Life! On Wheels

The all-new GAC GS8 crossover could make our favorite 7-seater SUVs shiver

NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. The GAC GS8 has all the features of a midsize crossover at a more affordable price. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines– There’s a new crossover in town and by the looks of it, this newcomer could turn heads on the streets of Cebu.

And not only that, with its pricing, this crossover could also let those wanting to get high-end sports utility vehicles (SUV) think twice about their choice.

The Gateway Group unveiled the all-new GAC GS8 midsize crossover last May 19, 2023, at the SM City Cebu.

The GS8 is packed with features that could match its competitors in the midsize crossover segment but is priced way lower, that it could actually compete against top-of-the-line variants of the more famous SUVs in the market such as the Ford Everest, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Montero Sport, Nissan Terra, and Isuzu MU-X, which cost around P2.4M-ish. That’s also how much the GS8 is.

Something worth noting is that the seven-seater GS8 is a crossover, which means it has a more comfortable ride compared to the ladder-frame construction of our top SUVs. Among its peers are the Hyundai Palisade, Ford Explorer, and Mazda CX9.

‘Eyes of the Conqueror’

Now, we really haven’t gotten a unit to test and only saw the GS8 in metal during its launch here.

But even so, the crossover was too elegantly dominating to miss.

The ‘Eyes of the Conqueror’ headlights and ‘Ruby Diamond’ tail lights really caught everyone’s attention at the mall during its launch.

The aggressive front end of the GS8 is highlighted by its ‘Eyes of the Conqueror’ headlights. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

The GS8’s ‘Ruby Diamond’ tail lights. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

Fully digital

Inside, it even gets better as GAC Cebu officials boast of a fully digital interior.

The seven-seater crossover gets a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, 14.6-inch HD touch screen monitor which serves as a hub for all controls including climate control, panoramic sunroof, leather seats, premium matting, auto tailgate, and voice command. Yup! You read it right, voice command.

Now, these are some features you can find in its competitors too. But this crossover is priced way lower.

Now the issue: It’s a China brand.

But JR Basilgo, Sales Manager of GAC here, is quite confident the Cebu market has learned to accept China brands already.

Quality assured

“If you noticed in our market, slowly China (brands) are doing good. You can see vehicles that are China-made running on our streets now,” he said.

Basilgo assured that quality, which many question about China brands, won’t be an issue with GAC.

“If only people will take time to study the brand, they will see that it is awarded for eight consecutive years by JD Power as the no. 1 in quality. So when it comes to quality of the vehicle, then there’s no question about it.”

Gateway is confident about the brand that it is building its first showroom in Cebu located along AC Cortes Avenue in Mandaue City beside Kia Mandaue, which it also owns.

Here are more photos of the GAC GS8 during its unveiling: