FIRST DRIVE: GAC GS3 EMZOOM

The recent influx of new Chinese cars will be chronicled in the annals of motoring for years. A decade ago, cars hailing from the Asian country were cheap, nasty, and lacked integral build quality and reliability, which saw many brands pull out of the country as quickly as they came in. With many lessons learnt and stripes earned, brands like GWM and Chery, in particular, have seen a resurgence. This has left many stupefied, not the least the legacy brands that are under fire by the value propositions that the Chinese marques continue to offer the Mzansi motorists that continue to buckle under economic pressures. 

GAC Motors, short for Go And Change, is a subsidiary of GAC Group. Founded in 2008, GAC Motors, with headquarters in Guangzhou, China, manufactures and assembles its vehicles in partnership with premium vehicle component manufacturers. The net result, as we discovered at the brand's media launch of the GS3 EMZOOM, the company's first product in the Mzansi market, had us sitting up and taking notice. A crossover in the mould of the Mazda CX-3, Kia Seltos, and Toyota Corolla Cross—this latest entrant to the arena takes the origami-inspired design theme to new heights. While it remains to be seen how it will age, it remains an attractive car with people craning their heads and gesticulating among their travel companions. 

Locally, GAC is distributed by the Portuguese-based Salvador Caetano Group, established in 1946. It was initially commissioned with the production and distribution of Toyota products in Portugal before assembling Cobus buses, many of which can be seen roaming around as airport shuttles globally. It also boasted joint ventures with Honda and Mitsubishi. GAC has three production facilities in China and six R&D facilities worth more than $6.5bn (R127bn). Salvador Caetano Africa recorded a R70bn turnover in 2023, and GAC in Mzansi, spearheaded by Leslie Ramsoomar, is confident that the parent company will offer the necessary support required to ensure the firm’s success. Initially, 20 dealers have been earmarked across major metropolitan areas across Mzansi. A smaller dealer network, according to Ramsoomar, is a component of their quality above quantity mantra. In terms of parts supply, Ramsoomar states that R15 million and six months' worth are on hand, and more are in the pipeline ahead of the Emkoo SUV's launch next month. 

Back to the Emzoom, though, which seems to have the styling quota thoroughly licked from my end at least, but there’s more to it than just mere styling. Three flavours are on offer: Comfort, Executive, and R-Style, with a specification jump in tiers, respectively. A sole 1.5-litre, four-pot petrol turbo engine pushing out 130kW and 270Nm via a 7-speed DCT is offered, and we drove the R-Style derivative at the vehicle’s launch in Gauteng recently. 

Build quality is surprisingly good, with sturdy tactile materials that felt on par with European and Korean offerings. There’s a 10.25-inch touchscreen taking centre stage, offering Apple CarPlay functionality, while the 7-inch digital instrument cluster is legible with vital functionalities logically laid out. The thick-rimmed, leather-wreathed steering wheel is ergonomically pleasing and easy to twirl, making placing the vehicle on the road an absolute cinch. Speaking of which, the 18-inch alloy wheel and tyres lend themselves to decent road manners with damping and coping well with undulations and broken tarmac surfaces. At launch, we managed an average fuel consumption of 7.1 litres per 100km, which, although not close to the claimed 6.2 litres per 100km figure, remains exemplary considering we weren’t driving for fuel economy. 

Based on my experience driving GAC's GS3 Emzoom, this is a solid product that feels well screwed together and drives decently well. We will, of course, soon put the vehicle through our test ringer to see how it fares. At face value, though,  this is a good product, and we cannot wait to see how the larger Emkoo SUV fares when it launches soon.

Pricing: 

GS3 EMZOOM 1.5L T Comfort: R469,900

GS3 EMZOOM 1.5L T Executive: R499,900

GS3 EMZOOM 1.5L T R-Style: R549,900

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