Just like spaghetti at a birthday party or coffee with breakfast, a spacious car is essential for Filipino families. For the typical family of four, plus Yaya helping with the kids, and when Grandma and Grandpa want to tag along, a 7-seater is usually a safe bet.
A 7-seater SUV would be the defacto choice sure, but why not an MPV? It’s much more comfortable compared to an SUV, easier to get into, and more focused on the passengers than anything.
This is why it was a welcome change when we got invited by GAC Philippines to try out the new GAC M6 Pro. A 7-seater MPV that has all the ingredients of a great people carrier.
Premium Comfort & Space where it counts.
With plenty of choices available, it’s not that hard to find a 7-seater car, for the GAC M6 Pro though the experience is a lot more refined. For this media test, we got to test out the top-of-the-line GL variant which retails for Php 1, 598,000.
At the start of our drive to Pampanga, I got to drive it first along with two other passengers. My first impression was “It drives like a typical crossover”, on the first U-turn we made, I wasn’t worried about its size (4793 mm x 1837 mm x 1730 mm – if you’re interested), the steering was light and the throttle response was something I was very accustomed to, having driven the GAC Empow, Emkoo, and the Emzoom just a week before.
The seats were very comfortable, I could see out just fine, happily, I didn’t experience the jerky transmission that I felt on the Emkoo. I suspect I just got accustomed to it, which is good news for anybody worried about the 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission. You’ll get used to it eventually.
The best bits from GAC.
While on the highway, led by our lead instructor Georges Ramirez, we kept our convoy small and close to each other, this meant I had plenty of chances to test out the M6 drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport). Staying in comfort mode is perfectly fine for most situations. The adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist I got to test out along Skyway. The lane-keep assist though wasn’t very happy with my driving style, it probably just wanted to remind me to stop making the highway lines like Mario cart so it was busy sending out warning sounds at me. Overall though the driver aids as I’ve said on my Empow review, the ADAS system of GAC is up there with the best of them.
The same goes with the 7-inch instrument cluster and 10.25-inch infotainment system, being pretty much the same as with the Empow, it’s just one piece, the screen is clear, and the design is well thought out, The Only bummer is there’s no Android Auto, but at least me testing out my 90s hip-hop music on the GL’s 8 DTS speakers it was happily boomy.
Oh yeah power-wise, this has the same engine found on other GAC cars like the Empow (allbeit tuned differently etc), so the 174 HP and especially that 270 Nm torque was very useful while I tried to keep up with the convoy.
What are we doing on a drift track bro?
I was really surprised when I saw the “R33 drift track” on the list of events during our media day. It was clear GAC Philippines and the team of Astara were keen on showing the speed, handling, and braking capabilities of the M6 Pro. This is my first on a drift track and thankfully I didn’t crash it, and nor did any of us on this test.
Even with the weight of this MPV (1660 kg), getting up to speed was not a problem for the M6 Pro, floor it, and a bit of waiting the tug of 270 NM torque is there, while it’s not immediate it’s not violent either.
We first tackled a short slalom part of the test, next one was purposely triggering the safety system of the car by running the car to 60 Kp/H then turning and only braking hard up to a certain point on the track. You could feel the system balancing the brake and so as not to tilt you over.
Next was a very simple, parking test and checking the cameras, but the best bit was GAC Philippine’s very own version of the Moose test.
I have to admit I wasn’t quite ready. We had to accelerate hard to 60km/h, make a hard left turn then an immediate right turn then a full stop maneuver. The M6 Pro for me did a good job, I wished I was braver though, I even asked if I could get a second run because it’s not every day you try to drift a car, even more so on an MPV. But alas not today, still it’s nice to know if that day comes, the M6 pro will handle these emergencies just fine.
Lastly, the grip levels of the M6 pro were tested with linoleum on one side of the car, we drove the car up to speed once again, this time with just our instructor telling us to hit the brakes on the instructor’s command. All good.
Finally, we ended the “drift car” test with the car still on the linoleum, flooring the throttle and the car demonstrating the way it was getting the grip from the tires. It was fine.
Captain Seats is where it’s at…. and then some
The next part of the media drive is where we swap with other people to sit on the second and third rows of this MPV. The M6 Pro has a 2-2-3 seating setup that makes it easy and comfortable for passengers, I will say though that I preferred the 2nd-row captain seats…
The good news is, you get captain seats for both the GS and GL variants, with the latter getting full leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, and the fledge ADAS system to name a few.
We would still seriously consider the GS variant for its very attractive price of P 1, 230,000. It’s got plenty of safety features such as dual front airbags, hill start hold control, TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system, electronic stability), and has the same engine as the GL variant.
While the kids at the back would still be glued to their phones, they’ll be happy to know you get USB ports on the 3rd row (both sides and 2.4A mind you) . The space there is passable for 3 passengers if not better than most.
Cargo space-wise, if it’s one of the days where you have a of ton of bags to carry, the GAC M6 Pro has an interesting way of folding down the 3rd row, loading tall potted plants for example wouldn’t be a problem. The space is huge with a trunk capacity of 1100L (we suspect more, to be honest).
(Photo by Jaywalkur)
So what do we think about it? This or an Innova?
Officially, the Toyota Innova has one more seat, you also have the Zenix option, but that is P350,000 more than the M6 Pro GL . And if you compare the older, although still available Innova variants, interior and comfort-wise, it’s not a fair fight. The M6 Pro is just better.
We would need a bit more time to test out other important things like fuel consumption and probably what our wives think of the looks and the ride (It’s a family car dads out there). But with the M6 Pro, GAC Philippines demonstrates it has a formidable contender for the title of ‘Best Family Vehicle’ in its lineup.
