Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi GA8
The brand new Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi
GA8 sedan will be launched on the Chinese car market in April, with a price
ranging from around 180.000 to 220.000 yuan. The Trumpchi GA8 is the new
flagship of the Trumpchi range, it debuted as a semi-concept on the 2015
Shanghai Auto Show.
The GA8 has become the best looking
Trumpchi and one of the best looking Chinese sedans so far, with a sleek and
sporty but still classy profile, thick chrome strips around the windows, more
chrome on the lower end of the doors, and wheels that are not too small for
once. Only dissonant is the wuzzy fake-air vent combination on the front fender
and door. The GA8 would have been more beautiful without.
The interior is really good, light
colors and fine materials, a huge bitch of a screen for the infotainment, and
nice fake-wood panels on the dash and doors. Dials are analogue with a small
display in between.
The infotainment system works on the
‘T-Box 2.0’ operating system and connects to the outside world via the ‘G-Link’
connection. The system comes with permanent internet, television, telephone,
and controls all the basic functions of the vehicle.
Rear bench looks comfortable. Enough
space for three and the legs. Seat belts in beige like the seats themselves.
Seat pattern comes back in the doors.
Under the hood, there is a 2.0 turbocharged four with
188 Hp and 300 Nm, and a 1.8 turbo with 177 Hp and 242 Nm, both mated to a
seven-speed DCT. The 1.8 turbo will be called ‘270T’ and the 2.0 turbo will be
called ‘300T’, the names do not directly connect to anything engine but do
connect to the tastes of the Chinese car market where buyers prefer to buy a
‘300’ instead of a 2.0. It sounds bigger, so it IS bigger.
Rear lights are just small enough for
fashion, naturally connected by the obligatory chrome strip. Exhaust pipe tips
hide real exhaust pipes. A bit too much platform visible there under the
bumper. That suspension should have been hidden.
