GAC GS7

Cabin

You may not realise it, but the moment you enter the cabin, you know it is the key to the hallways. There is a large amount of leather across the main surfaces, giving the cabin a premium, lounge-like feel. The long cabin gives five seats room to breathe, with a rear bench offering generous legroom and a reclining backrest, practical on longer drives.

The seats themselves are premium construction with ventilation and heating depending on the trim level. The overall effect is more lounge-like than a traditional SUV, which is the point.

Technology dominates without overwhelming, with an 8.88-inch digital instrument display that faces the driver, paired with a 15.6-inch central touchscreen running the ADiGO 6.0 system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

A 27-inch head-up display puts maps, driver-assist alerts, and key driving data on the windscreen, making it easier to keep your eyes on the road in E11 traffic. Then comes the 22-speaker audio system with a 1,640 W amplifier, which includes rotating lift-up dashboard speakers that add a design gesture alongside the sound. There is four-zone voice recognition and smart ambient lighting to adjust to your preferences.

Front seat and rear seat

• Ventilation and massage in all four outer seats
• A second row that reclines, with a right-leg rest
• A seat structure built for long-journey comfort
• Soft-close doors and a quiet cabin
• The seating capacity is five, and it is quite comfortable even for longer trips

Climate control

The ventilated seats and remote pre-cooling through the GAC phone app are the main answers to the UAE heat. The driver can cool the cabin before getting in, which matters most in a car parked outside in Dubai in August. 

Cabin charging

• A 50W wireless phone charger
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Remote functions through the GAC app, including cabin pre-cooling 

Storage

• Multiple storage spaces around the cabin
• A 50W wireless phone charger

Battery charging

The GS7 carries a 36.3 kWh battery, which is paired with the 1.5-litre turbo engine in an electric-oriented plug-in hybrid system. GAC describes both plug-in hybrid and range-extender driving modes.

• The battery can be charged from the grid at home or at a public charger
• The system is built to run on electric power for short trips and use the engine for longer journeys
• GAC quotes up to 1,020 km of combined range on the CLTC cycle, which counts the battery and the petrol engine together.

Boot space

The GS7 is a five-seater of around 4,900 mm, which gives it a boot sized for a family’s weekend luggage. The second-row seats recline, which is useful for passengers and worth remembering when loading.

GAC gives the GS7 a long safety list, built around a strong body and a large number of airbags.

• 10 airbags as standard
• A high-strength steel body structure
• A comprehensive Level 2 driver-assistance suite
• GAC’s 540-degree camera vision and battery safety tests, described by GAC as triple-protected
• A 27-inch head-up display that shows driver-assist alerts without the driver looking down.

Front

The GS7’s front is built around GAC’s AI emotion-adaptive headlights. This basically uses individual LEDs and can show different light patterns. This is another example of how Chinese brands are advancing in design and technology. This is clearly pushing the market to its limit, and better products for buyers. Also, at the front, you see a full-width light bar that ties the two lamps together. A glance from the front at the GS7 reveals it to have a truly wide and futuristic look. And the lighting is the first thing a driver in a dark car park will notice.

Side profile

Despite being a large five-seat SUV, when you see it from the side, it feels actually much larger. But the dimensions are 4,900 mm long and 1,950 mm wide, on a wheelbase of around 2,880 mm, with 200 mm of ground clearance, which makes things quite clear. The retractable door handles stay flush with the body until they are needed. The tyres appear to be the right fit and nicely fill the arches, while the overall shape is that of a large, upright SUV with a long cabin.

Alloy wheels

The GS7 is offered on 20-inch alloy wheels. They are large, fill the wide arches well, and match the SUV’s tall, broad stance. 

Rear

At the back are full-width LED tail lamps, which run across the tailgate to match the light bar at the front. The result is a clean, modern rear that is easy to recognise at night. The rear is nothing spectacular, but it is quite appropriate to the overall design.

Colours

• Crystal White
• Obsidian Black
• Moonlight Grey
• Jungle Green

As you can see, there are four colours to choose from. The Crystal White is the sensible pick for UAE summers, and Jungle Green is the one that stands out in a mall car park.

City performance

You consider the size of the GS7, and it is quite fair to say that this is actually a good city car by all means. And when it comes to the powertrain, the electric-only capacity can handle all your daily drives. The plug-in hybrid with this much power should feel quick and quiet in town.

• On short school runs near Al Safa, the battery should handle the daily distance without the engine starting. So the cabin stays quiet.
• A 0-100 km/h time of 5.8 seconds means you can take a gap at a Sheikh Zayed Road roundabout at once. That’s a really a quite good number for a car of this size.
• The 27-inch head-up display keeps driver-assist alerts in the driver’s line of sight during heavy traffic around Al Quoz.
• The dimensions are mainly the length of 4,900 mm and the width of 1,950 mm. The GS7 could feel a big body to place in a basement car park in Business Bay, so the camera and sensor setup matter.
• Pre-cooling through the app makes a car left in the sun at a Mirdif mall in July bearable on return. 

Highway performance

For your highway drives, the 1,020 km combined CLTC range is truly a highlight. And the plug-in system is aimed at long trips as well as short ones, a quite impressive combination of both ranges.

• CLTC is a generous test cycle, so a real run from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and back on the E11 at 120 km/h will use more energy than that figure suggests.
• The excellent power figure of 501 hp and all-wheel drive give plenty of power to pass a slow truck near Al Dhaid, and the 185 km/h top speed is far above the UAE limit.
• The plug-in hybrid system lets the engine support the battery on a long drive. And so the car keeps moving even when the battery is low.
• The Level 2 driver assistance helps on a long, straight run to Ras Al Khaimah, with the head-up display showing alerts.
• There are features like massage and ventilation in the seats that should make a two-hour drive to Fujairah easier for the family.

Ride and handling

Power and weight set the tone for the GS7, and its large size puts the emphasis on comfort. But the SUV is easy to handle and has better ride quality overall.

• A body of around 1.78 m in height and a 2,880 mm wheelbase should give the GS7 a calm ride on the E311 at speed.
• The right tyre size of 20-inch wheels looks strong, though a thinner sidewall can transmit more of the road than a smaller wheel would.
• All-wheel drive with 501 hp helps a driver pull away cleanly from a wet or dusty slip road.
• The battery provides weight, which a driver will feel in how the car turns and stops, and so the stability systems matter on a fast corner.
• Soft-close doors and a quiet cabin make the GS7 feel more like a lounge than a sports SUV.

Since there is only one variant on sale, you have no choice. This also means it reduces your efforts in looking at the right one. You can get the 1.5L PHEV straight away with all the figures mentioned here. This includes a sizable 36.3 kWh battery, all-wheel drive, 20-inch wheels, ventilated and massaging seats, a 15.6-inch central screen, and an 8.88-inch instrument display. A 27-inch head-up display, a 22-speaker audio system, 10 airbags, and a comprehensive Level 2 driver-assistance suite.

The GS7 PHEV is a large, spec-heavy SUV that wants to take on more established plug-in hybrids. GAC is trying hard in that goal by offering some great numbers, including a massive 501 hp output, a 36.3 kWh battery, and a claimed range of 1,020 km, all of these hard to find in the nearest rivals. Then comes the cabin, which is equally exciting, featuring a lounge-style layout and massaging seats in all four outer positions. 

But what you need to consider is pretty simple: it has only five seats, the range figure is a best case, and GAC is only a few weeks into selling this model in the UAE.

Some of the other brands out there are fairly well-established and known in the market. Options like the BYD Ti7 and Denza B5 could be a better bet. However, the GS7 certainly deserves attention for what it has to offer, or rather, it is hard to ignore. And so for a family that wants comfort and pace in one package, the GS7 is a strong first look.

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