Aion UT Review

We covered the introduction of the Aion V back in April and now this second model to the range is arriving, the supermini UT.

It’s fair to say that Aion has had a somewhat subdued arrival compared to some of its Chinese counterparts, but that’s no bad thing. Instead of a huge fanfare, it’s quietly gone about building its dealer network, now 15 strong, building relationships with the AA (who will come and service your car at your home) and selling 246 cars in less than five months so far this year.

No, admittedly that’s not many, but it’s decent given that limited dealer network and also more than Ineos has sold which has enjoyed far more publicity. So will this UT supercharge those sales? Either way, this is just the start which will see Aion launch 8 car lines by 2030.

Interestingly, the UT boasts the same Great 8 offer from Aion. If that was impressive on the V, it’s even more so in a car at this level and, as it’s also fully transferable, will help residual values after three years too. This is also a pretty big car for the sector (more of which in a moment), which is just as well as prices start from £28,950. That puts it firmly into MG4 territory, so even with a 60kWh battery and 268 mile range, it will need to be good.

AION UT – DESIGN

A bit of a tough one this. I think it’s fairly safe to say that the UT isn’t a traditionally stylish car, certainly not against the likes of the Renault 5 or even its sister, the Nissan Micra.

But having said that, it’s certainly not an ugly one either – we’re rather fond of the smooth, rounded edges and also little details like the quad front spotlights echoed in the rear lights too.

The charging port on the front offside wing seems to have an unnecessarily large door, but overall it’s reasonably likeable. Perhaps we’re just not used to seeing cars of this size being traditional cars rather than taller crossovers, the UT after all does have the longest wheelbase in its class – more of which later.

AION IT – POWER AND RANGE

There’s just one version of the UT with its 60kWh battery and 268 mile range, there is however a heat pump as standard which is pretty rare at this level.

With 204bhp, Aion claims a 0 to 60mph time of 7.3 seconds with a 30-80% charge time of 24 minutes (at a maximum charge rate of 87kW). The official efficiency is 3.6mls/kWh, though we averaged just 2.4mls/kWh during our test drive which is a bit disappointing even with the air conditioning on constantly. We’d expect a bit better from a car this size.

Like with the larger V too, it’s a bit frustrating that there’s only three regenerative braking modes – off, low and medium – together with three driving modes – comfort, sport and power save, which we’ll go into more detail next.

AION UT – ON THE ROAD

Aion is especially proud of two things with the UT. First, that it was actually designed in Europe for the rest of the world and second, that they have tweaked the suspension specifically for the UK to make it stiffer and less soft for our unique faster B roads.

 So does it work? That depends. The good news is that the steering is sharp and turn in to corners is accurate, even though there’s very little feel. This isn’t, and isn’t meant to be, a driver’s car in the same vein as the MG4 or Renault 5, but a little more feedback wouldn’t go amiss. What’s more of an issue however is the UT’s suspension. We haven’t driven the original car before the UK specific changes, but the fact is that those tweaks just haven’t worked and somehow we’re left with the worst of both worlds. Put simply both the dampers and springs feel out of balance with each other, so you end up with a car that can on occasion be good but then also floaty over undulations and have too much roll through corners, then at the same time be too fidgety over road imperfections. Perhaps we’re being too critical, but where we praised the V for how it drove, we definitely couldn’t say the same here. At the same time, those regenerative braking modes, again as on the V, simply aren’t strong enough and could be one, or maybe even two steps more aggressive with a one-pedal driving mode option too. It doesn’t help either that the steering wheel doesn’t have any reach adjustment, only height. There is also probably rather more wind and road noise coming into the cabin, especially around the A pillars by the door mirrors. Will many people at this level care about how it drives? For an electric supermini, likely to be a household’s second car or otherwise a runaround? Probably not. But it feels like there’s a potentially good car here waiting to be discovered, just maybe not in this guise. It’s true that UK roads are the toughest to get right for car manufacturers, but Chinese firms need to learn that its engineers spending more time and investment here wouldn’t be wasted.

AION UT – INTERIOR

For all of how it drives, if the UT is going to impress anywhere, it’s here. We said it with the V and we’ll say it again here – Aion’s interiors are very impressive.

The fit and finish would put some premium brands to shame, while the materials and textures used – especially across the dash and in front of the driver are excellent. They simply have no right being in a car of this size. If there’s anywhere that justifies the UT’s price tag, it’s here.

We also love the little storage spaces around the cabin and the touches like the curry hook by the front passenger’s shins and the cubby at the base of the dash that’s rather oddly opened via a chrome twist knob.

The £1200 Premium pack adds a panoramic roof, vented driver’s seat, wireless charging and an electric tailgate as well as folding door mirrors, but even the standard car gets electric and heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and wireless Apple Carplay.

Then there’s the space. The rear seats are easily big enough for a six foot tall adult to sit behind another and there’s also a 440 litre boot as well. In terms of sheer space, this is a highly practical car.

SUMMARY

We’re a bit torn over the Aion UT. On one hand, it’s got a decent range, has a superb interior and a huge amount of space. And, don’t forget, there’s that incredible eight year support package too.

 For some those attributes will be plenty enough, but for us it’s hard to get away from the way that the UT drives and handles on the road to counter-balance its other positives. While it’s great that the UT has had some engineering input from the UK, it’s clear that it hasn’t fully worked, so needs more for a product such as this to properly succeed on British roads.

FACT BOX

Model: Aion UT

Price:  from £28,950

Power: Battery – 68kWh

Range: Up to 268 miles

Average efficiency: 3.6mls/kWh 

Average charge time on a domestic wallbox: 8.1hrs

CO2 emissions: 0g/km

Rating: 7/10