2026 GAC Emzoom review

Our verdict

The GAC Emzoom looks and feels considerably more expensive than its price suggests. It's also one of the best-equipped SUVs you can buy for under $30,000. The styling is distinctive, the interior looks great and there's an impressive amount of standard equipment.

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 has added a cheaper entry grade since launch. The Emzoom Premium is $22,990 driveaway, making it one of the cheapest new SUVs in the country. The Luxury tested here is $26,990 driveaway, or $25,590 before on-road costs.

The Premium keeps the 14.6-inch touchscreen, adaptive cruise, the space-saver spare and rear air vents. It drops the panoramic glass roof, powered tailgate, electric folding mirrors, powered and ventilated driver’s seat, ambient lighting, wireless charging and USB-C ports. Early Premiums also arrived without seatbelt pretensioners and rear seatbelt reminders. GAC is adding both to cars delivered from November 2026, so check the build date before you buy.

The $4,000 step to the Luxury buys most of what makes the Emzoom feel special inside. If presentation is why you’re here, it’s the one to have.

The Emzoom isn't quite the bargain it first appears, though. Several rivals sit at a similar price, and some of them offer hybrid power for a fuel bill the Emzoom can’t match. You’re paying for how it looks and feels rather than for what it does on the road.

View GAC Emzoom driveaway pricing and specifications →

What does the GAC Emzoom look like?

Plenty of new Chinese SUVs look fairly similar, but there's no mistaking the Emzoom for anything else. 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. The Luxury gets 18-inch alloys, full LED lighting, flush door handles, power-folding mirrors and a panoramic glass roof. That's an impressive equipment list for a $26,990 SUV.

There are hints of other cars in the design, but I think GAC has done a good job making the Emzoom look different. For a brand nobody had heard of eighteen months ago, that is a smart opening move.

What is the GAC Emzoom like inside?

The angular styling continues inside, with a 14.6-inch touchscreen and 7.0-inch driver's display housed in a single panel. It's a modern-looking dashboard, particularly for a car at this price.

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?

The frustrating thing is that the Emzoom actually drives quite well, until you have to deal with the gearbox.

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.

At least it runs on regular 91 RON unleaded, and the 47-litre fuel tank means you won't be stopping for petrol too often.

The warranty is a strong card too, matching the best in the segment, and GAC has also published its recommended servicing prices with the first five services totalling $2492.

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 and six airbags. The Luxury also gets a 360-degree camera.

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 biggest concern is that the Emzoom has no ANCAP or Euro NCAP rating, so there's no independent crash-test result to assess its safety. It also misses rear cross-traffic alert and a driver-monitoring system, which ANCAP’s tougher 2026 tests now expect, so a five-star result is far from guaranteed.

Early Emzoom Premiums also arrived without seatbelt pretensioners and rear seatbelt reminders. GAC is adding both from November 2026, so check the build date if you’re buying the cheaper grade. For many buyers, the missing rating 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’s priced right alongside the Emzoom Premium and offers a hybrid option the GAC can’t 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.

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.

Of the two Emzoom grades, I'd choose the Luxury for its nicer interior. But I'd drive a Tiggo 4 Hybrid before making a decision. It's cheaper to run around town and has a five-star ANCAP rating.

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.

Fix the gearbox and the Emzoom would be one of the best budget SUVs on sale. Until then, I'd struggle to recommend it.