GAC Motor Philippines entered a very important segment when it launched the 2023 GAC GS3 Emzoom a couple of months ago. The subcompact crossover class has become hotly contested in the past few years, and the vehicles here, with attention-grabbing design, a wide spread of tech and features, and competitive pricing, don’t look or feel as entry-level as their price tags may suggest.
Among Chinese subcompact crossovers, the Geely Coolray won our Big Test earlier this year against the MG ZS, so it’ll be the GS3 Emzoom’s logical target. Does GAC’s bet have what it takes to loosen the Coolray’s stronghold? Click play on the video above to watch our review of the top-spec GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Presenter: Niky Tamayo
Editor and videographer: Teddy Garcia Jr.
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Among Chinese subcompact crossovers, the Geely Coolray won our Big Test earlier this year against the MG ZS, so it’ll be the GS3 Emzoom’s logical target. Does GAC’s bet have what it takes to loosen the Coolray’s stronghold? Click play on the video above to watch our review of the top-spec GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Presenter: Niky Tamayo
Editor and videographer: Teddy Garcia Jr.
Dig cars?
Read more about cars and motoring here: http://www.topgear.com.ph
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TopGearPH
Tweet us: http://www.twitter.com/TopGearPH
Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TopGearPH
Join us on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topgearph
#topgearph #gacgs3emzoom #gacmotor
Y8SBA3FDCBO41LVW
GM7KBIYT4YCAXGBT
FSEWEFOTGXISUSB2
MITUWGFDTPLOB8KH
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Amongst Chinese manufacturers, GAC has always been at the forefront or close to it in terms
00:06 of technical sophistication, quality, and luxury. Now, I've always been impressed by the interiors
00:12 on GAC cars. I've been impressed by the way they drive, by the power, by the performance,
00:18 but there's been something missing. That spark that separates the best from the rest.
00:23 GAC is trying to cure that with its M cars. Cars like the M-POW, the M-KU, and this thing,
00:31 the M-ZOOM. This certainly has a lot of power, it has a lot of style, and it has a lot of pizzazz.
00:38 But is that enough to elevate it over the unquestioned class leader, the Geely Coolray?
00:44 Spoiler alert, yes.
00:47 [Music]
00:57 The M-ZOOM drives much as you'd expect any modern GAC to drive. It's quiet, it's comfortable,
01:03 it's unflustered. Well, mostly quiet and comfortable and unflustered. Those big
01:08 Michelin Pilot Sport tires, the thin 45 Series tires, they tend to judder and bounce over small
01:16 road imperfections, but it doesn't quite penetrate into the cabin in an intrusive way. It's just
01:21 something that you're constantly aware of. But other than that, this is a pretty sweet car to
01:27 drive long distance, especially with Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning,
01:32 which tie into the Active Cruise Control. Now, you can set the cruise control, and this thing
01:38 will drive for you on the road. It'll keep you in lane, and it'll keep you a set distance from
01:44 the car in front of you. You can change that from four seconds to one second's follow distance,
01:50 so your margin of safety is entirely up to you. Now, you can't keep your hands off the wheel
01:56 forever. It gets mad if you try to do that, so it's not a complete proxy for driving, but it
02:02 helps reduce your stress level and reduce your fatigue level when you're going long distance.
02:06 Now, you can't go very long distance. This thing has a kind of small tank. It's an issue I had with
02:14 the GAC M-POW also. So you can do like 400 to 500 kilometers on this tank. If you drive nicely,
02:21 you can hit maybe 18 to 20 kilometers a liter on the highway at 80 kph, and you can get 500 to 550
02:31 kilometers from the tank before you should find a place to fuel up. Otherwise, it's about average
02:39 for the class. Now, in traffic, fuel economy takes a big hit. We've seen lows of around 6 kilometers
02:46 a liter, but then this is a fresh engine. There's only 500 kilometers on the odometer,
02:52 so it's not quite broken in yet. We expect fuel economy to improve as it breaks in.
02:58 Now, even though it isn't broken in, you do get full power from it. Unfortunately, in Eco Mode
03:06 and Comfort Mode, you don't get that full power right away. You press on the gas pedal and you
03:12 wait, and it takes a while to respond. Now, you can remedy this in Sport Mode or even better,
03:20 switch to Sport Plus. Sport Plus Mode gives you more aggressive engine mapping. It opens the
03:26 exhaust valve so you get more burble, you get more snap, crackle, and pop out of the exhaust. And
03:32 when you want to go faster, it can go even faster. Now, the Stealthfighter aesthetic extends to the
03:41 inside with these jet exhaust air vents, this flat-bottom steering wheel, and this driver-centric
03:46 cockpit that wraps around you and makes you feel like you're driving something much more expensive.
03:51 Of course, some of this LED display is fake. There are stencils around LED lights, and only the
03:59 center part of the display is a full LED display. But the center display is actually very wide and
04:06 very nice, and at night, you can't tell the difference. You get an extension of the triangular
04:11 theme from the outside. You've got this cheese grate speaker grille, honeycomb speaker grille,
04:16 and triangles everywhere—on the leatherette, on the doors, on the dash, on some of the plastics,
04:21 and even all of the rubber in the open bins is lined in this triangular pattern that makes it
04:27 look really, really illuminati. Now, this leatherette—there are other color combinations
04:34 for the MZoom, but I think this black and blue combination, it sort of reminds me of an Adidas
04:40 football shoe with all the good that implies. This feels like it will be stained, scuff, and wear
04:46 resistant, and it should be much easier to maintain than most other car interiors out there.
04:52 In terms of space, this is a subcompact, but they've done some clever engineering to make it
04:57 feel bigger. The angle of this A-pillar gives you a lot of headroom here. You've got a lot of elbow
05:02 room, and you do have a lot of legroom and a lot of reach adjustment here, but this big center
05:08 console kind of hits your knees. And while I do like split-tier center consoles, this is a little
05:15 too high and a little too low. To reach down here is uncomfortable from this side and uncomfortable
05:20 for your passenger if you reach around their legs. But otherwise, in terms of storage space,
05:26 this is pretty damn good. You've got twin cell phone holders here. One of them is a wireless
05:31 holder, so if you have a phone that can charge wirelessly, you can put it here. Twin cup holders,
05:37 another slot here, something here, something here, something here, big center console box,
05:42 and of course, that underside shelf, which is really, really big, but again, from the driver's
05:49 seat, it's really hard to reach. In terms of infotainment, since you do have a wireless cell
05:54 phone slot, you can wirelessly connect to this through Apple CarPlay or Carbit Link. Sorry,
06:00 there is no Android Auto, but Carbit Link can be installed on any Android device, and it'll give
06:06 you full screen mirroring so you can actually watch video with full concert sound. Yes, the
06:12 speakers are pretty good and pretty bass-tastic. Of course, you're not supposed to watch while
06:17 you're driving, but the option is there if you're parked. Now, even though this is a subcompact
06:23 crossover, clever engineering gives you more space than you'd expect. There's lots of elbow room,
06:29 there's lots of legroom thanks to shortened seat squabs, and you've got a completely flat floor
06:34 that gives you a lot of space for your feet and any items you might want to put down there.
06:38 Because it is a subcompact, there are some limitations that can't be overcome.
06:43 Headroom is smaller than in front because the roof slopes backwards, and these seats don't recline
06:48 any further than they already do because they're stuck right between the C-pillars and there's no
06:53 space for them to recline back into. That said, you still do get the center armrest, and yes,
07:00 it sits at the right height. You do get rear aircon vents. I mean, you do get one rear aircon vent,
07:07 so if there's more than one of you back here, you will be fighting over that vent.
07:11 You've got courtesy lights, and you've got that beautiful dual-pane sunroof over your head.
07:15 Underneath the stylish rear hatch, you find a rather high and slanted loading floor. This is
07:22 because, again, this is a car of compromises. GAC had to decide between having a comfortable rear
07:28 seat and one that could fold completely flat. Obviously, this doesn't fold completely flat,
07:34 but it is very comfortable. That said, if you want more space in here, you can just
07:40 lower the floor and that gives you quite a lot of space for something this small.
07:45 Oh, and it also has a power tailgate. Very nice. Unfortunately, you do get a power tailgate,
07:56 but you don't get a rear wiper. Again, a car of compromises.
08:00 The exterior of the M-Zoom will have you going Illuminati-confirmed. There are more triangles
08:07 and trapezoids on this than on a low-poly Lamborghini model for a mobile video game.
08:12 It's got that stealth fighter aesthetic that is just so riveting. It's got a sleek shape. It's got
08:18 these twin boom side mirrors that look like they cut through the air despite their low poly count.
08:26 You've got these rear taillights that jut out and give the rear haunches a very muscular,
08:32 very spaceship-like aesthetic. And then you've got the twin tailpipes under the rear diffuser,
08:38 which aren't just for show. One of those pipes is actually covered by a flapper valve that
08:43 opens when you use sport mode that makes it sound as good as it looks. And then you've got that
08:49 rear spoiler, the rear split spoiler that looks like it comes straight off of a Lamborghini.
08:54 Also straight off of a Lamborghini are these split-spoke 19-inch wheels that are just beautiful
09:01 orange line, and they come with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. Now despite the stealth fighter
09:07 aesthetic, this thing is unmissable. It is riveting. It is eye-catching, especially in this
09:13 light blue, electric blue color with the orange accents. I mean this orange flag right here,
09:19 this means you will never lose this in any parking lot. This thing is unmissable. Up front,
09:26 you get more triangulated goodness with these sawtooth light fixtures up top and these triangular
09:32 air inlets that feed air into the front wheel wells for better aerodynamic efficiency. Now,
09:37 you also get front winglets that don't really have any aerodynamic effect, but they look super cool,
09:43 so we'll forgive that. The front end is dominated by this big triangular cutaway on the ultra-tall
09:49 front grille that helps hide how ultra-tall it is, makes it a little slimmer, a little more petite.
09:55 They also disguise the blanking plates on one side with these orange slashes that are kind of
10:01 reminiscent of BMW M-Power slashes. Only M-Power is red, white, and blue. This is all orange,
10:07 but that orange signifies that there's power lurking underneath that hood.
10:12 So that's it for our time with the GAC GS3 M-Zoom R-Style.
10:20 This promises to be weatherproof and be able to take anything, but we can't, so we've got to
10:25 hurry this one up. For the pros, it's stylish, it's beautiful, it's eye-catching. Everybody
10:31 wants to know what this is, and when they get inside, it's just got that wow factor. Wow.
10:36 Secondly, the features. This has lane departure warning, forward collision warning. This thing
10:43 can almost drive itself, and it has 360-degree cameras just like the Geely Coolray. Thirdly,
10:50 the performance. Like the Geely Coolray, it's powered by a 1.5-liter turbo, but this packs
10:56 more punch under the hood than the Coolray. It gets from 0-100 in 8 seconds. It is the fastest
11:02 crossover in this class that we have ever tested. And then lastly, the handling. Absolutely
11:09 phenomenal handling thanks to those Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. But let's not sell the chassis
11:15 short. It holds a line through a corner steadily, body roll is well in check, and it goes where you
11:21 want it to go. Even on worse tires, this would still be nice to drive. On these tires, it is
11:27 phenomenal. But on the con side, those tires do result in some judder and some ride discomfort.
11:34 It's not the most comfortable car in the class, it's not terrible, but you will always remember
11:39 that these are sports tires and not touring tires. And the transmission attached to that engine,
11:45 not the best dual-clutch either. In those in-between speeds when you're not quite sure
11:50 if you want to go slow or go fast, it can be indecisive, and shifts can either be too abrupt
11:56 or too slow for you. And unfortunately, it doesn't have a manual shifting mode. The M-POW does.
12:03 It has paddle shifters. This doesn't. It has that cute little gun sight shifter that puts you in
12:08 drive or reverse and nothing else. And then lastly, it is still just a subcompact crossover.
12:16 So it's not as big as some. Interior space feels alright, but there are compromises to get this
12:23 many features into a package this small. Then again, with a package this small and with comfort
12:30 this big, to have all of that in a package that costs under P1.2 million, this is a deal on the
12:37 same level as the Geely Coolray was when it first launched. This might just be the bargain of the
12:44 decade. And as such, we can't give it a lower rating than 8.5 over 10. I would say 9, but
12:52 no paddle shifters. GIC, I want the paddle shifters.
12:56 [Music]