For years, the Australian family and powder-wigged flunky market has been held hostage by a lazy, arrogant monopoly. If you needed an oversized people-mover, you bought a Kia Carnival after Honda killed off their unloved Odyssey. Toyota knifed its ludicrous Granvia mini-bus that was a HiAce in loafers.
If you wanted to feel like a high-flying executive, you remortgaged your house to buy a $223,520 Lexus LM. As lovely a place to be as it is, that’s ludicrous money for a bus.
Legacy brands assumed their badges gave them the full vax lifetime immunity from a bad case of irrelevance. Toyota recently had the absolute gall to suggest that working-class buyers priced out of their new cars could just buy a “second-hand Toyota couch.” That thinking killed Holden stone cold dead.
Well, the $83,590 GAC M8 Luxury PHEV Super Hybrid (GAC really doesn’t want us calling it that outside China) is here amid a flurry of Chinese luxo-barge launches. This budget compromise is a segment-shattering reality check that leaves the competition looking like overpriced, under-engineered museum pieces.
Function Over Fashion Exterior
Let’s get the elephant out of the room because it is ruining the lino: nobody buys a multi-tonne people-mover to win a beauty pageant or visit a race track, unless it is to watch a race from inside.
MPVs are fridges with wheels designed to move human beings in cruisy comfort. The exterior styling of the GAC M8 is no oil painting.
The front end is dominated by a monolithic chrome grille inspired by a sci-fi villain’s front door. It is flanked by a pair of razor-sharp vertical LED headlights. Is it pretty? Not particularly. Is it imposing? Why yes, it is ma’am. On the road, it has a monumental presence that commands space and attention.
But once you pull the door handle and step inside, the slightly polarising exterior aesthetics fade into irrelevance. The real magic of this luxo-barge is the capacious interior space.
Above: 2026 GAC M8 Luxury Master Super Hybrid review – Why Legacy Brands Can’t Match It
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ABOVE: The GAC M8
The Cabin is a Democratic Lounge
If you want to understand why legacy car companies have been in an ever-deepening death spiral, you only need to spend five seconds in the M8’s cabin.
I am utterly stunned by how nice this interior is for the money. GAC’s design studio in Milan has done a bang-up job crafting a space that feels premium, thoughtful, and airy.
What you touch is wrapped in plush, supple padding, and the top-tier leather upholstery puts the scratchy, commercial-grade plastics of the $76k Kia Carnival GT-Line to shame. The layout evokes the nostalgic “democratic chic” of vintage French and Italian design before those European boards got greedy, over-condensed, and detached from reality.
The second row is a cathedral-esque masterpiece. Instead of the usual povo church bench, you have two 1st-class aircraft-style captain’s chairs that heat, cool, and massage your passengers into a Zen state of ecstasy. You have beautifully made picnic tables and electric foot rests and it all feels so posh.
Combined with a gamers-delight ambient star-light headlining and a panoramic glass roof, the M8 offers 90% of the Lexus LM’s high-end corporate limo feel for less than half the price. Considering the size of the segment, it proves that luxury materials no longer require a multi-thousand-dollar heritage tax.
Although marketed as a 7-seater, the paupers in the painful pews have to Cirque-du-Soleil themselves between the 2nd-row chairs to land ungracefully in the 3rd row. In a daft oversight, GAC forgot the chaps in the back will need to get in and out.
Tech has an Ergonomic Blindspot
While the cabin materials and execution are breathtaking, the user interface reveals a classic modern automotive obsession.
“Ve muz remoov da buttons,” they cry in a drunken stupor.
At first, the M8’s huge central infotainment screen is impressive but of the 12” of glass, only 10.1” is screen, with another 12.3” in front of the driver. The side panels are glitchy gliders for fan and volume.
The Adagio system is written over the glitchy Android Open Source Project software, against which we currently rail because of its inability to perform consistently. See our upcoming story on the Aion UT where the system had one or two psychotic episodes.
The M8 screen is not small, but feels small for the size of the interior. The lack of touchy-feely controls is deeply frustrating for a driver. There is no dedicated, physical master control panel to manage the entire vehicle. Instead, it is a dive into the system for a rummage through the gusset of options.
There are oddities too. I couldn’t find native navigation, but that is because it disappeared when CarPlay or Android Auto is connected. The same thing happened in the Aion UT the following week.
Let’s talk more about the menus, which at first seem simple and easy.
If you are chauffeuring posh clients, a demanding managing director, or a rambunctious family of far-too-many, you cannot easily override and control all passenger seats, window locks, rear climate control, or the sliding doors from a single driver’s console.
Instead, you are forced to spelunk into a digital abyss to execute basic tasks, and the small tablets on the captain’s chairs are so laggy as to feel flat-busted, as my sainted great aunty Ag used to say.
It’s an annoying ergonomic oversight in an otherwise spectacular interior, proving that while Chinese manufacturers have mastered hardware, they still have a few things to learn about real-world driver ergonomics.
The PHEV Drive is Stunningly Smooth and Silent
Any software fermented foibles evaporate the moment you press the start button.
First, the GAC M8 is the only plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in people-mover land, and this powertrain is an absolute triumph. The EV lovers will hate it, and the ICE maniacs will hate it, but normal people will love it.
While Australia badges this simply as a PHEV to satisfy local definitions, GAC proudly markets this layout in its home market as a “Super Hybrid.” In China’s hyper-competitive landscape, this tech battles head-to-head with advanced domestic rivals, relying on specialised engineering rather than the simpler plug-in systems used by legacy Western brands.
Look past the marketing terms, and these ‘Super Hybrids’ all use the same basic formula. They combine a large battery with over 100km of electric range and a DC fast-charging port. The only mechanical difference is the DHT (Dedicated Hybrid Transmission) layout under the bonnet. Whether it uses one gear or multiple gears, the final result is the same, silent electric driving around town and normal hybrid driving on the highway.
In other words, Super Hybrid tech means the M8 is more like an EV with a petrol generator glued to the side. There is no gearbox to speak of, just a couple of cogs to connect the engine to the wheels at certain speeds. The DHT (dedicated hybrid transmission) allows the electric motor to drive the front wheels powered by a 25.6 kWh battery.
You can plug it in for 106km of EV range, but when that runs out, the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine runs more like a generator to charge the battery. The combined 274 kW / 630 Nm is a lot to put through the front wheels so go easy, moist conditions could get a little frantic.
The drive is silky and quiet. Around town, the M8 behaves like a pure electric limo, gliding silently through urban traffic with that electric torque on tap at any time. It completely eliminates the coarse whining of the Kia Carnival’s tiny 1.6L hybrid engine. With over 90 km of real-world pure EV range, most owners will complete their weekly school drop-offs without ever burning a single drop of premium, million-year-old dinosaur.
When you hit the open highway, the petrol engine takes over without fuss to provide a total cruising range of over 1,000 kilometres.
Yes, PHEVs are stupidly complex, and the engine continues the need for servicing, but the drive and ride is sublime. It gives you EV efficiency in the city without the highway charging anxiety of a full-electric brick like the $129k LDV Mifa 9.
MacPherson front and multilink rear suspension uses electromagnetic adaptive dampers to iron out that nasty harshness that VIPs find distasteful. It takes on corrugations with absolute confidence, remaining settled where traditional commercial van frames crash and judder over urban potholes.
Storage
Because the M8 uses a highly optimised, long-wheelbase platform, the interior packaging is practical. Even with the non-folding captain’s chairs taking up prime real estate in the middle, the third row accommodates adults without forcing their knees into their chests. Getting in and out is fun to watch, so it will be smaller adults and kids who get first dibs.
The rear cargo area swallows a small assortment of airport luggage or golf clubs when the third row is upright. It will not hold luggage for seven, no matter how well they pack.
Fold those rear seats down, and the M8 is cavernous. The 3rd row doesn’t fold into the floor so there is a lump of seat to contend with, but there are plenty of deep cubbies, cupholders, and charging ports scattered throughout.
The New Benchmark?
The GAC M8 Luxury PHEV should be a wake-up call. It exposes the sheer laziness of the Kia Carnival and the absurd price of the Lexus LM.
While the software layout has some irritating quirks and the exterior look won’t appeal to everyone, the fabulous quality of the cabin and the smoothness of the PHEV (Super Hybrid) drivetrain make it excellent value. For $83,590, GAC added a touch of verisimilitude to the people-mover segment by offering the Super Hybrid when no others do. The old legacy establishment is officially on notice.
The Changing of the Guard
A final thing to remember is that Holden once commanded over half of our local roads, yet vanished into a puff of unjustified self-importance. Toyota, Nissan, and Stellantis are marching down that exact same arrogant path.
GAC M8 PHEV vs Kia Carnival GT-Line HEV
| Feature | GAC M8 Luxury PHEV | Kia Carnival GT-Line HEV |
|---|---|---|
| Price (before on-road costs) | $83,590 | $76,630 |
| Powertrain | Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) | Hybrid (HEV) |
| System power | 274 kW | 183 kW |
| System torque | 630 Nm | 350 Nm |
| Pure EV range | Up to 106 km | None |
| Seating | 7 seats | 8 seats |
| Second-row seats | Massaging captain’s chairs | Heated & ventilated seats |
| Warranty | 7 yr / unlimited km | 7 yr / unlimited km |
| Battery warranty | 8 yr / 200,000 km | Not stated |
| Drive | Front-wheel drive | Front-wheel drive |
Key GAC M8 PHEV Specifications
| Dimensions & Capacity | Detail |
|---|---|
| Length | 5212 mm |
| Width | 1893 mm |
| Height | 1823 mm |
| Wheelbase | 3070 mm |
| Fuel tank | 56 L |
| Seating | 7 |
| Powertrain | Detail |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0L turbo petrol |
| Engine output | 140 kW / 330 Nm |
| Electric motor | 134 kW / 300 Nm |
| Combined output | 274 kW / 630 Nm |
| Battery | 25.57 kWh LFP |
| EV range | Up to 106 km |
| Transmission | 2-speed hybrid |
| AC charging | 6.6 kW |
| DC charging | 35 kW (39 kW peak) |
| Chassis | Detail |
|---|---|
| Front suspension | MacPherson strut |
| Rear suspension | Multi-link |
| Dampers | Adaptive electromagnetic |
| Highlights | Detail |
|---|---|
| Seat trim | Semi-aniline leather |
| Second row | Massage, heating, ventilation, leg rests, memory |
| Infotainment | 12.3-inch cluster + 10.1-inch touchscreen |
| Smartphone integration | Apple CarPlay & Android Auto |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
| Power sliding doors | Dual-side |
| Power tailgate | Hands-free |
| Vehicle-to-load (V2L) | 3.3 kW |
Australian People Mover Market Snapshot
| Model | Price range | Seats | Powertrain |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAC M8 PHEV Luxury | $83,590 | 7 | PHEV |
| Kia Carnival | $50,450-$76,630 | 8 | Diesel / HEV |
| Lexus LM | $160,888-$223,520 | 4 or 7 | HEV |
| LDV Mifa 9 | $86,000-$129,000 | 7 | BEV |
| Volkswagen Multivan | $69,290-$85,490 | 7 | Diesel |
| Zeekr 009 | $130k-$140k est. | 6 or 7 | BEV |
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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