The Manila Times

Lunching R-Style in Tagaytay with the GAC Emzoom

- BY MIKA FERNANDEZD­AVID

ASTARA Philippine­s and GAC Motor Philippine­s hosted a quick lunch in Tagaytay to showcase its best-selling nameplate, the GAC GS3 Emzoom.

The group assembled at the newly opened GAC Alabang dealership along Alabang-Zapote Road, which is only the second in the world to feature the new design (CI) for GAC showrooms. Officials from Astara Philippine­s and GAC Motor Philippine­s brand head Franz Decloedt welcomed the participan­ts. In his opening remarks, Decloedt expressed his gratitude for the positive response from the customers toward the Emzoom.

He said that the subcompact crossover accounts for 39 percent of GAC’s total units sold in 2023, and around 70 percent of which is the top-of-the-line, fully loaded R-Style trim. “The Emzoom is a great representa­tion of the GAC Motor guarantee of excellence in a fun and versatile package fit for different lifestyles,” he added.

The entire Emzoom range is powered by a 1.5-liter TG engine paired with a 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmissi­on (7WDCT) that produces 177 hp and 270 Nm of torque. It is fitted with the same power plant found in the Empow and the Emkoo, with slight deviations in output numbers due to varied factors including tweaking, form factors, and gross weights. To the uninitiate­d, the Emzoom’s dualclutch system can be quite unsettling, but it really only takes a few minutes to adjust and make the g-force work to your advantage. The difference­s in the trims come in the creature comforts, as well as the driver-assist and safety features that are included in the package.

Being a “George Ramirez” drive, the convoy took the scenic route to be able to experience as many different terrains and road situations as possible in our short time with the Emzoom. From the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), we turned off to the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax), traversed Nuvali Boulevard and Canlubang, Laguna, before taking the back roads to our lunch venue, My Country House Tagaytay.

During the drive, the participan­ts were able to experience the different driving features of the Emzoom’s advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control with integrated cruise assist, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, and intelligen­t speed limit control.

The Emzoom is available in three variants: The base variant GS3 1.5 GS DCT (P998,000), the mid-ranger GS3 1.5 GB DCT (P1.098 million), and the top-of-theline, volume driver, R-Style trim (P1.198 million). For the entire month of February, GAC is offering the GS and GB trims of the Emzoom with a P100,000 discount (GS3 1.5 GS DCT — P898,000; GS3 1.5 GB DCT — 998,000), making them the only SUVs in our market in that segment that are available at below P1 million.

 ?? ?? n Quick driver change at the Marcos Mansion in Canlubang.
n Quick driver change at the Marcos Mansion in Canlubang.
 ?? ?? n GAC Motor Philippine­s brand head Franz Decloedt.
n GAC Motor Philippine­s brand head Franz Decloedt.
 ?? ?? n The GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style in ivory white.
n The GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style in ivory white.
 ?? ?? n Inside the GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style.
n Inside the GAC GS3 Emzoom R-Style.

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