2026 GAC Emzoom review

Our verdict

The Emzoom is for the value hunter who wants their cheap SUV to look and feel anything but cheap, and on that score GAC has nailed it. What it does best is presentation: the styling, the cabin tech and the standard kit all punch well above the price.

The catch is the bit that matters most every single day. The 1.5-litre turbo and seven-speed dual-clutch combination is poorly sorted, and it drags down a car that is otherwise pleasant to live with.

What does the GAC Emzoom cost in Australia?

GAC keeps the lineup refreshingly simple. There is one variant, the Luxury, and that is it. The list price sits at $25,590 before on-road costs and is advertised at $26,990 driveaway.

That positions the Emzoom squarely among the dozen or so cheapest new cars on sale, and right in the middle of the budget small-SUV scrum. It is worth being clear-eyed about the value pitch, though. Several rivals undercut it and some of those offer hybrid power for a fuel bill the Emzoom cannot match.

So while $27K driveaway looks sharp, the Emzoom is not the outright cheapest way into this segment. It is asking you to pay a small premium for how it looks and feels rather than for what it does on the road.

What does the GAC Emzoom look like?

Here, the Emzoom makes its case.

So many new Chinese arrivals play it safe with anonymous, vaguely European styling, and they vanish into the carpark the moment you walk away. The Emzoom does the opposite. It is all crisp creases and straight lines, an angular, slightly aggressive look that gives it real presence for a 4.4-metre crossover.

The detailing backs it up. Eighteen-inch alloys, full LED lighting, flush door handles and powered, folding mirrors are all standard, and the panoramic glass roof is the kind of feature that usually appears three price brackets higher.

Yes, you can spot a borrowed cue or two if you go looking, but the overall package is cohesive and genuinely distinctive. For a brand nobody had heard of eighteen months ago, that is a smart opening move.

What is the GAC Emzoom like inside?

The good first impression carries through the door. The cabin leans into the same straight-edged design language as the exterior, and it reads as deliberate rather than fussy. A 14.6-inch central touchscreen dominates the dash, paired with a 7.0-inch driver's display, and the two are housed in a single panel that gives the whole thing a slick, high-tech look.

Material quality is the real surprise. Soft-touch finishes cover the door tops, the dash and the armrests, the steering wheel feels good in the hand, and the perforated synthetic trim on the seats looks and feels far better than the price tag implies. GAC has also resisted the temptation to bury everything in the screen, so you still get physical controls for temperature and fan speed, which is a small mercy you will appreciate every time you are on the move.

It is not flawless. The six-speaker audio sounds thin and tinny once you push it, which undercuts the premium-looking speaker grilles. And the digital blind-spot view, which throws an enlarged mirror feed onto the central screen when you indicate, is more distraction than help. Glancing to the centre console to check your right-hand mirror never stops feeling backwards, and it cannot be switched off for good. Clever idea, awkward execution.

How practical is the GAC Emzoom?

For a small SUV, the Emzoom is roomier than its footprint suggests. The back seat is the highlight, with enough knee and head room for adults to sit comfortably, helped along by that big glass roof flooding the space with light. There is a fold-down armrest with cupholders, an air vent and a single USB port back there, so it is functional rather than lavish, but the sheer space on offer is impressive.

Up front you get two USB outlets, a 12V socket and a wireless charging pad, plus useful odds-and-ends storage around the console. The 341-litre boot is fine without being a class leader. A few rivals offer more, and the packaging clearly favours rear-seat passengers over cargo.

Drop the 60/40 rear bench and you free up a little over 1271 litres, and there is a space-saver spare under the floor rather than a tyre-repair kit, which is worth a tick for anyone who ventures beyond the suburbs.

What is the GAC Emzoom like to drive?

Here is the heartbreak. Strip out the powertrain and the Emzoom is a properly resolved thing to drive. The ride is decent, soaking up scarred, lumpy suburban roads without thumping or floating, and settling into a composed, planted gait on the open road. The steering is accurate and decently weighted, with none of the numb, disconnected feel that plagues some newcomers, and it changes direction with more poise than the price suggests. There is even a sense that someone who cares about how a car drives signed off on the chassis.

And then you pull away from a standstill. The seven-speed wet dual-clutch is the Emzoom's undoing. Throttle take-up is sharp and twitchy, the clutch is hesitant to engage cleanly, and you get these unexpected surges of torque that make smooth, low-speed progress a constant battle. Around town it asks far more concentration than it should, and three-point turns and tight manoeuvres expose a lazy, slurring clutch that does not inspire confidence. The 125kW and 270Nm turbo engine itself has plenty of punch, so the raw performance is there. It is the calibration sitting between your right foot and the front wheels that lets the whole thing down.

It is a genuine shame, because once you are up and cruising it mostly sorts itself out and the better side of the car returns. But you spend a lot of your life in stop-start traffic, and that is precisely where the Emzoom is at its most frustrating.

How efficient is the GAC Emzoom?

GAC quotes a combined figure of 6.6L/100km, which sounds competitive on paper. Reality is less flattering. In suburban running the Emzoom drinks between 8 and 9L/100km, well clear of the claim, and that gap is hard to ignore when so many rivals now offer hybrid drivetrains that sip far less in exactly the kind of city driving this car is built for.

It runs happily on cheaper 91 RON regular unleaded, which softens the blow at the bowser, and the 47-litre tank is good for a usable real-world range. The warranty is a strong card too, at seven years and unlimited kilometres, matching the best in the segment. The asterisk is servicing. GAC has not yet published its capped-price servicing costs, so factoring ownership running costs into your decision involves a leap of faith for now.

Is the GAC Emzoom safe?

The active safety net is decent for the money. The Emzoom comes with autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and a 360-degree camera, plus six airbags. Better still, these systems are well behaved. They intervene when they should and otherwise leave you alone, which is a relief in a class where over-eager bongs and chimes can drive you to distraction.

The big caveat is the scoreboard. The Emzoom carries no ANCAP or Euro NCAP rating, so there is no independent crash-test data to lean on, and the list of active features, while solid, is not as comprehensive as some established rivals can muster. For many buyers that absence will be a sticking point, and fairly so.

What are the main competitors to the GAC Emzoom?

The Chery Tiggo 4 is the car everyone in this bracket measures against, and it has been selling in huge numbers despite a fairly humble underlying package. It undercuts the Emzoom and offers a hybrid option the GAC cannot answer, so if outright value and running costs top your list, it demands a look.

The GWM Haval Jolion is another high-volume budget pick, generously equipped and keenly priced, though it does not match the Emzoom for driving polish or interior flair. It is the safe, conventional choice in the segment.

The MG ZS rounds out the trio, trading on a familiar badge and a long track record in cheap SUVs. Pricing has crept up over the years, so it no longer holds the value advantage it once did, but the broad dealer network and brand recognition count for something against a newcomer like GAC.

Cross-shop the Emzoom if styling, cabin tech and ride comfort matter most to you. Look elsewhere if running costs, a proven brand or a crash-test rating sit higher on your list.

Should I buy the GAC Emzoom?

The Emzoom is a frustrating car to score, because so much of it is genuinely good. It looks sharp, the cabin feels a cut above its price, the ride is composed and the equipment list is borderline absurd for the money. If GAC sorted the powertrain calibration, this would be one of the easiest budget recommendations going.

But it has not, and the gearbox is the part you live with every day. Around town it is clunky and hard to drive smoothly, and the real-world fuel use only adds to the case against. At this price there are rivals that drive more sweetly and cost less to run, even if none of them present quite as nicely.

There is a very good car buried in here, and a poorly sorted transmission sitting on top of it.

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