Geely Emgrand Comfort – Practical doesn’t mean bare

Crossovers might be taking up headlines every month, but sedans still rule the roads. A subcompact sedan was still the best selling car last year, and by a huge margin, which is why it’s not surprising that Geely wants a piece of that pie. 

The Geely Emgrand is their answer to the hotly contested sedan market. It has a distinct European styling mixed with tech and finish that Geely is now known for. A lightbar at the trunk, white and blue cabin theme, leather upholstery, sunroof – all good bits for P908,000. Not everyone can put out that amount for a car though. 

This is where the Emgrand Comfort comes in. For P110,000 less, you’re getting the same silhouette of a car with more practical bits at a more attainable price. Question is, just how many corners were cut? A handful to be honest, but not much to be concerned about. 

From the get-go, the Premium and Comfort trims look similar. They have the same ‘Energy Pulse Vertical Grille’ that looks very luxurious, automatic LED headlights with manual leveling, and 17-inch alloy wheels. Up top, the Comfort lets go of the sunroof while at the sides, the chrome accent on the windows were removed. The rear is where the Comfort is most obvious since it doesn’t have the lightbar on the trunk but retains the same taillight assembly on the corners. 

Inside, the Emgrand Comfort makes do with fabric upholstery and a gray theme for the interior. What’s fancy about it is their fabric isn’t the same as what you’ll see from other cars in this price range. It’s a bit more dense which is reminiscent of what you’ll get from comfort jeans. It’s smooth but will have enough grip with your clothes so you’re not swaying from side to side in every turn. It also helps that the front seats are bolstered well.

There’s an analog gauge cluster with a small screen for vehicle info, a Push Start button, and at the middle of the dash is an 8-inch touchscreen with 4 speakers. As expected, it doesn’t have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but makes up for things by having an easy-to-setup Bluetooth connection. 

Behind the shifter is an electronic parking brake with auto brake hold, the same system found in the Coolray and others in Geely’s lineup. There’s no learning curve to use it and it activates smoothly and doesn’t tend to latch-on prematurely. At the Emgrand Comfort’s price point, it’s surprising it was able to retain this feature.

There’s also an intelligent aircon control. They’re not the usual circular knobs but instead, an array of flat buttons you can push up and down. Unique to them is Geely’s ‘Intelligent Interactive System.’ If you’re in fresh air mode and you spray the washer fluid, it will automatically switch to recirculation mode. During Bluetooth calls, it will reduce the fan speed of the aircon to decrease fan noise and make the call easier to hear and your voice won’t have any noise hampering it. Small things but it adds up to a great experience when you’re driving.

Rear occupants were not forgotten with the Emgrand Comfort. Despite being a lower variant, they still have rear air vents and a charging port. There’s no center armrest just like in the Premium but there’s generous space in legroom, headroom, and elbowroom. The center tunnel is also very low which will make the middle occupant sit at ease. Also, these seats can be folded in a 60-40 split so you can have longer items in the trunk if no one’s here.

Under the hood is a 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine that makes 102 horsepower and 142 Nm of torque, paired to a CVT. Its response is reminiscent of the Azkarra wherein power delivery is mild in normal mode. This smooth and mild response struggles when it comes to steep inclines even if you’re alone in the car. It will need momentum to go on smoothly. If you stop midway, it will struggle climbing back up to speed. You can make up for it by switching to Sport Mode but not by much.

It’s not without a positive effect though. This mild delivery of the powertrain tends to return admirable figures in fuel efficiency even in normal mode. On the highway, I was able to get 21.7km/l while in the city with heavy traffic I was still able to get 8.1 km/l. If you’re just cruising on the highway and not doing much overtaking or if your city traffic isn’t during the rush hour, these figures can still get higher. 

On the road, the Emgrand is very pleasing to drive. It felt like a car worth more than a million pesos with its behavior. The smooth powertrain is complemented with great riding comfort that road imperfections of EDSA felt like slight nudges. Cabin isolation is also stellar and will rival other compact sedans. There’s audible road noise when you’re at the speed limit but it can be easily offset with music – and you don’t even have to turn the volume high.

Steering is a cinch in this Emgrand. It’s light when you’re in city speeds but out on the highway, it gets very firm. Just to add, the Emgrand Comfort still has cruise control so highway driving is easier if you want to. Back to steering, it’s also responsive enough to make driving in the mountains easy. There’s a fair bit of body roll with the car but it’s offset by its wideness on basic curves. 

The only downside to the Emgrand Comfort is it only has front airbags, compared to the Premium that has side and curtain airbags. Aside from that, they have similar feature-set when it comes to safety and tech. They both enjoy ABS with EBD, traction control, stability control, hill start assist, reverse camera with dynamic line guides, rear parking sensors, speed-sensing door locks and tire pressure monitoring system.

The Geely Emgrand Comfort is a lot of car for its price of P798,000. You’ll go gaga over it with its size alone that rivals that of the Altis and Civic, but Geely didn’t stop there. Electronic parking brake with auto hold, cruise control, the smart aircon control – these are unseen collectively at any car in this price point.

I’ve been in the Premium variant for a fair bit of time too and unless you really dig the lightbar it has, I think the Comfort is the better deal. It still has practical bits for daily driving while having modern niceties to elevate the experience. The Geely Emgrand Comfort sets a new standard for its segment and to others in its price point with the sheer value it has for your money. It exemplifies that one can be practical without being bare.