How about that grille heh?
It’s the GAC M8 (Mate, get it?) and it shouts look at me!
The vertically-ribbed grille brings sparks memories of the so-called ”cow catchers” they used to fit to trains.
The idea was to lift and push obstacles out of the way rather than slice and dice them in the case of an unfortunate cow.
Perhaps that’s GAC’s plan for the M8, billed as Australia’s only plug-in hybrid people mover — to push the competition out of the way?
Those competitors include but are not limited to the Denza D9, Kia Carnival, Lexus LM and Zeekr 09.
The Carnival has been around longer than any of them and pretty much owns this segment of the market.
All of them come as hybrids, but not as a plug-in hybrid and that makes GAC believe the M8 has the potential to become a genuine automotive “disruptor” — for business users and families alike.
For those not familiar with the brand, the Chinese state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group is the fifth largest auto maker in China, with 1.74 million sales last year.
STYLING
M8 seats seven in a 2+2+3 configuration that includes two separate captain’s style armchairs for the second row.
It comes in two grades: Premium priced from $76,590, and Luxury from $83,590 — both figures before on-road costs.
Okay, so the styling is a bit over the top. Well, quite a lot really, but it will appeal to some punters and there’s a growing demand for these flashy super wagons.
Make no mistake, the M8 is a luxury vehicle, trimmed to a high standard in half-aniline leather, with 10-point air pump massage chairs, leg rests with four-way adjustment, heating and ventilation, personal USB charge ports and a 58-degree rear recline angle.
Getting the picture? Those phones you see on the arms of the captain’s chairs aren’t really phones, but small individual control panels for making fine seat adjustments with a tap of a finger.
The two armchairs are the highlight of the experience, deep and genuinely comfy, and had us contemplating pinching one for the loungeroom at home.
The second and third rows feature the latest i-Size standard in child seat restraint compatibility whatever that is?
There’s also ‘draft free’ air-conditioning, ensuring the cabin temperature is kept where you want it, without blowing air directly on any passengers.
Further enhancing the ambience are 10 different sorts of noise-reduction to keep things library-quiet. They include 108 sound-insulation panels, acoustic soundproof glass and 20 cavity partitions that block wind noise transmission and noise cancelling technology that actively reduces interior noise by 4dB.
They reckon 30 rounds of optimisation were conducted to finalise the design of the A-pillars and side mirrors, a prime source cabin noise.
Storage, important when you’re catering to needs of seven people, sees 15 hooks, 15 storage boxes and 14 cup holders scattered throughout the cabin, with privacy screens and drop-down tray tables for second row passengers.
The lower console tray is expansive.
The short but deep boot offers 280 litres of capacity with all seats in use, expanding to 1500 litres with the third row tumbled (they don’t pack flat).
It sounds more like the level of engineering that goes into building a Bentley rather than a modest $80K Chinese people mover.
M8 is covered by a 7-year unlimited kilometre warranty, with another 8-year/200,000km coverage for the high voltage battery.
Customers will also benefit from five-year complimentary road-side assistance.
INFOTAINMENT
We were expecting a large-to-very-large, free-standing touchscreen, but instead it’s a modest, 10.1-inch screen that is inset in the dash like they all used to be once upon a time.
It looks larger than it actually is because it blends with its piano black surrounds, with touch sensitive controls either side for volume and fan speed.
The graphics are bright and clear with rich colours. There’s AM and FM radio and support for Bluetooth audio streaming, as well as wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.
But surprisingly there’s no digital radio and no satellite navigation, although these days we tend to head straight for Android Auto (maybe it’s changing cars all the time).
Sound comes from a premium eight-speaker Yamaha audio system which does a credible job. The sound is very clean but there does not appear to be any way to add bass or treble.
A quick audit revealed a single wireless phone charger in front and a mix of eight USB A + C ports, along with 12 volt and 240-volt outlets.
SAFETY
M8 has not been tested for safety by ANCAP but boasts an extensive list of active and passive safety systems, with seven airbags including an industry-leading 3.2m side curtain airbag plus unique rear window airbag to protect occupants in a rear-ender.
There’s a 360-degree camera, lane departure warning and lane-keep assist, autonomous emergency braking and forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control with stop-go, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, rear car approach warning, door open warning and emergency lane-keeping.
Head-up display, however, is missing and that is out of step with the rest of the car.
ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS
Power comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, together with a pair of electric motors and 26 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Combined output is 274kW of power and 630Nm of torque, with drive to the front wheels through a dedicated, two-speed hybrid transmission.
DRIVING
M8 is a large vehicle and it needs to be, to accommodate seven people, at more than 5.2 metres in length, with a 3070mm wheelbase.
The boxy design with the wheels pushed out to the four corners is more practical than it looks because it maximises the amount of interior space available.
Sitting lower to the ground a people mover is much easier to get in and out of and more comfortable to travel in than an SUV.
Dressed in black our test vehicle looks ready for its next shift as a hire car or corporate shuttle, but the opulence appears to have its limitations.
That black by the way is a $1200 option (white is free).
A detailed examination revealed an unexpected amount of generic plastic, but not where you can see it and this certainly increases the closer you get to the back.
By the time you reach the boot, it looks and feels just like any car.
The sliding, electric side doors could be a bit slow for some people and access to the all-important third row is a squeeze between the two middle seats.
But it’s worth the visit because they’re actually large enough to accommodate real adults and quite comfortable into the bargain, not so much for three but two occupants is fine.
Of note, although one of the sliders remained open, the car allowed us to move off without any warning.
The engine both powers the battery and drives the front wheels as required.
With no charge however performance will take a big dent.
The dash from 0-100km/h takes 8.8 seconds while claimed fuel consumption is 6.1L/100km in hybrid mode.
Combined range is 1032km, while all-electric range is 106km.
The battery can be charged at a rate of up to 6.6kW AC or 35kW using a fast DC charger, the latter providing a 0-80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.
For a people mover, performance is surprisingly strong. Fun, even.
It accelerates sharply and smoothly, with an emphasis on smoothly — thanks to the lift from the electric motors. Lexus watch out.
But, frustratingly, there is some initial hesitation and rather than put the boot in, some experimentation revealed a quicker response with a lighter foot.
Pushing hard through corners, not that you’d do that with the fam aboard, it remains reasonably flat and controlled thanks to a low centre of gravity.
Only accelerating hard out of a second gear left-hander did the rear wheels begin to show some movement — remember it is front-wheel drive after all. There’s a lot to like about this car.
The glittering gearshift with its round faceted piece of plastic adornment threw us a couple of curve balls too.
Said jewel rotates and on more than one occasion swiping at the shift resulted in our hand sliding across its surface and off again.
You also need to watch out when switching quickly between forward and reverse during three-point turns, because sometimes it did not produce the desired result — instead the car continued to move backwards instead of forward. Whoops!
Mind you it has 12 — yes, count them 12 — parking sensors as well as automatic parking and rear auto braking, so the chances of actually hitting something are slim.
Riding on 18-inch aluminium wheels with 225/60 profile Michelin e-Primacy tyres, electromagnetic dampers smooth out the bumps.
While adaptive dynamic control adjusts throttle sensitivity to limit both lateral and vertical movement during turns and varying speeds, keeping the vehicle balanced and composed.
A word of warning because the front apron is very low and you should keep this in mind at all times when approaching dips and driveways and so forth.
We were getting 6.3L/100km and 3.4 kWh/100km after close to 400km of mixed driving.
SUMMING UP
Wow. No car is perfect but the M8 has got the potential to be a real winner for GAC.
Not only does it look and feel a million bucks, but performs way better than you might expect.
It’s comfy, nice to drive with strong performance and the ride quality is good even on secondary roads — and it doesn’t use much fuel.
For long distance jumps it could be just the ticket.
RATINGS:
Looks: 7.5
Performance: 7.5
Safety: 6
Thirst: 7.5
Practicality: 8
Comfort: 8
Tech: 7
Value: 8
Overall: 7.4
AT A GLANCE
MODEL LINE-UP
M8 Premium: $76,590
M8 Luxury: $83,590Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local GAC dealer for drive-away prices.
SPECIFICATIONS (GAC M8 Luxury 2.0-litre petrol/electric plug-in hybrid seven-seat people mover)
PETROL ENGINE
Capacity: 2.0 litre
Configuration: Four cylinders, turbocharged
Petrol power 140 kW @ 5000 rpm
Petrol torque: 320 Nm @ 1500 – 4000 rpm
Fuel type: Premium unleaded petrol 91 RON
Combined fuel cycle: (ADR 81/02) 6.1 L/100km
CO2 emissions 228 g/km
Electric range: 106 km
Combined range: 1032 km
ELECTRIC MOTORS
Dual permanent magnet synchronised motors
Power: 134 kW
Torque: 300 kW
TOTAL OUTPUT
Power: 274 kW
Torque: 630 Nm
BATTERY PACK
Type: Lithium-ion
Capacity: 26 kWh
Energy consumption 19.4 kWh/100km
Maximum charging capacity AC/DC 6.6 kW / 35 kW
DRIVELINE: Dedicated, two-speed hybrid transmission, front-wheel drive
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT, AND CAPACITIES
Length: 5212 mm
Width: 1893 mm
Height: 1823 mm
Wheelbase: 3070 mm
Kerb weight: 2420 kg
Turning circle: 11.3 m
Fuel tank: 56 l
BRAKES
Front: Ventilated disc
Rear: Disc
STANDARD WARRANTY
7 years / unlimited kilometres (8 years / 200,000km on high voltage battery)
