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The GAC Empow marks the brand's return to form because of these five reasons

After spending a bit of time with the midrange GAC Empow, we can safely say that it is definitely one of GAC’s best cars to date.

Earl Lee
2023 GAC Empow

It wasn’t too long ago that GAC Philippines came into the market with well-built cars that actually do rather well on their own. It’s just that after a few years of multiple brands coming in and taking the spotlight, GAC became overshadowed and overwhelmed by the influx of competitors that were very aggressive in their approach. 

However, GAC’s been putting in the work, and all of their research and development paid off in the Empow, the brand’s latest compact sedan for the Philippine market. Now, at first, we thought that the Empow would just be yet another sedan with a turbocharged engine, a template that was started by the Honda Civic RS Turbo a few years back. However, after spending some time with it, we feel that it goes beyond just being another alternative in the market, in fact, we feel that it should be something that you should definitely check out and consider. 

2023 GAC Empow

The GAC Empow’s a stunning car. This model marks yet another time that the brand was able to impress on the design front. With a decidedly tame but aggressive exterior look, the Empow has multiple personalities, such as a low-key daily driver, a professional’s ride, or as a sporty undercover sedan. 

We say undercover because the modern look of the Empow doesn’t tell of its more sporting side, especially in this mid-tier variant. We’re not saying that the Empow looks boring, but more like it’s rather unassuming. It’s a wolf in, well not sheep’s clothing, but a wolf in a suit. Something that you can clearly see is cool and respectable. That is until you get to drive one and feel just how crazy GAC went with the chassis’ dynamics and its engine. 

2023 GAC Empow Interior

Before we get into the driving dynamics, however, let’s go over the more practical and the more functional elements in the Empow that managed to impress us. For starters, we get a sixty-forty split rear seat which will allow you to be flexible with your passenger and your cargo arrangements. 

On top of that, you will find that the Empow’s passenger space seems class-leading. Even with larger-than-average individuals, we found that there were no problems fitting people in the car. It was only when all the passengers at the back were big did we run into issues with regard to shoulder space, but never with leg space. The legroom in the Empow was more than enough for back-seat passengers to feel comfortable, even when the driver was a taller fellow. 

Other than that, you get a ton of cubby holes and storage holes, with the best being the storage space underneath the digital gear selector up front. You can store a lot of things down here and there is also a USB charging port for the passenger and a USB port for your phone to connect to the Apple CarPlay functionality of the infotainment system. The rear passengers are also included in the convenience feature set, with a rear air conditioning vent included and yet another USB charging port available. 

2023 GAC Empow

Okay, when we say that the Empow runs cool, we don’t mean that it is a figuratively cool car, it’s a literal cool car to run. One thing that we discovered while poking around the Empow’s engine bay is the “Mega Wave Power” logo that’s written on the head of the engine. It’s not an engine technology per se, but rather, it’s an engine architecture platform that boasts industry-leading thermal efficiency. This results in an engine that doesn’t produce as much heat compared to other manufacturers, and GAC says that you can get more power, more engine agility, and also more fuel savings with this technology. 

Of course, the Empow has it, and we’re pleased to report that the engine ran a lot cooler than we expected. Even after multiple instances of hard acceleration and some spirited driving, engine fluid temperatures actually stayed within an acceptable range. On top of that, and to sort of test the claims, we even stuck our finger on the head of the engine, and to our surprise, it was cool to the touch. How GAC was able to do this, it’s probably a trade secret. 

2023 GAC Empow Rear

Now in a more figurative sense, the GAC Empow is actually pretty cool to drive. Not only does it have an engine that you won’t feel so bad to beat on, but it’s also actually a decently fast car. Some sources are pinning its 0 to 100 km/h times at about 7.0 seconds, which is probably helped along by the fact that this car has launch control. Yes, you read that right, it has launch control. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, really, as the model’s feature set is really that of a high-end sports sedan rather than an affordable compact car that happens to have a turbo. Don’t think for a second that just because it’s not from an established brand, it won’t have all the bells and whistles. In fact, even in the mid-tier variant, you get a ton of driving tech like a flashy screen for all your telemetry data, and also drive modes that’ll sharpen the car’s steering, acceleration, and even its handling. One fun thing that we found out about the Empow was that its “ultimate” driving mode, Sport+ was locked out. At first, we found that it was a little disingenuous for GAC to lock out the penultimate feature. However, we found out that you can unlock this mode by driving the car in a certain way, somewhat like a video game. 

In our time with the model, we were able to unlock the primo driving mode. Once active, however, it felt like we unleashed a beast. After our first encounter with the driving mode, we were actually shocked and some of us even felt a bit scared of the car’s power and torque delivery. Everything shifted from being a comfortable daily driver to a bona-fide sport sedan, at least based on our initial impressions. The only drawback was that our GB variant did not have paddle shifters, which took away from the overall sport-driving experience. If you are an enthusiast, we definitely recommend that you go for only the top-spec trim as it comes with paddles and then some. 

Our praise isn't just limited to the engine, but also with regard to the chassis. At everyday speeds, we felt that the vehicle was well-built. The chassis didn't have that characteristic rattle that we sometimes feel, especially for models built to a certain price point. We're getting a thoroughly engineered and well-built car with the Empow. High-speed handling was a little more exciting compared to other models out in the market. This is especially apparent when you enter a twisty mountain road with tight turns and switchbacks. The vehicle responds well to steering inputs and its chassis tends to let you play and rotate well in the corners. It's a very agile car, and in the right hands, we see that it can give other more expensive sport sedans a run for their money. 

After our brief stint with the GAC Empow, we felt that GAC was on the right track once again. The interior quality is now at a level that exceeds our expectations, and the overall driving experience is definitely worthy of consideration if you’re someone that drives with a passion. 

The Empow marks GAC’s return to form for us, and we hope to see more similar models popping up in the near future that follows this formula. 

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