Aion UT Electric Car Offers Value But Falls Short on Highway Performance

The Aion UT electric vehicle from China is presented as a strong contender in the value-for-money segment, offering a modern and attractive exterior design. Despite its compact appearance, the car boasts a wheelbase of 275 cm, providing ample legroom for four adults. While the front seats have short bases and fixed backrest angles, the rear offers a flat floor, air conditioning vents, a charging port, and a coat hook.

The interior features a bright and pleasant cabin, with most materials being hard but textured to avoid a cheap feel. Assembly quality is good, and the design is clean and contemporary. The tested "Wave" trim, priced at 121,990 NIS, includes a panoramic glass roof with an electric blind and an electric tailgate. The trunk offers a reasonable 340-liter capacity with a wide, low opening, storage compartments, and a welcome spare tire.

Operation relies heavily on the central touchscreen, with minimal physical buttons, including mirror adjustments. The driver faces an information screen, and the main display allows shortcut customization, though it requires an adjustment period. Steering wheel stalks, particularly the gear selector which also controls adaptive cruise control, need familiarization. Some functions remain difficult to access quickly.

Safety features include autonomous braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and door-opening collision warnings. The lane keeping assist prevents lane departure rather than centering the vehicle. Some alerts are intrusive, and adjusting their settings is cumbersome. The car also exhibited unintended emergency braking twice during testing.

With 204 horsepower and a 0-100 km/h acceleration of 7.3 seconds, performance is strong for its price. However, the front wheels can easily lose traction under hard acceleration due to basic Chinese tires. The UT excels in urban environments, with soft suspension providing a comfortable ride. It is agile and easy to maneuver in the city.

At higher speeds, the car shows limitations, with noticeable suspension undulation on uneven roads, a synthetic and imprecise steering feel, and reduced comfort above 110-120 km/h. The steering remains light even in sport mode. Average energy consumption was 16.4 kWh/100 km, yielding a real-world range of approximately 366 km from its 60 kWh battery, compared to the claimed 430 km. Charging speed is not particularly fast, with a 10-80% charge taking about 33 minutes.

In summary, the Aion UT aims to offer a lot for its price, being spacious, well-equipped, and comfortable in the city with good performance. Its operation is screen-dependent, and it is less impressive on intercity journeys due to its soft suspension, noise insulation, and light steering. Aion positions the UT as an urban car, and in this role, it performs well, offering good usability, space, and features, making it a potentially important model for the manufacturer's entry into the European and Israeli markets.