GAC GS8

On the inside, the GAC GS8 has been bestowed with a very luxurious cabin, which is not as overboard as the exterior design. The cabin feels classy with a nice mix of faux wood and white finish at places, which only uplift the overall ambiance of the cabin.

The thick panel of faux wood running all the way from door panels to the centre of the dashboard gives it a feel of a wraparound luxury yacht. The four-spoke steering wheel with an array of buttons on it and wide central console with a house of buttons do make the cabin look wide. Then there is a large touchscreen infotainment system within a trapezoidal housing on the upper dashboard, which is an interface to the fantastic 10-speaker sound system from Harman.

With features like a large panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, push-button start with keyless entry, ambient lighting and powered front seats with memory function, it feels decently equipped for its size and price as well. And when it comes to space, it simply has got an enormous amount of room in all the three rows, including the third one as well.

The GAC GS8 has got an intimidating stance, as far as the exterior design is concerned. The SUV looks imposing from whichever angle you look at it, with the large dimensions as well as boxy design playing an important role in making it look larger. However, the GS8’s pure boxy styling might not go well with everyone, especially those who prefer modern and sharp character lines.

The GAC GS8’s styling’s most interesting highlight has to be the unique front headlamp design. The hammer-shaped headlamp with curvy upper and lower portions and a rectangular middle portion, with the latter on seamlessly blending into long and large front chrome grille looks quite unique. The full LED lighting pattern for the headlamps with daytime running lamps as well as fog lamps do raise its road presence even more.

It is when you move towards the side profile when you realise that the GS8 looks a bit bland, with absolutely no character lines making it look a tad too simple. However, the small kink at the bottom of the rear side window is something which looks interesting here. At the rear, the GAC GS8 turns tables in its favour, with squared and vertical tail lamps and large rear windshield accentuating its gargantuan size.

Underneath the huge GAC GS8 is a potent high tensile steel monocoque frame, which makes the GS8 slightly capable to keep the body roll well under control. The vehicle is blessed with four-wheel independent suspension with six different driving modes in the four-wheel drive variant, which makes it capable to traverse over any kind of terrain very easily.

GAC has been offering the GS8 with only engine and gearbox combination of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol mill mated to a simple 6-speed torque converter. With a maximum power output of 200 PS and a peak torque output of 320 Nm, the GS8 feels adequately powerful for its size. However, given the bulk of the SUV, the engine doesn’t feel as powerful and fuel-efficient as it should have been.

Like in comfort and convenience department, GAC hasn’t gone overboard in equipping the GS8 with an enormous amount of safety features. The GAC GS8 packs in all the essentials like the front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, electronic stability program, front and rear parking sensors, and electronic parking brake.

The GAC GS8 makes a great first impression with its imposing stance, quirky front and rear styling, yacht-like interior cabin layouts, and excellent space levels. However, it feels a bit under-equipped for a vehicle of its size, and the performance from the engine too could have been a bit better. Nevertheless, the GS8 unmistakably has got the swagger of a large luxury SUV on point.