You may not yet have heard of GAC - the Guangzhou Automotive Company - but it’s one of China’s larger car makers. Aside from producing vehicles across three distinct brands - Aion, Trumpchi and Hyptec - GAC is also a joint-venture partner of Honda and Toyota in China. Later this year GAC will expand its operations into Europe, starting in Portugal and Poland, and it has an eye on many more markets, including Ireland.
In preparation for that, we travelled to China to get behind the wheel of the first car that GAC will launch in Europe, the Aion V. This is an electric mid-size SUV that will compete directly with the Ford Explorer, Opel Frontera and Volkswagen ID.4.
How big is the GAC Aion V?
The Aion V is what we’d class as a mid-sized SUV as it has a slightly raised ride height and rugged styling cues, even though this is only a front-wheel-drive car. The upright front is softened as it curves around the bonnet and headlights, which have a distinctive pair of upright LED daytime running lamps. Similar to a lot of current designs, the Aion V has flush-fitting door handles for a clean look, while a kick along the shoulder line emphasises the rear haunches. Some versions also get a two-tone finish with a contrasting roof colour that looks well and is less common in this segment. The GAC Aion 4 is slightly larger in all directions than the Nissan Ariya and Volkswagen ID.4. A Tesla Model Y is longer and wider, but not as tall. The full figures for the GAC Aion V are:
Overall length: 4,605mm
Overall width: 1,854mm
Overall height: 1,686mm
Wheelbase: 2,775mm
In China there are three battery options available starting with a 62.2kWh unit, rising to a mid-level 75.3kWh battery which is what we’re testing here, and topped by a 90.2kWh pack. The biggest battery, unsurprisingly, makes it the heaviest version. The mid-range version we’re driving weighs in at 1,860kg, notably less than some rivals; a Volkswagen ID.4 is 2,149kg, for example, while a Nissan Ariya with its smaller battery is 1,980kg.
What’s it like inside the GAC Aion V?
The interior of the Aion V feels very similar to a lot of electric cars’ these days. By that we mean you won’t find much design that really sets it apart from the competition, so there are no buttons beyond what’s on the steering wheel and window switches on the doors. Everything is operated either by voice command or via the 14.6-inch touchscreen. The latter is impressive and positioned in a way that even the furthest corner can be easily reached without stretching. We found the rectangular 8.8-inch instrument display to be clear but crammed with too much information and the speedometer is off to the left side rather than dead ahead.
There’s a perfectly round steering wheel with a two-spoke design featuring rotary-style scrollers that are similar to what Tesla uses, with extra buttons on the outer edges. Just below the large touchscreen is a pair of air vents and a big area for two phones, including a 50-watt wireless charging pad. This feature is useful, but it means that further storage is located below this panel, and it isn’t convenient to reach. The upper part of the centre console also contains two cupholders, and, unusually for this segment, beneath the central armrest is a temperature-controlled box that can be set to between -15 degrees Celsius and 50 degrees Celsius, so you can either have your drinks nice and chilled or keep a takeaway dinner piping hot on the drive home.
The front seats are comfortable, with a wide base and sufficient side support. In addition to electric adjustment and heating, there is a massaging function too. The door cards feature a quilted upholstery that ups the impression of quality, and the door release is a novel design that is pleasing to use. Rear passengers get a surprising amount of headroom and legroom, so even the tallest people will find it comfortable. The fully flat floor is a plus to whomever is seated in the middle seat, and while this isn’t as wide or comfortable as the two outer seats, it is less of a compromise than in other cars in this segment. One of the only downsides to the rear is that there is only one USB-A charging port on the back of the centre console, which is less than what many in the segment now offer.
How big is the boot on the GAC Aion V?
The generous amount of rear passenger space means that the boot compartment of the Aion V is on the smaller side, providing a total of 427 litres. That does put it at a disadvantage to similarly sized competitors, many of which offer a good deal more. It is possible to adjust the level of the boot floor, but the bigger issue to how much the rear wheel arches intrude into the cabin area. If you need more space for bulkier items, the rear seats have a 40:60 split and can be lowered down. If the boot floor is at the highest setting, this creates a mostly flat load area, though GAC doesn’t quote a total cargo volume for this combined space.
Driving the GAC Aion V
We only had a short drive with the Aion V, but it was enough to give us an impression of what it will be like when it arrives in Europe later this year. Our test car had the 75.3kWh battery and was fitted with the 165kW (224hp) electric motor that drives the front wheels. Its power delivery is smooth and it’s clear that this is a car setup more for comfort than outright dynamic ability. The suspension consists of a McPherson independent setup on the front axle and a cheaper trailing arm torsion beam on the rear, resulting in a ride quality that is comfortable but lacking the finesse of some European rivals what feature multilink arrangements on the rear.
The softer suspension setup means that it soaks up lumps and bumps quite well, and although we didn’t get to do any motorway driving, we found that road noise seemed to be well suppressed at lower speeds. Sudden accelerator inputs raise the car’s nose, and the opposite is true under heavier braking, though body lean in bends is kept in check. The steering feels light and doesn’t give a lot of feedback. We’d prefer if there was a bit more weighting to enhance the sense of connection to the front wheels, but admittedly we’re probably in the minority for this segment of the market as driving dynamics aren’t typically a priority here.
Our test car wasn’t equipped with the full suite of driver assistance technology, but GAC does offer a version of the Aion V with its ADiGO Pilot assisted driving system that uses a RoboSense lidar scanner along with additional millimetre radars and ultrasonic radars.
What’s the range of the GAC Aion V?
As our time behind the wheel of the Aion V was limited, we can only tell you what the official electric range figures are for the car. The mid-level battery allows it a range of 650 kilometres on the Chinese CLTC test. That would roughly equate to 533 kilometres in the WLTP test, which is a respectable figure even when you translate that into real world driving.
The smaller battery has a 62.2kWh capacity and a 520-kilometre CLTC range (426km WLTP), while the largest battery is a hefty 90.2kWh with a 750-kilometre CLTC range (615 WLTP).
How safe is the GAC Aion V?
As yet, GAC hasn’t submitted any of its cars for Euro NCAP testing, but the company does expect it to achieve a high score when it does. There’s a lot of driver assistance features as standard on the car, including collision avoidance, active braking and lane departure warning. Higher-spec models in China are equipped with traffic sign and traffic light recognition, automated lane changing and assisted driving on navigation. These are in addition to a full suite of airbags, and there are ISOFIX mounting points in the two outer rear seats.
The reasons you’d buy a GAC Aion V
Although we don’t have a clear indication on Irish pricing for the GAC Aion V, if the company follows a similar strategy to what it does in China, we expect all cars to be competitively priced, even taking the EU tariffs into account. There’s already a growing number of models to choose from in this segment, so if the Aion V stands out as a more affordable option it will have an advantage. It also provides good levels of passenger space inside that families will appreciate, but it could also have broader appeal for taxi drivers given the rear legroom. However, as we’ve highlighted already, boot space is one of the Aion V’s downsides, as it’s smaller than most of its rivals.
How much will the GAC Aion V cost in Ireland?
GAC hasn’t announced any official plans for entering the Irish market, and so any comment on pricing would be purely speculative at present. However, GAC does plan on being positioned at the more competitive end of the market, similar in ways to BYD and MG, two other Chinese brands that are finding sales success in Europe.
Ask us anything about the GAC Aion V
If there are any details relating to the GAC Aion V that we’ve not covered, or you’d like advice in choosing between it and other vehicles, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.