Geely Philippines has added a sedan to its line-up with the launch of the fourth-generation Emgrand, which becomes the company’s fourth introduction after three SUVs, namely the Azkarra, Coolray and Okavango.
The Emgrand (codenamed SS11) is available in two variants for now, including the mid-range Comfort that is priced at 798,000 Philippine pesos (RM65,145) and the range-topping Premium at PHP908,000 (RM74,124). There’s also a base S variant coming in the future, but there’s no pricing for that just yet. The Geely sedan will compete against other offerings in the B-segment like the Toyota Vios and Honda City in the country.
In terms of dimensions, the Emgrand now measures 4,638 mm long, 1,820 mm wide, 1,460 mm tall and has a wheelbase that spans 2,650 mm. By comparison, the Honda City is 4,553 mm long (-85 mm), 1,748 mm wide (-72 mm), 1,467 mm tall (+7 mm), with a wheelbase of 2,600 (-50 mm). The Vios is even smaller at 4,425 mm (-213 mm), 1,730 mm wide (-90 mm), 1,475 mm tall (+15 mm) and packing a wheelbase of 2,550 mm (-100 mm) – following Philippine spec sheets.
The Emgrand’s bold look features a “straight waterfall energy sound string” front grille with vertical slats, which is reminiscent of what you’ll see on the latest Borui and Xingyue L. Redesigned headlamps flank said grille, accompanied by triangular-shaped fog lamp sections in the corners of the front bumper.
The three-box profile is uncomplicated with a single character line prominently seen running above the door handles and linking the front and rear lighting units. For some visual flair, the window line does kick up a little near the C-pillars.
As for the rear, it gets full-width taillights featuring a light bar and scripted time piece linking the clusters, which themselves have a distinctive light signature. A diffuser-like element occupies the lower apron and is joined by a long chrome strip, faux outlets and slim reflectors.
Moving inside, you’ll find a rather minimalistic dashboard with a slatted insert spanning its entire width and with integrated air vents. This acts as a divider between the standard eight-inch infotainment touchscreen screen and air-conditioning controls, while the centre console houses the gear lever and electronic parking brake (Comfort and Premium only).
In terms of equipment, the S gets projected halogen headlamps, LED DRLs, powered side mirrors, 15-inch steel wheels (with 195/65 profile tyres), a black interior, two speakers, manually-operated front seats, fabric upholstery, automatic air-conditioning with rear vents, a 3.5-inch multi-info instrument display, traction and stability control, ABS with EBD, hill start assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system and ISOFIX child seat anchors
The Comfort improves upon the S by gaining 17-inch alloy wheels (with 205/50 profile tyres), automatic projector LED headlamps, two more speakers, more adjustability for the driver’s seat (still manual), a reverse camera, rear parking sensors, cruise control and speed-sensing automatic central locking.
The range-topping Premium gets the same kit as the Comfort, but adds on defroster function for the side mirrors, hands-free boot release, a white and blue interior theme, two more speakers (for a total of six), a six-way powered driver’s seat, leatherette and suede upholstery, a sunroof, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, plus more airbags (side and curtain).
Regardless of the variant chosen, the Emgrand in the Philippines only comes with a JLC-4G15B 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine that has been detuned to make 102 PS (101 hp) at 5,600 rpm and 142 Nm of torque from 4,400 to 4,800 rpm. The China-spec Emgrand serves up 114 PS (113 hp) and 147 Nm, by comparison.
The mill drives the front wheels through a five-speed manual in the S variant, while the Comfort and Premium have a CVT with eight virtual speeds instead. The top two options also have three drives modes available (Eco, Comfort and Sport) as well as disc brakes (ventilated front, solid rear) all around – the S gets front ventilated discs and rear drums. Front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion beam are standard for all variants.
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Wonder if Proton has more money to license more cars from Geely. The X90 would be the last of the 3 they paid for when Geely bought over 49% of Proton ownership last time. The Persona and Iriz desperately need a replacement as those are mutation from the Savvy, can you imagine that?
Then we will see if the current management people who brought in 2 SUV models are really capable building new models, or just able to do touch ups and marketing. Even Perodua is not doing purely licensing.
Reengineering those 2 SUV models are not simply just touch ups and marketing. Try to understand what effort goes into making these car for our RHD market.
Getting back to four-cylinder petrol engine huh
and also non turbo & non direct injection engine
Emgrand had always been a four-cylinder petrol affair. What is there to go back to?
Dr.Li,wouldnt it be fitting to bring in this sedan with a 1.3 and 1.5 engine?
This way,the Saga and Persona can sing “sayonara”,Proton hardcore and upcoming fanboys will be delighted.
Perodua Bezza and Myvi will be given stiff competition.Just price it competitively.Bring it on.
Saga is Asegment while Persona is Bsegment, both segments firmly 1/2 rank lower than where Emgrand sits if it comes to Malaysia. Bezza does not need stiff competition when it has lost out to Saga currently, it is the other way around. Bezza needs to be replaced to fight Saga 2022. And why does mvyi come into here, it is a hatchback. You are comparing apples to kangkung.
Rebadge Toyota vios as bezza…laku
A likely Preve direct replacement at nearly the same launching price back then! But for the CKD, I expect it to go up to Rm75k MAX to cater for the RHD development costs.