Kia’s Carnival has ruled Australia’s people mover segment for years, and the GAC M8 PHEV is the first genuine plug-in hybrid rival to knock on its door. For a fraction of what Lexus charges for the LM, GAC has built one of the most comfortable second rows on sale in Australia under six figures.
GAC’s M8 PHEV does not blend in, and it is not trying to. The chrome grille dominates before the sliding doors even open and once they slide back the two captain’s chairs in the middle row make GAC’s target obvious: the Kia Carnival’s grip on this segment. This is a seven seat plug-in hybrid people mover built around rear seat comfort first and everything else after.
Pricing opens at $76,590 plus on-road costs for the Premium grade, landing within $40 of the flagship Kia Carnival GT-Line Hybrid. Luxury asks $83,590, adding vehicle to load power, a heated steering wheel and a cabin fragrance dispenser, while the newer flagship Luxury Plus tops the range with a rear ceiling entertainment screen and an embedded fridge on top of everything Luxury offers. Whichever grade you pick, the M8 PHEV does something no Carnival can manage: it plugs in, and remains the only plug-in hybrid people mover sold in Australia.
GAC backs the M8 PHEV with a seven year unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty and an eight year 200,000km battery warranty for private buyers. Commercial operators, and there will be plenty given how this car presents, get a shorter five year 100,000km vehicle warranty and a five year 150,000km battery warranty instead. The M8 PHEV also has not been crash tested by ANCAP yet, a gap shared by most of Australia’s newest Chinese entrants.
Specifications: Premium, Luxury and Luxury Plus
GAC Australia sells the M8 PHEV in three grades, sharing one powertrain and one set of range and efficiency claims.
| Specification | Premium | Luxury | Luxury Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $76,590 +ORC | $83,590 +ORC | $84,900 +ORC |
| Power/Torque | 274kW / 630Nm | 274kW / 630Nm | 274kW / 630Nm |
| EV Range (WLTP) | 106km | 106km | 106km |
| Combined Range (WLTP) | 1,032km | 1,032km | 1,032km |
| Battery | 25.57kWh LFP | 25.57kWh LFP | 25.57kWh LFP |
| Standard Inclusions | Semi-aniline leather, 12.3-inch digital cluster, 10.1-inch touchscreen, wireless charging, heated and ventilated front seats, massaging second-row captain’s chairs, 7 airbags, AEB, blind spot monitoring | Everything in Premium, plus V2L, heated steering wheel, cabin fragrance dispenser, extra electric seat adjustment | Everything in Luxury, plus a 17.3-inch rear ceiling entertainment screen and an embedded fridge |
| Parking Sensors | 2 front / 4 rear | 6 front / 6 rear | 6 front / 6 rear |
| Reversing AEB | N/A | Standard | Standard |
Dimensions split the difference with a Lexus LM
At 5.21 metres long, 1.98 metres wide and 1.82 metres tall, the M8 PHEV is longer than a Lexus LM but sits lower to the ground. A 3.07 metre wheelbase underpins a cabin GAC has clearly prioritised over cargo space, a trade-off that becomes obvious the moment you open the boot. Ground clearance is a modest 143mm, low enough that speed humps and steep driveways deserve some respect.
MacPherson struts sit up front and a multi-link setup handles the rear, riding on 18-inch wheels wrapped in 225/60R18 Michelin e-Primacy rubber. Floating centre caps keep the GAC badge upright no matter how the wheel turns, a small design touch that says more about this car’s intentions than any spec sheet line. There is no braked tow rating, so trailer duties stay with the Carnival.
Powertrain: big claims backed by a real charge test
Under the bonnet sits a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine producing 140kW and 330Nm, paired to an electric motor through GAC’s two-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission for a combined system output of 274kW and 630Nm. Drive goes exclusively to the front wheels. GAC has not released an official 0 to 100km/h time for the Australian market, and driving it explains why: this is a 2.4-tonne van built for comfort, not for traffic light drag races.
A 25.57kWh GAC LFP Magazine battery delivers 106km of WLTP electric-only range. Run the 56-litre tank and the battery together and GAC claims 1,032km of combined range. AC charging tops out at 6.6kW, while DC fast charging claims have shifted between 35kW and 40kW across GAC’s own launch materials, though the session logged for this review landed right on the higher figure.
I plugged in at a Tesla Supercharger from an 18% state of charge and saw 359 volts at 107.4 amps, just under 39kW and close enough to GAC’s ceiling to take at face value. Thirty minutes later the battery sat at 88%, matching GAC’s claimed 10% to 80% window almost exactly.
Front cabin: leather that outclasses the tech
Maroon leather runs across the headrests and dashboard insert with dark charcoal lower sections and a perforated suede insert between them that feels far better than the M8’s price tag suggests. A bronzed dash insert etched with the word ‘MASTER’ ties the cabin together and the same detailing carries through to the door trims. This is, without qualification, one of the most expensive looking cabins available under $100,000 in Australia right now.
The infotainment system lets the side down. GAC’s 10.1-inch touchscreen feels like an older generation system next to the Aion V and Aion UT reviewed previously, with settings scattered across separate menus instead of gathered into one hub. The drive selector deserves its own mention: a crystal insert that serves no function beyond catching ambient light, essentially an expensive fidget spinner with a Park button attached. Front seats are heated, ventilated and eight-way power adjustable, though unlike the row behind them, they miss out on massage entirely.
Second row: where the price tag earns its keep
Everything about the M8 PHEV points to the second row and the two captain’s chairs back there are the single best reason to buy one. Each reclines close to flat with an extending leg rest, gets three-stage heating and ventilation plus a working massage function, and is controlled through its own dedicated touchscreen with a one-touch reset. Between them sits a heated and cooled cup holder on one side, a 220V household socket rated at 150W and USB-C ports that I tested to output 56W.
A second, dedicated sunroof sits above the captain’s chairs, its geometric pattern lighting up after dark to genuine nightclub effect. Map pockets, individual tray tables and dual-zone touch controls for climate and windows round out a space that feels closer to a business class cabin than a people mover.
If GAC built this car to sell itself in thirty seconds flat, the second row is where that sale happens.
Third row and boot: comfort’s trade-off
The third row is the most usable I’ve tested in any three-row vehicle on this channel, with real adult leg room even as headroom shrinks to three or four fingers. Only the passenger side seat gets a top tether point, which limits child seat flexibility if you wanted to fit two into the third row. Cargo space tells the same story as the second row: 280 litres with all seven seats in place, stretching to 1,500 litres with the third row folded flat.
That 280-litre figure is tight for a people mover this size and it is a direct result of building the M8 PHEV around passenger comfort ahead of luggage. Families running school pickups with prams and sports bags will feel that trade-off immediately. Airport transfer operators, the buyer this car seems built for, will not notice it at all.
On the road: comfort over engagement
The M8 PHEV drives like a van, because that is exactly what it is. Body roll builds through corners as expected of something this tall and heavy, though the steering is more direct than its size suggests and never feels like hard work. Suspension tuning clearly favours the second row over the driver’s seat and while it soaks up most bumps well, it is not quite as polished as the Aion V or Aion UT over the same roads.
The electric motor works harder than most plug-in hybrids I’ve driven, kicking in noticeably even with charge to spare and it stays audible at highway speed despite thick double-glazed windows doing most of the heavy lifting on outside noise. More sound deadening around the engine bay would close that gap. None of this makes the M8 PHEV a driver’s car, and GAC never set out to build one.
Verdict: not the end of the Carnival, but a real alternative
Kia is not about to lose its 90% grip on the people mover segment overnight and the M8 PHEV will not be the car that ends it. GAC has a handful of dealers to Kia’s decades of local trust and that gap will not close in one model cycle. What GAC has built instead is the more interesting car, and for a specific buyer, the better one.
As a private hire vehicle or airport transfer car, nothing currently on sale in Australia beats the GAC M8 PHEV for the money. Families with older kids or teenagers will get plenty of mileage out of the tray tables and second-row tech, even if young children and prams push against the boot’s limits.
Value for money is where the M8 PHEV wins outright. A plug-in hybrid people mover with this much second-row luxury does not exist anywhere near this price point and GAC’s dealer network is expanding fast enough to back the warranty up. The Carnival is not over, but for the first time, it has an answer worth cross-shopping.
