Lexus UX200 vs Gac Emzoom

What's the difference?

The Lexus UX 200 F Sport really steps up in the urban context. It’s big enough, energetic enough (especially using the Sport setting and the CVT’s manual mode), and delivers good value for the price. We’d like more boot space, a little more room in the back seat, and the Remote Touch media interface deposited in the bin. But overall it’s a great premium option for young families or active couples in the city.

Candidly, I really didn’t want to like the Emzoom. I think Australia has too many car brands already and the market is in danger of becoming overwhelmed with mediocre products at bargain prices that will squeeze out better but more expensive products.

But I cannot help but really be impressed by what GAC is offering. There’s no doubt the brand faces a major challenge expanding its dealership network to grow sales, but if it continues to deliver vehicles as nice as the Emzoom then it at least has a shot.

Not only is it affordable but it has style, space and is enjoyable to drive. For anyone in the market for a small SUV or just a sub-$30k new car, this should definitely be on your short-list.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Design is a key differentiator for Lexus, with a love-it-or-hate-it polarising design language standing the brand’s current products apart in pretty much any car park.

The exterior takes a classic SUV profile and adorns it with an arresting mix of angles outlining everything from the signature ‘spindle grille’ and gaping front air vents to the jagged headlights, and wheel arch overfenders.

A dark chrome finish on key exterior trim elements, as well as the standard 18-inch alloy rims, adds to the premium look..

The rear is a riot of different shapes and surfaces, the full-width tail-light standing proud of the body like a low-relief sculpture, and the surface of the rear hatch door chamfered and contorted through multiple planes.

The back bumper is blinged up with more dark chrome, and features a diffuser style section underneath it.

The interior will be instantly recognisable to any current Lexus owner, the relatively complex, multi-layered dash design finished in a uniform grey, spiced up by the odd splash of brushed metal and our car’s standard white ‘leather accented’ trim. 

The broad 10.3-inch multimedia screen is neatly integrated alongside a compact instrument binnacle housing a crystal clear configurable digital instrument display above the centre stack, and all the controls are clear and easy to use, with one exception. 

The Lexus ‘Remote Touch’ pad used to manage multiple media and vehicle functions is torture. Despite available adjustments for speed and sensitivity, even on its most benign setting it is maddeningly over-reactive and inaccurate.

Unfortunately one of the common themes for many of the new Chinese brands entering the Australian market is inoffensive but uninteresting design. The cars tend to be quite generic and lacking in style and statement.

That’s not the case with the Emzoom, which stands out with its bold, angular design that really sets it apart from its direct rivals. For a brand looking to make an immediate impression and attract a new demographic, GAC has made a strong opening move with the Emzoom.

It’s not limited to the exterior either, with an equally design-forward cabin. There’s only a smallish 7.0-inch LCD instrument display integrated into a wider panel, but it’s all housed within a single unit alongside the 14.6-inch multimedia display to create a hi-tech look.

Yes, there are other elements from rival brands that are evident in the design, but borrowing a few cues from other places isn’t something unique to GAC and the overall look and feel of the Emzoom is very likeable.

It might be a relatively compact SUV in the wider world, but at a bit less than 4.5 metres long, slightly more than 1.8m wide, and just over 1.5m tall, the Lexus UX is fairly sizeable if your natural habitat is the urban environment.

But it’s far from oversized, and the UX has a tight space ace up its sleeve in the form of a 10.4m turning circle. It might sound like a large arc, but that’s a full metre less than the only marginally longer Lexus NX, and considerably inside the bigger Lexus RX’s radius. 

And the difference between a clunky three-point turn, and a swift U-turn in a tight traffic environment is massive. So, gold star there.  

On the inside, day-to-day practicality in the form of cabin storage runs to a pair of cupholders in the front centre console, with a (Qi) wireless charging mat ahead of them, a decent glove box, as well as generous door bins with enough space for full-size bottles.

A large lidded storage box between the seats contains two USB ports, an ‘aux-in’ socket, and a 12V outlet. It also features the Lexus party trick of hinging open towards the driver or passenger depending on which side button you've pressed. Clever.  

There’s a fold-down centre armrest with twin cupholders in the back, but there are no storage pockets on the front seatbacks, or bins in the doors.

Speaking of which, the rear door apertures are tight, making it more of a struggle than it should be for anything above average size adults to get in and out.

Rear headroom is good, although legroom is tight, and shoulder room will be squeezy for grown-ups. That said, twin air vents in the rear of the front centre console is a welcome addition in a car of this size, as are two USB charging ports to keep devices topped up and occupants happy.

Boot space is 371 litres (VDA) with the rear seats upright, which is modest. The small and medium suitcases from our three-piece set fitted in, but there wasn't much space left over. The bulky CarsGuide pram will squeeze in… just. And of course, the second-row backrest split-folds 60/40 to liberate extra capacity.

There are tie-down anchor points at each corner of the cargo floor, a 12-volt power outlet, strategically placed bag hooks and bright lighting, but don’t bother looking for a spare wheel, the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres are run-flats.

There’s a button on the key fob that seems to indicate it remotely opens the rear cargo door, but in my experience it remained a non-cooperative mystery. 

Towing capacity is the same, rather lightweight 750kg whether the trailer you’ve connected is braked or unbraked.

The Emzoom offers a surprisingly spacious interior for a small SUV. 

We were required to travel with four adult occupants at one stage and even in the back seat there was enough room for this six-foot tall reviewer to ride comfortably.

It feels more spacious thanks to the panoramic sunroof which can let in a load of natural light and get rid of the cramped feeling you sometimes have in these smaller models, particularly in the back seats.

While the seats are trimmed in PVC, they look and feel fine for this price point, and the driver’s seat is ventilated and has six-way power adjustment.

There are two USB ports in the front (one A and one C) as well as a 12V outlet, and there’s one USB-A in the rear.

The boot measures 341 litres, which is a respectable size for this type of SUV. While the inclusion of a power tailgate is a very nice touch at this price and makes life easier.

GAC has kept it simple and offers the Emzoom in a single model grade - Luxury - which is priced from $25,590 plus on-road costs. Even at roughly $28,000 on-road, the Emzoom is among the dozen or so cheapest new cars in Australia, and certainly one of the most affordable SUVs of this size.

GAC didn’t skimp on equipment to achieve that price too, with such luxuries as a panoramic sunroof and power tailgate included, along with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lights and dual-zone climate control.

Other equipment includes wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and a six-speaker sound system.

Sitting under the UX 200’s bonnet is the 2.0-litre (M20A-FKS) four-cylinder petrol engine. It’s an all-alloy, naturally aspirated (non-turbo) design producing 126kW at 6600rpm and 205Nm at 4800rpm.

Versions of this engine are also used in the Toyota Corolla, RAV4, and Camry, the relatively new (2018) unit featuring dual ‘VVT-i’ (Variable Valve Timing-intelligence) managed by an electric motor on the intake side and conventional hydraulic actuation on the exhaust side, plus a combination of direct- and port-injection, as well as electronic throttle control.

Drive goes to the front wheels via a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), with a conventional first gear added to aid take-off, and ‘steps’ to mimic normal ratios accessible via wheel-mounted paddles. More on those in the driving section.

Bucking the trend for electrification, the Emzoom is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that makes 125kW/270Nm. This provides adequate performance for a small SUV, without offering anything special.

The engine is paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which sends its power to the front wheels. More on that set-up under ‘Driving’...

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 5.8L/100km, the UX 200 emitting 132g/km of CO2 in the process.

This time around we had several weeks with the car, staying mainly within the urban environment (thank you COVID-19), with some brief freeway running thrown in, and we recorded an average of 8.9L/100km, which is a solid miss on the factory claim, but still good enough to deliver a range well in excess of 500km between fills.

Another plus is a minimum fuel requirement of 91 RON ‘standard’ unleaded, and you’ll need 47 litres of it to fill the tank.

Slightly confusingly GAC quotes a claimed combined urban/extra urban figure of 6.6L/100km, but based on the WLTC testing protocol, which is similar but marginally different to the more common and real-world-focused WLTP.

However, in our actual real-world test drive we instead saw a return of 7.6L/100km, so expect to use slightly more than the claim, regardless of testing protocols.

The Emzoom has a 47-litre fuel tank, which means if you can hit the claimed economy, you’ll have a range of just over 700km on a single tank. Our real-world average would still be good for more than 600km, which is a respectable range for what is designed to be a city-friendly SUV. 

This was my second time in a UX 200 within the last 12 months, but this time the loan period extended to around six weeks, covering the time much of the globe was in lockdown in response to the coronavirus.

So essential trips around town were the only ones being taken. But more time behind the F Sport’s wheel highlighted some of this UX 200’s dynamic strengths, particularly aspects of the continuously variable transmission (CVT).

This Toyota designed CVT has the advantage of a conventional first gear to give the UX some extra urgency from step-off. And when you’re predominantly in stop-start traffic (although there wasn’t too much of it), that’s a big help. 

Like all CVTs, in set-and-forget Drive mode, this unit aims to keep the engine in its operating sweet spot, constantly balancing performance and economy goals; the downside being a droning engine noise. For those old enough to remember manual gearboxes it feels like a constantly slipping clutch.

But slip into ‘Manual’ and the CVT is able to mimic ratio points, and using the wheel-mounted paddles to shift between them lifts driver engagement massively, even in the compacted urban context.

In terms of outright performance, a kerb weight nudging 2.0 tonnes and a peak torque number (205Nm) that doesn’t arrive until a lofty 4800rpm goes a long way towards telling the UX 200 F Sport acceleration story. Lexus claims 0-100km/h in a reasonably brisk 9.2sec. 

The UX is underpinned by the ‘Lexus Global Architecture – C’ platform (a Lexus name for Toyota’s TNGA chassis architecture) and suspension is by struts at the front and trailing wishbones at the rear, with the F Sport featuring adaptive variable suspension and a rear performance damper, the latter designed to improve chassis rigidity and minimise vibrations.

Overall ride comfort is really nice, although the standard 18-inch alloy rims are shod with 225/50 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx run-flat tyres and they’re relatively noisy, with an accompanying tendency to follow irregularities in the road surface.

Dial up the Sportier drive settings and everything tightens up appreciably, so if you’re that way inclined, the sport part of the F Sport’s personality is there to be explored.

The electrically assisted steering delivers decent accuracy and road feel, With some momentum up, the UX 200 F Sport feels balanced and predictable, putting it’s power down nicely, if you decide to break away for a brisk B-road run.

Braking is by ventilated discs at the front (305mm) with solid rotors at the rear (281mm), and stopping power is reassuringly firm.

As mentioned earlier, a tight 10.4m turning circle makes parking easy, supported by a high-quality reversing camera and proximity sensors front and rear. 

Under the heading of general observations, the driver’s seating position is great - comfy and secure, a one-touch up and down function on all windows is a nice… touch, and the configurable instrument cluster (which includes the central dial physically sliding into different positions) is functional and fun.  

What makes the Emzoom really impressive, particularly at its price, is the way it drives. GAC has been in partnership with both Toyota and Honda in China for decades, and clearly the brand has been paying attention to how those more established global brands do things.

The net result is a small SUV that is genuinely enjoyable to drive and a far cry from the dull, unresolved offerings from other Chinese newcomers.

The Emzoom’s ride is nothing short of remarkable, given this is an all-new brand to Australia. It managed to soak up some very nasty-looking bumps without any notable fuss in the cabin. There is still some fine-tuning that could be done to make it class-leading in terms of both comfort and responsiveness, but the overall first impression is very, very positive.

It’s a similar story for the steering, with responsiveness and good weighting, not the occasionally numb and dull steering other Chinese competition offer up. 

The engine is fine, nothing special to report, it does the job steadily but does need to be worked hard at times. The gearbox, on the other hand, is more notable.

While a dual-clutch transmission is better on paper, providing faster gear changes for more responsive driving and lower fuel consumption, in practical terms they can be more challenging to operate smoothly.

That’s very much the case with the Emzoom, with the clutch tending to ‘slip’ when you take-off from standstill, often resulting in wheel spin - and a more dramatic-sounding departure than you intended. 

This is probably not helped by the tyres, a Chinese brand that this reviewer had never experienced before but felt light on grip.

Once on the move, it works well enough, although occasionally it gets caught between gears when you’re trying to drive more spiritedly, but most of the time it’s fine.

By far the biggest foible of the Emzoom is the noise. GAC clearly saved money on what’s known in the business as ‘NVH’ (or noise, vibration and harshness), with a noticeable amount of tyre roar, wind noise from mirrors and poor sound deadening underneath.

It’s not ideal but there was always going to be a compromise to get this type of SUV for this price.

Thankfully, GAC didn’t cut too many corners on safety. There’s airbag coverage for all outboard occupants and a 360-degree parking camera system as well as a decent amount of driver assistance features for a sub-$30k SUV.

It must be noted that there is no ANCAP or Euro NCAP score, but the Emzoom comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, high beam assist and adaptive cruise control.

However, that's the extent of the list, so it doesn't have the comprehensive list of active safety systems that its rivals can claim.

From its arrival in Australia in the late ‘80s, Lexus has made the ownership experience a high priority. In some areas it’s still at, or near the top of the after-sales class, but in others the grades are slipping. 

For example, the standard Lexus warranty in Australia is four years/100,000km. When you have both luxury newcomer, Genesis, and the most established of them all, Mercedes-Benz, at five years/unlimited km, that offer is off the pace.

Sure Audi, BMW, and others are at three years/unlimited km, but the game has moved on for those brands, too. Plus, the mainstream market standard is now five years/unlimited km, with some at seven years.

On the other hand, the ‘Lexus Encore Privileges’ program provides 24-hour roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty, as well as access to owner events and special offers.

A flat tyre during our time with the UX offered a glimpse of that experience, with a flat-bed arriving to take the wounded F Sport away, returning it the next day, ready to roll. Very nice.  

Service is scheduled for 12 months/15,000km (whichever comes first). The first service is free, the second is $631, the third $523, and the fourth $631.

A Lexus loan car is provided while your pride and joy is in the workshop, or a pick-up and return option (from home or office) is available. You’ll also receive a complimentary wash and interior vacuum. Not bad.

GAC has tried to be proactive and match the market with a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, but strangely offers an even longer warranty for its electric and plug-in hybrid models.

It is an unusual decision and raises question marks over the longevity of its internal combustion engine models for no apparent reason.

As we wrote when we tested the Aion V, GAC is starting from scratch in Australia with less than a dozen dealers set to operate in the first 12 months. That means limited opportunities to both buy and service a GAC vehicle.