GAC Emzoom Luxury 2026 Review

The GAC Emzoom Luxury is priced at $25,590 before on-roads, and is the sole variant on offer for now. That’s a mega deal in the small SUV space, and only three segment rivals – the MG ZS Vibe, MG ZST Core, and Chery Tiggo 4 urban – cost less.

Right now, GAC is also running a $26,990 national drive-away price, which only sharpens the pencil further.

Is there space in the GAC showroom for an even more affordable variant? Yes. Does it need one? Arguably not.

The GAC Emzoom Luxury isn’t wanting for showroom wow factor. It’s an extrovert, for one, with its edgy styling aping the faceted fuselage of an F-117 stealth fighter and looking tres avant-garde. In case the sheetmetal isn’t enough, seven colours are offered including a vibrant lilac and a bright red to balance out the other fairly greyscale options.

The hands-free power-operated tailgate is another nice-to-have, especially as it’s not a common feature at this end of the SUV category. The same applies to the panoramic glass roof, 50W wireless phone charging pad, self-parking function, ambient cabin lighting and a power-adjustable AND ventilated/cooled driver’s seat.

The flush-fit door handles are another nod to the Emzoom’s premium aspirations, but honestly we’d rather just have regular handles. The Emzoom’s are fiddly and annoying to use – just like every other implementation of flush door handles, really. Generic 18-inch alloy wheels are standard, but there’s only as space-saver spare under the boot floor.

Also, while the driver gets a power-adjustable seat with a built-in fan, the passenger suffers with a manually-adjusted, non-ventilated seat. Warranty coverage is provided for seven years with no distance limitation, while GAC also offers five years of complimentary roadside assistance.

ANCAP has yet to rate the GAC Emzoom, however the standard safety fit-out includes six airbags, stability control, frontal collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, a 360-degree parking cam with front and rear parking sensors, blind spot cameras which activate when you indicate (note that it’s not a radar-based blind spot monitor), and ISOFIX anchorages on the outboard rear seats.

There’s also active cruise control and lane keep assist to help out on highway drives, as well as high beam assist for the LED headlamps.

A 14.9-inch touchscreen houses the Emzoom’s infotainment functions and is the primary interface for most vehicle controls. Curiously, it also duplicates plenty of the car’s physical controls with virtual ones, like the sunroof and window switches. Odd.

The operating system it uses is responsive and easy to read, but some controls – like the volume adjuster or ventilated seat control – can be hard to find.

There’s also no built-in sat-nav, leaving the wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay as the only navigation solution.

In front of the driver is a 7.0-inch digital display for the instrument panel, which looks bigger than it is thanks to the bezel incorporating LCD readouts for the tachometer, fuel, and engine temperature gauges either side of the display.

A 1.5-litre turbo petrol inline four-cylinder engine provides a handy 125kW of power and 270Nm of torque, with all of that torque available from 1400-4500rpm. Power goes exclusively to the front wheels through a seven-speed automatic. Wet-plate dual-clutch, for those playing at home.

The factory WLTP claim is 6.6L/100km, but we were only able to achieve an average of 7.6L/100km on our 100km urban and highway test loop. That’s not a terrible number by any means, particularly as the GAC Emzoom isn’t offered with a fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain, but achieving GAC’s claimed number seems to be a challenge out in the real world.

The factory-fit Sentury Qirin 990 tyres are clearly an impediment to grip, given how happily the little 1.5-litre engine spins them up when it’s on boost and the road is damp. But the comfort-biased suspension also gets in the way of handling if the road presents any sort of dynamic challenge.

The solution is to steadily and slowly. Driving fast is not recommended in this car. But stick to town and highway driving, and the suspension is a peach. It’s got great compliance without feeling spongy and underdamped, and deals with choppy and broken up tarmac just fine.

The engine is also likeable, producing plenty of torque in the low-to-mid RPM range that gives the Emzoom plenty of flexibility, and ensures it doesn’t feel like a slouch even when accelerating to highway speed. It’s just a shame about the rest of the Emzoom’s mechanical package.

The GAC Emzoom is equipped with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, and this transmission achieves the difficult task of being both sluggish and manic at the same time. Though initially reluctant to transfer power to the front wheels with any urgency when getting away from a standstill, given enough time the gearbox eventually decides to snap its clutch plates together and suddenly tell the engine to start producing meaningful torque – but by this point you’ve likely already eased off the pedal, resigned to your fate as a slowpoke.

After briefly flirting with the idea of delivering thrust, the transmission then decides to execute a languid first-to-second gearchange, which results in a gap in power delivery that (at times) borders on dangerous if you’re pulling out into fast-moving traffic.

It’s like driving an early-generation dual-clutch automatic gearbox from the late noughties. Sometimes, it’s even worse. Could it be fixed by letting the engineers have another crack at the transmission calibration? Maybe, but GAC probably shouldn’t have let this gearbox out of the factory in the first place.

It looks pretty swish on the inside. As is common in modern cars – particularly those from China – a large infotainment display dominates the dash, with 14.6 inches of digital real estate displaying what is generally a user-friendly interface. That's in large part due to GAC’s decision to mercifully put most of the controls for the single-zone climate control in their own switch block on the centre console.

Speaking of ventilation, there’s even a rear cabin air vent – another feature that’s not universally offered in the cheap SUV space. Though there’s just one outlet for your backseaters to fight over. That vent was also broken in our tester, a possible hint of a durability issue.

It earns extra practicality points for its under-console storage, though the position of the USB charge ports within this floor-height cubby is unergonomic.

That aside, the driving position is comfortable, the perforated sythentic leather upholstery feels good, and there’s more soft-touch and contrast-stitched surfacing across the dash, door cards and centre console.

The back seat is enormous for the segment, offering plenty of space for lanky teens or rear-facing child seats without needing to scooch the front seats forward. If you’re looking for a small car that can cope with family hauling duty, the GAC Emzoom certainly has the right proportions.

The boot is where it could do better. With 341 litres of seats-up storage it’s a smidge small, while removing the dual-height boot floor doesn’t reveal proper under-floor storage, just an unfinished tub for the spare wheel.

There are no quality-of-life features like bag hooks, tie-downs or seatback releases either, and it doesn’t even have provision for a cargo cover or parcel shelf - meaning whatever you put back there will be visible through the hatch glass.

It looks like a compelling deal on paper, but on the road it’s a different verdict. The GAC Emzoom – at least with this powertrain and transmission – is in need of a rework, as its awful gearbox calibration makes it an annoyance to drive and tough to love. Its other shortcomings are fairly minor but until GAC improves on on the mechanical element, give the Emzoom a skip... or at least request an overnight test drive.

2026 GAC Emzoom Luxury at a glance:
Price: $25,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 125kW/270Nm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.6L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: N/A
Safety rating: Not tested

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