It was late last year when things were made official – GAC Motors is now under Astara Philippines. This comes just as the young brand entered its 4th year of operations in the country and what better way to commemorate the new partnership than bringing in new cars into the market.
Despite the change, GAC pulled through with their promise back in April last year when they teased the Empow and all-new GS8 during the 2022 Manila International Auto Show. They’re now officially in the Philippines and will join the GN6 MPV, GS3, and GS4 crossovers in GAC’s local lineup.
The All-New Empow
The Empow is a compact sports sedan that’s aimed to compete with the likes of Toyota Corolla Altis and Honda Civic. Against the latter, the Empow is longer, wider, and a bit taller, though they have the same wheelbase. It runs on a 1.5-liter turbo engine paired to a 7-speed dual clutch making 168 horsepower and 270 Nm of torque, close to what the Civic puts out.
It features a striking design from all angles, with orange accents in and out of the car for the top of the line variant. It’s combined with functional amenities like automatic LED headlights, heated side mirrors, and rain sensing wipers to match the allure of the design.
Inside, it features a unified digital gauge cluster and touchscreen that has Apple CarPlay. It’s matched to a D-shaped steering wheel and a high center console with an underside cubby hole.
There’s dual-zone automatic climate control, 6-way powered driver’s seat, 6 airbags, and a slew of advanced driver assist features like adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, and lane departure warning among others.
The new GAC Empow has an introductory price of P1,135,000 for the GS, P1,215,000 for the GB model shown here, and P1,283,000 for the top of the line GE that’s only available in the Matte Fighter Green color.
All-new GS8
GAC’s biggest SUV in the country gets a new look this time around. It’s still squarish in its overall shape but the headlights are more modern matched with the luxurious “Wing Chrome” grille. The sides are a bit more demure, only highlighted by the 20-inch alloy wheels; with the rear matching the shapes found in front.
The lighting is an all LED affair, combined with double chrome exhaust pipes, powered tailgate with automatic closing function, automatic folding side mirrors, and a soundproof windshield.
A more utilitarian approach is done in the cabin with curves only appearing on end points of the dash or door panels. There’s a 7-inch digital gauge cluster, 14.6-inch center touchscreen, wireless charger, three-zone automatic climate control, 6-way powered driver’s seat, 4-way powered front passenger seat, and a higher resolution 360-camera system.
The all-new GS8 also features the advanced driver’s assist system found in the Empow. Only, this has additional bits like traffic recognition system, full speed range adaptive cruise control, integrated cruise assist, and hill descent control.
This big boy is running via a 2-liter turbo engine paired to an 8-speed automatic. The combination puts out 248 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque and is available with ECO, Sport, and Comfort driving modes.
The all-new GS8 is only available in one trim that has all the bells and whistles stated here. It has an introductory price of P2,298,000. Both the GS8 and Empow’s introductory pricing are only up to March 31, 2023.
