0
0
Not to be dramatic, however the GAC Aion UT is every little thing that’s improper with Chinese vehicles at present… and every little thing that is proper.
It’s a value-packed, affordably priced small electrical hatchback which, mixed with stable vary and efficiency, makes non-Chinese manufacturers look out of contact.
On the opposite hand, in some respects it is a dystopian nightmare to take a seat in and drive.
So, does that shake out to a car that on stability is definitely respectable? And does it stand out in a phase that’s quickly gaining entrants in Australia?
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the brand new electrical hatch, which arrived right here earlier this 12 months, let’s get actually superficial.
This is definitely fairly a handsome – dare I say cute? – automotive in my eyes.
Frankly, all of those small Chinese electrical hatchbacks look fairly comparable, from the BYD Dolphin to the upcoming Chery Q and Geely EX2 and the newly launched MG 4 EV Urban.
And but regardless of having acquainted styling, the Aion UT is arguably the tidiest looker of the lot. Our tester’s Seine Silver paint additional enhances the styling, being a bluish silver with a gold shine.
For context, the Aion UT is 105mm shorter than a Toyota Corolla at 4270mm lengthy, however has a 110mm longer wheelbase at 2750mm and measures 60mm wider at 1850mm.
How a lot does the GAC Aion UT price?
The Aion UT vary opens with the Premium, priced at $31,990 earlier than on-road prices. However, that is at the moment being supplied for $32,990 drive-away for autos delivered by June 30, 2026.
| Model | Price earlier than on-road prices |
|---|---|
|
2026 GAC Aion UT Premium |
$31,990 |
|
2026 GAC Aion UT Luxury |
$35,990 |
The different member of the Aion UT vary is the one you see right here: the Luxury, priced at $35,990 earlier than on-road prices or $37,590 drive-away.
Find your excellent new automotive with CarExpert
Premium paint is an additional $600, whereas two-tone exterior choices price $1000.
The Geely EX2 and Chery Q have but to be priced for Australia, however the BYD Dolphin is priced at $29,990 earlier than on-road prices in Essential trim and $36,990 plus on-roads in Premium trim, and the MG 4 EV Urban is priced at $31,990 drive-away in Essence 43 guise and $34,990 drive-away as an Essence 54.
The top-spec Toyota Corolla ZR hybrid prices $39,100 plus on-roads. Currently, you received’t discover any small electrical hatchbacks in Australia from non-Chinese manufacturers aside from Mini, and its autos are significantly extra premium-priced propositions.
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
What is the GAC Aion UT like on the within?
There’s a pervasive pattern amongst Chinese manufacturers to attract far an excessive amount of inspiration from Tesla, as if its autos are bastions of usability.
Before any Tesla stans come at me and argue their beloved model’s method trumps all, let’s simply take into account the truth that you may get used to something. You might in all probability get used to strolling round with a small boulder hooked up to your again.
But to anyone who isn’t coming into an Aion UT from a Tesla, or a Leapmotor, or a Geely, or – nicely, you get the image – this small hatchback goes to have one steep studying curve.
Look on the dashboard and attempt to discover a single button. No, that huge silvery factor that appears like a button isn’t one.
Even the hazard mild button is situated on the roof, which is the place you’d assume a swap would exist for the sunshade. You’d be improper – that’s finished through the touchscreen, or through voice immediate which yields an amusingly damaged English reply (‘Sunshades is turned off’).
Want to regulate your lights? That’s finished through the touchscreen. Mirrors? Touchscreen. Locks? You guessed it – the touchscreen. The controls seem on the house display, however why are there no bodily switches in any respect for these key capabilities?
The door locks can’t be managed utilizing voice instructions, which is clearly the style wherein GAC expects you to be utilizing most capabilities. I can’t say I do know many individuals who take pleasure in utilizing voice instructions of their vehicles, and GAC’s voice assistant usually simply provides up when it doesn’t perceive, saying “I’ll quit”.
It couldn’t even deal with a easy request to show the heated steering wheel off, sending me diving into touchscreen menus as a result of, bear in mind, there aren’t any buttons.
Wireless Android Auto boots up instantly and has no points sustaining a secure connection, although unusually not one of the voice assistant options would work for me – that is the one car I’ve had this situation in, and the subsequent automotive I stepped into had no such points.
This meant that in my time with the GAC I couldn’t have Google learn out my messages or reply questions.
One press of a button permits the anchored footer of the GAC’s native interface to stay on display. And you may want this to entry key capabilities just like the locks and temperature and fan velocity.
Regardless of what display you’re in at any given time, nevertheless, the footer is small and fiddly even for these of us with glorious imaginative and prescient.
The GAC additionally has the identical type of embedded satellite tv for pc navigation we’ve seen in autos from Geely and Leapmotor with out-of-date or irrelevant location information. My native cinema closed 4 years in the past however nonetheless seems on the map…
We’d love some bodily local weather controls. GAC’s entry-level SUV in Australia, the small Emzoom, provides you this, however the Aion UT does not.
You do get a surprisingly giant door that opens to disclose a reasonably slim cubby with a web. You might match a few telephones in right here, or maybe your sun shades, but it surely’s not a very helpful house.
There is, nevertheless, an expansive shelf beneath, the place you’ll additionally discover the 120W and USB-C and USB-A shops. The centre console additionally consists of an especially deep and spacious bin.
There’s a cooled wi-fi cellphone charger conveniently situated on the centre console subsequent to a pair of cupholders, and you probably have bottles that received’t match into these, you may pop them within the door pockets.
The digital instrument cluster is superb. It’s slim however very legible, and you may toggle between a number of views together with a map view.
The fastened glass roof permits plenty of mild into the cabin, which is beautiful on all bar the sunniest days. Fortunately, there’s a thick energy sunshade.
You can get the Aion UT’s inside in French Cream and even Misty Lavender colourways, however ours was boring outdated black.
The soft-touch trim throughout the entrance of the sprint, plus the padded door armrests and among the arduous plastic door trim are completed in gray which offers a tiny diploma of distinction.
Adding visible curiosity are the diamond-pattern inserts throughout the sprint and doorways, the intricate speaker grilles, the silvery window controls with their gloss gray surrounds, and the fake stitching on the tops of the doorways.
Step into the again and there’s loads of room. Even with the driving force’s seat moved again there’s ample legroom and knee room for somebody 180cm tall.
A flat ground makes issues extra snug for a middle-seat occupant, although this a part of the bench is raised barely and taller occupants could discover their head brushing the (fairly good) headliner. Even on the outboard seats, headroom could show restrictive for passengers over 180cm tall.
The entrance seatbacks are comfortable and have map pockets, whereas there are air vents, a small storage cubby and a USB-A outlet on the rear of the centre console. There’s additionally a centre armrest with a pair of cupholders, whilst you can slot a bottle into the doorways.
The boot doesn’t seem all that enormous at first, and GAC quotes 321 litres of cargo capability. However, elevate the boot ground and also you’ll discover a deep nicely the place the cost cable is stored, and you may retailer different objects in right here with ease.
You received’t discover any storage below the quick bonnet, as should you elevate this you’ll see solely the electrical motor.
| Dimensions | GAC Aion UT |
|---|---|
| Length |
4270mm |
| Width |
1850mm |
| Height |
1575mm |
| Wheelbase |
2750mm |
| Cargo capability |
321L (rear seatbacks up) 689L (rear seatbacks folded) |
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
What’s below the bonnet?
The GAC Aion UT is obtainable in Australia with only one battery and powertrain.
| Specifications | GAC Aion UT |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain |
Single-motor electrical |
| Battery |
60kWh lithium iron phosphate |
| Power |
150kW |
| Torque |
210Nm |
| Drive kind |
Front-wheel drive |
| Weight |
1670-1700kg |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) |
7.3 seconds |
| Energy consumption (claimed) |
16.4kWh/100km |
| Energy consumption (as examined) |
14.6kWh/100km |
| Claimed vary (WLTP) |
430km |
| Max AC cost charge |
11kW |
| Max DC cost charge |
87kW |
We noticed common vitality consumption of 14.6kWh/100km, truly beating the official declare, although our time with the Aion UT consisted primarily of city driving.
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
How does the GAC Aion UT drive?
Based on our complaints of the Aion UT’s in-car tech, you would possibly anticipate the security expertise to be aggravating, too.
Well, to our shock, it’s not. Well, most of it is not. The driver fatigue detection didn’t even chime each time I yawned because it does in some vehicles, and the driving force distraction detection was fairly correct – for essentially the most half, it solely chimed after I was wanting on the touchscreen.
These capabilities are dealt with by the digital camera constructed into the driving force’s A-pillar; the opposite digital camera above the rear-view mirror is for baby presence detection.
The lane-keep help is pretty unobtrusive however the adaptive cruise management is a bit cautious, and isn’t managed through a stalk or steering wheel controls.
Instead, you truly push the column-mounted gear shifter stalk down, which is unnerving should you’re not a daily driver of autos – comparable to some Teslas – the place that is the technique of partaking cruise management.
From skilled critiques to the fitting deal
CarExpert brings collectively critiques, analysis instruments and trusted shopping for help, guiding you from analysis to supply with confidence.
Changing your set velocity or following distance is completed through the unlabelled slide wheel/button on the right-hand facet of the steering wheel, not the opposite unlabelled one on the left which is for quantity and skipping tracks.
Integrated Cruise Assist pairs the adaptive cruise with a lane centring perform. To activate this, it’s a must to push the gear shifter down twice from Drive in fast succession – don’t pause in between.
Remember while you first taught an older relative to make use of a pc they usually struggled with the idea of double-clicking? I felt like I used to be on the opposite finish of that with the Aion UT.
Despite my points activating it, it really works pretty nicely although it’s nonetheless fairly cautious with distance and slows down a bit an excessive amount of for highway bends. That’s fairly a distinction with the GAC Emzoom I not too long ago had, the place its lane-centring perform felt nervous and tugged on the steering wheel awkwardly.
The digital camera high quality is great, with the Aion UT that includes a surround-view digital camera system with a clear chassis mode. Chinese manufacturers are inclined to nail digital camera high quality, and GAC isn’t any exception.
All isn’t totally nicely on the security system entrance, with the overspeed alert proving annoying and at all times defaulting to on. Fortunately, the chime for when a brand new velocity restrict is detected doesn’t default to on.
I used to be studying Josh Nevett’s launch overview and chuckling that his automotive had a warning blare a non-existent passenger was too near the dashboard. Somehow, studying this willed the identical error into existence in my tester – and speak about a loud chime!
It appeared like a countdown timer was going off for a bomb in a film. And no, there was no passenger within the seat. I simply needed to hold shifting the jacket I had sitting on it… or drive with my hand protecting the cabin digital camera.
It occurred once more the next day, and I’m at a loss to elucidate why it thought a laptop computer bag or a jacket was a residing, respiratory particular person. By the way in which, whereas most of those security nannies may be turned off (albeit will swap again on while you restart the automotive), this characteristic seems to be unable to be deactivated.
Set all these security programs apart and the Aion UT drives fairly nicely. It’s punchy off the road, providing the moment torque EVs are recognized for.
All you’ll hear is a refined whirring from the electrical motor, whereas at freeway speeds there’s solely a little bit of wind noise with the tyres not making a lot noise in any respect.
You will hear the Chaoyang rubber scrambling for grip within the moist, although, and this automotive would actually profit from higher tyres.
There are three drive modes: Comfort, Sport and Power Save. The latter is meant to be extra of a single-pedal drive mode however you’ll nonetheless end up urgent the brake, because the regenerative braking isn’t that sturdy.
The steering doesn’t have an abundance of really feel, however even within the lightest of its two weights it has an applicable quantity of heft – not unnervingly mild, however not so heavy that it’s awkward to steer round tight areas.
The Aion UT feels nimble and zippy, and whereas it’s not a scorching hatch it’s a wholly nice automotive to drive.
The trip errs on the comfortable facet, however to not the extent that physique management suffers. I’ll fortunately take a softer suspension tune over one thing that thumps and crashes over bumps, which the Aion UT most actually doesn’t.
While I didn’t take this automotive into regional areas, I did drive the Aion UT throughout a handful of unsealed roads and it proved snug.
For most patrons, we think about the use case might be that of a commuter automotive and the Aion UT performs admirably in that function.
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
What do you get?
There are two members of the 2026 GAC Aion UT lineup.
2026 GAC Aion UT Premium gear highlights:
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Automatic LED headlights
- Automatic high-beam
- Rain-sensing wipers
- 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
- 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless and wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- DAB+ digital radio
- In-car Wi-Fi hotspot
- 6-speaker sound system
- Heated, leatherette-wrapped steering wheel
- PVC seat upholstery
- 6-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with heating
- Remote management of car capabilities through cell app
- Heat pump
- Rear air vents
Aion UT Luxury provides:
- Power tailgate
- Power-folding exterior mirrors
- Panoramic sunroof with energy sunshade
- Wireless cellphone charger
- Ventilated driver’s seat
Is the GAC Aion UT protected?
The Aion UT has but to be assessed by security authority ANCAP, although GAC has beforehand confirmed testing will happen as soon as the automotive’s eCall system is activated.
This is a characteristic designed to robotically join occupants with emergency providers following a crash.
GAC representatives have beforehand stated they’re assured the Aion UT will obtain a full five-star ANCAP score as soon as this characteristic is activated.
Standard security gear highlights:
- 7 airbags, together with entrance, entrance facet, facet curtain, and centre
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise management
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Child presence detection
- Driver monitoring system
- eCall
- Integrated Cruise Assist
-
- Adaptive cruise management
- Lane-centring
- Lane-keep help
- Traffic signal recognition
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Surround-view digital camera
- Tyre stress monitoring
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
How a lot does the GAC Aion UT price to run?
GAC backs the Aion UT with an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre car guarantee and an eight-year, 200,000km battery guarantee.
| Servicing and Warranty |
GAC Aion UT |
|---|---|
| Warranty |
8 years, limitless kilometres (car) 8 years, 200,000km (battery) |
| Roadside help |
5 years |
| Service intervals |
12 months or 15,000km |
| Capped-price servicing |
N/A |
| Recommended whole service price (5 years) |
$1607 |
Also included are 5 years of roadside help, offered you service inside the GAC seller community, and 2GB of free information per thirty days for the primary two years.
Maintenance is required each 12 months or 15,000km, and though GAC has printed ‘beneficial’ service pricing, it does not have a capped-price scheme. This means sellers can resolve what to cost.
To see how the GAC Aion UT strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability device
CarExpert’s Take on the GAC Aion UT
GAC might stand to comply with Tesla rather less, as a result of our chief complaints with the car are largely ones that may be lobbed at autos from the American automaker.
The reliance on the touchscreen merely creates usability points, and a few design decisions just like the gear shifter-based adaptive cruise management might show harmful.
The security expertise can worsen, from the passenger occupant alert that detects ghosts to the overspeed alert that nags incessantly.
In phrases of pricing, it’s not the most cost effective car in its phase, and given GAC remains to be a largely unknown model right here, this might show an obstacle.
Despite all this, the Aion UT is a comprehensively geared up and well-packaged small electrical hatchback that’s usually fairly nice to drive and enticing besides.
Just give it some buttons, GAC.
Interested in shopping for a GAC Aion UT? Let CarExpert discover you the most effective deal right here
Click the pictures for the complete gallery. Photography by Eliot Tsai.
MORE: Explore the GAC Aion UT showroom
Source link
#GAC #Aion #Luxury #overview #CarExpert
