A real eye-opener of a car with an incredible manufacturer support package, truly amazing quality, well appointed roomy interior and excellent refinement.  It’s one to watch for certain!

Mike Humble:

It really doesn’t seem that long ago when a new brand of foreign car would cause sensation and often petty jealousy from prospective buyers and rival manufacturers. Those old enough may remember when Daewoo launched their model range in the mid 1990’s. They had displayed their offerings at the previous `94 NEC Motor Show on a large stand with a huge banner above stating ; ‘The biggest car company you’ve never heard of’. When the UK launch finally came a few months later, the company quite literally tried to re-invent the wheel offering long warranties, free servicing, free loan cars and even a pocket mobile phone. They were of course nothing more than Sunday dinner leftovers reheated in the form of the old Mk2 Astra and Mk2 Cavalier restyled in Worthing and assembled in Korea, but they had the buying public interested and other manufacturers frightened.

These days, a new car brand seems to come along seemingly with the same frequency of commuter trains into London. Public apathy towards imported cars has long since been forgotten with most complainants who still bicker on about Johnny Foreigner being the sort of folk who for whatever reason (often financially) will never consider purchasing a new car. The new trend of electric vehicles from China seems to be the modern-day xenophobic bone of contention. That said, if you were to really boycott anything from China or the Pacific rim countries, you’d have no T.V to watch, no iPad to tap on, no computer to vent your anger on and no BMW to drive owing most of their electrical components being manufactured in China.

Ah yes, some of you may be thinking, another cheap eastern import. Perhaps in the days of Lada, Skoda and other Communist based horrors maybe when then the only unique selling point was the price tag. Value for money is today’s key phrase as no manufacturer longer makes a truly dismal car – just some are better than others. So, coming back to the present, I have recently spent some quality time with another motor brand you have never probably heard of. Only this time around it doesn’t share its DNA with a prehistoric Vauxhall or share a passing glance similarity to a Lada Riva. It’s called the ‘AION V’ (pronounced as ay-on) hails from China and has considerable pedigree and history behind it, not forgetting incredible value for money. The parent company GAC has been in existence since the 1940’s building billions, yes BILLIONS of vehicles since their inception.

They have gone on to form successful partnerships with Honda and Toyota building models to satisfy the Asian market. In fact the AION V actually shares a similar floorpan of a Toyota model that we don’t actually get in the United Kingdom. One thing does come out of this, and that’s the fact that AION and the parent GAC know a thing or two about assembling a good quality product. What is apparent from the outset is the feeling of quality from the first contact of the vehicle. Anyone can make a new car look good from the outside, but can they continue this throughout? To find out you must read on further to know a bit more.

The AION V is a compact electric SUV on a fairly similar theme to other electric SUV types – but don’t let the word ‘compact’ put you off. The styling is far from soul stirring nor is the actual driving experience going to turn you into the next breed Emerson Fittipaldi or Sabine Schmitz. However, akin to a professional card shark, this car has plenty of aces up its sleeve. Let’s start first with a view from the outside. If you know your automotive engineering, the first thing to catch your eye is the amazing attention to detail when it comes to panel gaps and paintwork. The quality of the build upon first inspection is excellent, we are talking premium here not simply quite good. Even the finish to the alloy wheels is right up there with the best of the rest. They say you can gauge an opinion from 200 yards and in this case that’s correct and the closer you get, the more impressive and obvious the quality becomes.

Pop open the door and slip inside and you are greeted into an environment of pleasing colours, lovely tactile feeling trim and with the optional package of just under £1500 – some lovely leather seats. Unlike some rivals, these are proper leather items with pain and perforated hide which especially in the front look fantastic. I drove around in a Jaguar XJ a short while before its deletion and the AION items looked and felt just like them. The optional luxury pack also brings you a decent sized cubby box between the front seats that’s not only refrigerated, but also freezes down to minus 15 and heats up to plus 50. It cleverly has the option of allowing you to work it on a timer so your chocolate, drinks or pasties remain lovely and cold or pleasingly warm for some hours after you have and returned to the car. At the time of writing, this feature remains unique on any car within its price sector and it really works well.

Some other nice interior touches include the door levers that are not only made from chrome plated steel not plastic, but are also damped so that when you let go they don’t make a nasty thump noise against the door card. The aforementioned may sound a little trivial to some, but if you have had extensive experience with premium brands it will subconsciously reassure you the interior is more than fit for purpose. The passenger front seat features a large fold-away tray on the back with beautifully polished alloy hinges which is so strong I reckon you could place a 20Kg weight on it with no cause to worry. An AION representative informed me they bench-marked a Bentley Continental for quality when it came to engineering the tray.

There’s not a hint of piano black to be found, so there’s no more dust build up or annoying little scratches that you would usually find. Interior wise there isn’t a great deal to annoy you but curiously, there is no glove box to be found – only a pair of fold away hooks, one for your Indian and other for a Chinese perhaps? Overall interior quality is genuinely amazing for the asking price, not a squeak, not a rattle and despite the door mirrors being rather large, the sound reducing laminated front door panes keep the wind noise wonderfully low even at speed. The only thing I found on a let down are the covers for illuminated visor mirrors. Rather than being a sliding or lifting solid item, they work as a folding material and magnetic cover that’s rather fiddly to use and doesn’t feel nice to the touch.

Space for taller occupants is as good as you would find in some larger cars. There’s more than enough arm, head and very good legroom on offer and the folding and reclining rear seat is just as comfortable as the ones up front. The interior is bright and airy no doubt thanks to the panoramic roof and the ride comfort has been engineered for British roads. At motorway speeds the comfort level is truly outstanding despite having a simple torsion beam rear axle though it can feel a little under-damped on fast undulating country roads. The steering is well weighted and slightly heavier than some rivals but I found that a plus point as I loathe overly light artificially feeling steering that makes driving a car feel like an arcade game. On the subject of steering – the turning circle must have been inspired by a London Taxi such is it’s manoeuvrability. Performance is good enough with a 7.9 second sprint to sixty, top speed is limited to 100mph.

 

There is no doubt whatsoever that a colossal amount of thought has gone into this car from a design point of view. You have a fast charging phone plate with an integral fan to keep the phone cool, heated and cooled seats front and back and an aftermarket plan that is class leading. AION calls it the “The Great Eight” that provides you with 8 years warranty up to 100,000 miles, 8 years battery warranty up to 125,000 miles, 8 years free servicing and free MOT testing up to the age eight years old. While the dealer network is in its infancy, they will even send a factory trained technician to your place of residence or work wherever possible if warranty or service work is required. The company seems to have the aftermarket topic fairly covered with them recently signing an agreement with DHL Automotive Logistics to handle the stocking and distribution of parts – the same organisation that Jaguar – Land Rover employ.

So far as range matters, they claim a maximum of 317 miles between charges. I found the real world range to be around the 270 mark but fast charging is very rapid again you’re looking at class leading figures – 24 minutes to get 80% from 10%. From 30% to 80% via a fast charger can take less than 15 minutes. Using the 11Kw on board charger from home you can juice up the AION V from empty to 100% in around 7 to a touch over 8 hours depending on ambient temperature of course.

To summarise. If AION are looking to be a mainstay in the UK, as a few brands have come and gone, the V is a difficult car not to consider. The quality, comfort, level of standard equipment are all something to think long and hard about. Some Chinese imports are nothing but really cheap bits of crud designed to simply upset the marketplace and destroy their rivals. Whereas the AION V is very well made, amazing value for money, puts some German kit to shame in terms of fit and feel, is really comfortable to drive and has some truly impressive manufacturer back up to alleviate potential customer concern as well as some class leading credentials. 

To say I was a little shocked at this car is a bit of an understatement. There really is little to loath or tut about apart from the dings, bings and bongs from some of the safety features. You can turn some of the noises off but you have to do this every time you get in the car – not a deal breaker though in fairness but bloody annoying all the same. It’s a shame us Brits and Europeans cannot build stuff like this, but business is business and taking that into account…. The AION V deserves to succeed and is a very likeable car.

Final Thoughts:

What a great first attempt for AION. That said, it’s not going to be easy for the car to gain some sales traction UNLESS the marketing is right and the company is prepared to stick it out for the long term – which it looks like they are. However, the sector has never been more fiercely fought – some tempting offers and a solid understanding of the key customer will be the key to success, but it’s not going to happen overnight. 

One or two things could be improved, such as the sun visors, the complex infotainment system, over sensitive peripheral safety programmes and a rear parcel load cover that feels cheap and is awfully fiddly to use. However, the overall quality is rather superb – it doesn’t need to be pointed out, you can actually feel it. Coupled with the oh – so – smooth nature and comfort the AION, despite having slightly bland exterior styling, stands head and shoulders over most of its competitors.

I say it’s worth very serious consideration.

 

THE STATS:

Model Tested: AION Model V (only one model currently on offer)

Price: £36,450 OTR

Power Unit: Synchronous 150kw Motor & 240Nm torque

Performance*: 0-60 in 7.9 seconds & 99mph limited top speed

Range / Charging: 317 miles* 10 – 80% DC fast in 24 minutes 274 miles range on test

Warranty: 8 years 100,000 miles (125,000 miles for battery)

Insurance Grouping: 32 or 33 depending on options fitted

 

WHAT’S GREAT?

•  Genuinely premium feeling inside and out
• Superb warranty and after-sales package
• Exceptional refinement and smoothness
• Spacious, well appointed interior
• Front seat comfort is amongst the best I’ve experienced
• Very good value for money
• Fast recharging
• Numerous class leading credentials
• Optional premium pack (£1450) is good value and a must have

WHAT GRATES?

• Sits in a marketplace which has never been more fiercely fought
• One or two attention to details need finessing
• Only one model at present
• Exterior styling is a little bland
• Rear suspension feels under-damped on some fast roads
• No passenger side glove box
• Settings via touchscreen a little fiddly
• Too many annoying warning chimes

For more information on the AION range: CLICK HERE