisingly absent in many cars priced above the RM100,000 mark today.

Sure, some of the ADAS functions could have been better, and we’ve also seen cars with more airbags and passive safety features, but the GAC GS3 Emzoom managed to cover all the bases well. In turn, this promises buyers they’re not compromising on safety when choosing this B-SUV over its rivals.

So, What’s The Cost For All of This?

Striking style, pretty good cabin equipment list with decent cabin and cargo space, as well as pretty good driving performance and sportscar gimmicks, the GAC GS3 Emzoom has all the ingredients to make it an eccentric yet compelling alternative against other more popular B-SUVs in the market.

At RM126,800 a pop, the GAC GS3 Emzoom Premium R proves as an eccentric yet capable alternative to the burgeoning B-SUV space.

And thanks to recent localisation (CKD) effort done by distributors WTC Automotif (M) Sdn Bhd (WTCA), the GAC GS3 Emzoom is now a bit more affordable compared versus its fully-imported predecessors, with the sole Premium R CKD variant now tagged at RM126,800. Said price includes a standard 5-year or 150,000 KM warranty plus the choice between 1-year free service or three complimentary maintenance sessions offered by WTCA.

Sure, there are more affordable and better options available, but those who aren’t afraid to delve into the new realm, or perhaps those who seek to stand out from the crowd of Japanese- and local-badged B-SUVs, we’d reckon the GAC GS3 Emzoom makes a pretty decent alternative against any mainstream choices.

SPECIFICATIONS

GAC GS3 EMZOOM PREMIUM R 

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