FULL REVIEW: 2023 GAC Empow GE -- A Honda Civic rival in the making, but with a few quirks

Disclosure: GAC Motor Philippines lent us the 2023 GAC Empow GE for one week with a full gas tank and access to its loaded RFID cards.

It's a bold statement to say that something from China can give the Honda Civic, an established nameplate, a run for its money.

This might be the case for the 2023 GAC Empow GE, as it ticks all the right boxes for those looking for a sporty sedan.

Hear me out, though, because I know there is still a lot of controversy over Chinese vehicles, especially with the recent issues with Geely.

Still, GAC Motor Philippines is approaching things differently with its lineup of cars. It's learning from the mistakes of its competitors and applying early solutions to keep things in check and to sustain its growth.

Not to mention, GAC Motor Philippines is under Astara, a global distributor that has its roots dug deep into other international markets and is very successful.

Anyway, with that out of the way, on to the 2023 GAC Empow GE and why it's a new Honda Civic rival that can be here to stay. 

Sports car looks with premium feel

GAC seems to be appealing to a younger buying audience with the Empow sedan, similar to how Honda Cars Philippines has done the same with the Civic. 

The GAC sedan has this mix of sporty and luxurious, with the aggression you would expect in upmarket European sports sedans and the refined look you’d expect to see from something Japanese. 

The front of the GAC Empow is broad, with angles and yellow accents on the grille and bumper. It also has vents that aren’t just there for looks, but to channel air to the wheels and away from the front of the vehicle.

These vents also help cool down the engine and the brakes, which is handy in traffic or during the midday heat. The Empow also comes with stylish, 10-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels.

I must note that the Empow GE has brake caliper covers, which are colored yellow. It's a sporty touch that some may find tacky, but I didn’t mind it, as it added a color accent to the vehicle's side profile.

Moving to the back, you get unique LED taillights, which borrow some inspiration from Lexus and Jaguar. 

While the Empow GE has a spacious trunk, its one flaw is that you can’t open it from the outside without using the remote.

To remedy this, GAC has given the sedan an automatic opening feature, wherein if you stay behind the vehicle for more than five seconds, it will open the trunk for you.

Appealing to your inner racer

The one feature that the GAC Empow GE has over the Honda Civic or any other compact sedan rival it has in the Philippines is its active exhaust system.

It's a feature that appeals to your inner racer if you want to be heard rather than seen.

With just a button press, its quiet exhaust suddenly opens up to reveal a bassy growl and a few subtle exhaust pops in the higher rev range.

It's a feature that many younger car enthusiasts will enjoy as they get the pros of a “loud” exhaust with the option of quieting things down when they just want a smooth and silent ride.

Yellow-accented interior

The interior of the GAC Empow GE is modern, with a large digital display as the centerpiece on the dashboard.

The 7-inch display is for your digital instrument cluster, while the larger 10.25-inch head unit is for your infotainment system. 

While the sedan does come with Apple CarPlay as standard, it does not come with Android Auto. It does have Huawei Life, which works on Huawei phones, and a Baidu app that, unfortunately, we could not utilize to function with my Samsung phone. 

Aside from the technology, the Empow GE comes with soft and supportive leather seats with yellow accents near the edges. It also has yellow seatbelts, which reminds us of what you would find on the 2023 Honda Civic Type R that AutoFun Philippines Senior Writer VJ Bacungan tested. 

The Empow GE has customizable mood lighting to let you choose the ambiance of the sedan. You can even have it pulse to the beat of the music you are playing and the lights can be synched to your driving modes. 

Speaking of driving modes, the GAC Empow GE has five available: Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and DIY, the Chinglish (Chinese-English) translation for “personalized mode.”

We must note that Sport+ mode changes the infotainment system to another digital gauge cluster, showing your water temperature, boost and oil pressure.

Overall, it's a premium interior that you would expect to find in something more expensive, so we compare it to the Honda Civic RS in this review.

Good power and fuel efficiency

Under the hood, the GAC Empow GE is powered by a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine that pushes out 176 PS and 270 Nm of torque.

A 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (DCT) sends power exclusively to the front wheels.

Regarding its fuel economy, you can get around 8 to 11 km/l in the city and 12 to 16 km/l on the highway. These are decent figures for a turbocharged car, but it isn’t a hybrid, so anything above 15 km/l is pretty good. 

The GAC sedan is also quick to accelerate, doing 0 to 100 km/h in about 6.9 seconds. This is considerably quicker than the Civic RS, which does that same sprint in 7.8 seconds.

However, we have to talk about the Empow GE's one weakness that can make or break a deal for prospective car buyers: the transmission. 

Where the DCT falls short

Typically, I take test units into heavy traffic to see how they handle a long grind or daily commute.

I encountered very heavy road congestion on EDSA coming from our shoot of the Empow in Ortigas. I was headed to a Geely showroom to get a photo of the all-new GX3 Pro for a story.

The trip is where I started to see the flaws with the Empow, especially with its DCT. The transmission seemed to overheat in the slow-moving traffic, slipping more than it should.

There were times when the car would nearly stall, even if it still had momentum, with gearbox "biting" at awkward times. It gave me an overall jerky driving experience, which wasn’t great in traffic.

Initially, I thought it was a fuel issue, but I remembered that I fueled up with 97 octane, which shouldn’t be a problem for the turbocharged engine tuned for 92 octane.

After a bit of fiddling around, I realized that it was some sort of electrical issue, so I turned off the air conditioning system to lessen the electrical load.

Surprisingly, it worked and I didn’t encounter the stalling problem anymore.

Although this issue may be isolated to this particular test unit, I share this information to caution you about what to expect when driving a DCT.

Unlike a traditional automatic or continuously variable transmission (which is what the Civic gets), there will be times when the DCT will not grab immediately and you will have to rev higher to get it to lock up.

It can lead to a jerky ride, even if you do your best to feather the throttle. However, using the DCT in light traffic and on a highway was a blast shifts were quick and smooth.

But in stop-and-go conditions, it falls short. It's one aspect of the Empow GE that can be a deal-breaker for some buyers. 

In this regard, GAC Motor needs to better tune its transmissions for driving in heavy traffic.

Composed ride and handling

As the GAC Empow GE is the model equipped with paddle shifters, it's the sportier Empow variant.

The feature gives you more vehicle control, especially if you want it to hold a gear for longer. However, even in manual mode, the Empow will still upshift independently. 

Regarding its handling, the vehicle is stable at high speeds, but needs to be more communicative about what the suspension is doing because of the numb feel of the electric power steering. It gets heavier when changing to Sport or Sport+ mode, so you feel safer at higher speeds.

Body roll is minimal at low speeds, but is present when you go faster, indicating that GAC tuned the suspension for comfort despite the “sportier” nature of the sedan. 

As for road imperfections, it handles them with ease, keeping away small bumps from entering the cabin. 

In fact, sitting in the Empow is a refined experience, with just the exhaust drone making its way into the cabin at higher speeds, especially with the active exhaust system on.

However, if you keep it off, only tire noise enters the cabin at around 80 km/h. 

Safety: Lane Keep Assist woes

It's becoming a noticeable trend with GAC vehicles where their adaptive cruise control works well, but the Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS) has issues.

Credit where credit is due: the LKAS quickly activates as it reads road markings, but has issues maintaining the vehicle when there are turns. Sometimes, it can turn the car without any problems, while in other instances, the feature suddenly turns off mid-corner.

It becomes hard to trust the feature, which I suggest you use sparingly and maintain manual control of the sedan. Only use it on straight highway sections where the system can easily read the road markings. 

Is it worth getting this Chinese car?

Understandably, traditional car buyers are still on the fence regarding Chinese cars.

Some hate these vehicles outright without even giving them a try, while others have their opinions of these vehicles based on what other people have told them.

But others have tried what China has to offer and have a few good things to say, especially about the more advanced design and generous equipment levels.

It's uncharted territory, but GAC Philippines has been in the country for several years. And with Astara, a global company, backing them up, they are in good hands, especially with their dealership numbers growing steadily. 

Top-spec Civic kit for base-model Civic price

Aside from its transmission and active safety assist quirks, the GAC Empow GE is a good car if you want that sporty sedan feel.

It appeals to your inner boy racer who still wants a “grown-up” sedan that can quickly take you from A to B, but still feel like a race car if you want it to. 

It also has the looks that will turn heads with an excellent mix of sporty and premium rolled up into one package. 

Regarding its pricing, the GAC Empow GE can be yours for ₱1,348,000, which is near where the base-model Honda Civic S was once priced. It undercuts the Japanese sedan by offering “entry-level” pricing, but with the technology from the top-spec RS model. 

So, is it worth it? It is if you are looking for a sports sedan with an active exhaust, while having all the right bells and whistles.

As with any new brand, getting an Empow is still a gamble, but you will be fine if you research and choose the correct dealership with the best aftersales service.

Not to mention, the Empow has a 5-year or 150,000-kilometer warranty, whichever comes first. 

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