Test drive Geely Emgrand GT
The new Geely Emgrand GT business sedan in maximum equipment easily crossed the $ 22 mark. What do the Chinese offer for this money and where does the president support the car?
The Geely Emgrand GT was shown in Shanghai two years ago and is the first-born of a new generation of Chinese cars created with the participation of Swedish Volvo. Russian prices were announced at the beginning of the year - a Belarusian-assembled sedan with a length of almost five meters in a top-end configuration costs more than $ 22.
The Emgrand GT is not trying to be a clone of any famous model. Of course, the designers under the leadership of Briton Peter Horbury were guided by the Audi A5 / A7 Sportback, and the rear fenders were made wide like a Volvo. In any case, the appearance of a sedan with a coupe silhouette turned out to be original, albeit somewhat overweight. Rectangular headlights look old-fashioned, but the concave radiator grille, reminiscent of either circles spreading through the water, or a cobweb, is an unambiguous stroke of luck for stylists.
Emgrand GT is not afraid to declare its origin - the Chinese ornament is well read in the decorative grille on the rear bumper and speaker grilles. However, the distinctive design of a large and very expensive Chinese sedan is not its only feature.
The interior of Emgrand GT looks expensive: the front panel is soft, wood-like inserts are almost the first time in a Chinese car to resemble natural veneer. There is no harsh chemical odor, eerie, eye-catching illumination, and other signs of a sale. The Geely logo flashing on the ground will bring a smile, but the premium claim is backed by options.
The head-up display and a curtain on the rear window are already on mass brands, but the Geelu has a chord-cut steering wheel electrified and adjustable with a lever, and the panoramic sunroof is impressive in size. The multimedia system is simple, its menu is not always well translated, but the control of functions is maximally duplicated - in addition to the touchscreen, there are buttons on the console and a set on the central tunnel in the style of premium sedan interfaces. Comfortable seats are designed for a European, they have dense padding and there is a height adjustment of the lumbar support.
The Emgrand GT is longer than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series (4956 mm from bow to stern). But at the same time, it is inferior to business sedans in the size of the wheelbase - 2850 millimeters. However, the center distance is quite enough to compete with mass sedans like Toyota Camry, Kia Optima, VW Passat and Mazda 6. And only Ford Mondeo has the same wheelbase.
The second row in the Chinese sedan is very spacious, but everything here is tailored for a single important passenger. He sits on the right and therefore only a third of his sofa is equipped with heating and an electric drive - you can tilt the back, pull out the pillow and recline. In this case, the front seat is pushed forward with the help of special keys. The trunk of the Emgrand GT is quite at the level of the segment (506 liters) and is generally convenient, except that there is no opening button on the lid, the hinge upholstery is bulky, and the hatch for long lengths is narrow.
No, the car is not built on the Volvo S80 platform. There are no intersections on the chassis: the front of the Chinese sedan has a more complex aluminum double-lever. The new Volvo SPA platforms have a similar suspension: the XC90, S90 and XC60. At the back, Geely has a multi-link, but also with its own elements.
Geely officially says that the new platform was created jointly with the Swedes, but was being finalized by Prodrive. We are talking about the Premcar company, which united the former Australian division of Prodrive and the court Ford FPV studio. If we consider that the local Falcon were equipped with two-levers, then it is from them, most likely, that it is worth leading the Emgrand GT pedigree.
The base Emgrand GT is equipped with a 2,4-liter aspirated engine (148 and 215 Nm), and all the other versions presented on the Russian market are equipped with a 1,8-liter turbo four. The JLE-4G18TD engine was officially developed by Geely, but its markings are similar to those used by Mitsubishi. Maximum power at 5500 rpm is 163 hp, peak torque of 250 Nm is available in the range from 1500 to 4500 rpm. By modern standards, not so much - the engine of the same volume on the VW Passat and Skoda Superb develops 180 hp. and 320 newton meters. The Emgrand GT is also noticeably heavier than its German-Czech competitors - it weighs 1760 kilograms.
The gas pedal is quite sharp here, the automatic gearshifts abruptly, and in sport mode it holds them for a long time. The twisted motor is wailing loudly, at high revs breaking through the generally good soundproofing of the cabin. However, the Emgrand GT still accelerates lazily and reluctantly.
Geely does not report acceleration data from zero to 100 km / h, but subjectively, it takes about 10 seconds. That is, the dynamics are quite sufficient for a mass sedan, but the car does not justify the letters GT in the name of the car. With a 6 hp V272 engine. the alignment of forces will be different, but this version is not supplied to Russia.
Despite the participation of specialists from Volvo and Prodrive, the advanced chassis is not tuned in the best way: the suspension shakes on bumps, loudly counts the joints and rigidly passes larger pits. When cornering, the car rolls, the electric power steering wheel is not very informative, and the brakes are gripped gently. Either the engineers failed to work, or one of the Chinese bosses intervened in the process with their own understanding of the beautiful.
The Emgrand GT was created with the participation of Volvo, and therefore a lot of attention is paid to its safety. Already in the standard equipment there are ESP, front and side airbags, and in more expensive trim levels - inflatable curtains and an additional knee airbag. The blind spot monitoring system gets too nervous when changing lanes, and when braking hard, the sedan turns on the emergency gang. The Emgrand GT has already earned five stars in the local C-NCAP crash test series, and the European organization Euro NCAP has not yet crashed the car.
In the basic configuration, the sedan is very well equipped: dual-zone climate control, leather interior, heated front seats, engine start with a button, rear parking sensors. In the middle equipment version, a rear-view camera, a multimedia system, electrically adjustable front seats, a panoramic roof and 18-inch wheels are added.
Status options for the rear VIP passenger and head-up display are available only in the top version. Headlights with LED running lights will remain halogen in any case. Quite strange, given China's reputation as a "country of cheap xenon."
In the local market, the car (in China it is called Borui GC9) started off well: the first series was sold out in just over an hour. A little more than 50 thousand cars were sold last year - the Chinese sedan lost in popularity to Toyota Camry, Ford Mondeo and VW Passat, but outstripped the Skoda Superb.
In Belarus, Geely has support in the person of the president of the republic, Alexander Lukashenko, who instructed to develop programs to make cars of the Chinese brand more affordable. In addition, he plans to transfer officials to Geely. The BelGi enterprise is assembling several models of the Chinese brand and is preparing to switch to the full production cycle of Emgrand GT with welding and painting.
Most of the cars are still going to Russia, but here the demand is minimal. Sales of the Geely brand are declining every year: back in 2015, about 12 thousand cars were found buyers, then in 2016 - less than 4,5 thousand, and in the first six months of this year - just over a thousand. In our country, Geely cars have to play by the general rules of the market.
The example with the Emgrand GT is indicative: a modern and well-equipped car from China easily caught up with its more eminent competitors in terms of price. The simplest sedan costs $ 18 and the most expensive version costs $ 319. That is, it is comparable to the popular models of the Russian assembly: the best-selling Toyota Camry, the stylish Kia Optima and the practical Ford Mondeo. And at the price of the top-end "Emgrand" you can even buy an Infiniti Q22 - albeit in the basic configuration, but with a powerful engine.
The Emgrand GT is the best car from China at the moment, but if for the Chinese industry this is a huge leap, then for the rest of the auto industry it is a small step. The driving performance and dynamics of the "Chinese" do not represent anything outstanding. Perhaps the specialists of the company Lotus, which recently came under the control of Geely, can change the character of the car. In the meantime, if Emgrand GT is capable of taking something, then options and design, but for a confident presence on the market this may not be enough.
| A type | Sedan |
| Dimensions: length / width / height, mm | 4956/1861/1513 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2850 |
| Ground clearance, mm | 170 |
| Cargo space, l | 506 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1760 |
| Gross vehicle weight, kg | 2135 |
| engine's type | Turbocharged petrol |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 1799 |
| Max. power, h.p. (at rpm) | 163/5500 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm (at rpm) | 250/1500-4500 |
| Drive type, transmission | Front, 6АКП |
| Max. speed km / h | 210 |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | No data |
| Fuel consumption, l / 100 km | 8,5 |
| Price from, $. | 21 933 |
