After two months of waiting, the Guangzhou Automobile AION V Plus, which was released in September, has finally arrived at dealerships in the Shanghai area. It has to be said that the product naming method, similar to that of mobile phones, greatly reduces the user’s understanding cost. From the naming, we can also see that the AION V Plus is an upgraded version of the current model AION V.
A Gentle “Mechanical Beast”
The biggest difference between the appearance of the AION V Plus and the previous model is the closed front face design, which emphasizes the sense of integration and is simpler. The separate “light claws and electric eyes” have also become more exquisite after the cancellation of the upper decorative grille. Both the independent high and low beam lights use LED light sources, and all four light sources have lenses.
The AION V’s exterior design is called “mechanical beast” by Guangzhou Automobile. But for the AION V Plus, I feel that the fierce feeling is gone, and it has added a few more gentle and peaceful temperament. In the family car market, a softer appearance may have a higher acceptance.
The guiding grooves on both sides of the previous model have been cancelled, and the size of the lower air intake has also been greatly reduced. It can be seen that the changes in the front of the car are mainly towards a more “simple and exquisite” direction.
The AION V Plus vehicle side is basically the same as the AION V, except that the roof adopts the same color as the ABC pillar, which looks more unified.
The special taillight group extends to the rear door handle, cleverly hiding the handle in the taillight design.
Compared with the styling of the front of the car, the design of the AION V Plus tail seems much more mediocre. The narrow-top and wide-bottom body widens the passenger space as much as possible. Although positioned as a family car, the sharp rear taillights and prominent small tail wings also show its “unrestrained heart”.
The difference from the previous generation lies in the cancellation of the previous GAC logo and the use of the Aion logo. The bottom bumper design has also been flattened.
It is quite strange that GAC has placed the trunk opening button in the upper right corner of the license plate. Without a reminder sticker, it is difficult to find it at a glance. Additionally, there is no sensor function for the tailgate, which makes it very inconvenient when your hands are full of things.
This display vehicle is equipped with Maxxis UC6 tires, with a size of 255/45 R20. The tire performance is located between MC6 and CC6, with a focus on quietness and comfort. The special guide groove design helps to improve the grip performance on wet and slippery roads.
The interior design lacks sufficient materials
When you sit in the car, you can immediately see that the previous dual-screen design has been canceled and replaced with the now more popular split-screen design. Personally, I still quite like the previous generation’s dual-screen design, which fits better with the AION V Plus interior’s “sedate and elegant” style. The current “Maybach-style steering wheel + Tesla-style central control large screen” is somewhat inconsistent.
“The interior design lacks sufficient materials.” The workmanship and materials of the AION V Plus’s interior are definitely superior in the same class. The silver highlight trim outlines the piano lacquer panel on the central console, which is wrapped in leather below and looks less dull with yellow stitching. In the middle is a well-crafted gear knob. Additionally, GAC even used electroplated decorative panels to create a zoning effect for it. You would never believe that this is a 400,000 yuan-level car’s central console.
The car’s infotainment system functions well but lacks attention to detail.When it comes to the car infotainment system of traditional car manufacturers, the overwhelming majority of people’s first impression is rough. When I experienced the Guangzhou Automobile Aion Y before, the roughness of the infotainment system had already reached an ‘extremely unbearable‘ level. After such a long time, seeing this ADiGO 4.0 intelligent connectivity system which has completed its evolution, its progress is obvious.
Whether it is the control positioning, color matching of the interface, or the convenience of various operations and the completeness of functions, they have reached the mainstream level. Of course, it is only mainstream level, and we cannot expect it to complete the ugly duckling’s transformation all at once.
The cards on the left side of the main interface contain the most common functions such as navigation, music, radio, charging, etc., and setting navigation destination, switching songs, finding charging stations and other operations can be quickly completed here. The upper left and upper right corners are voice assistants and vehicle information displays, respectively.
Dragging down from the edge of the screen or pulling up can open the shortcut operation panel, which includes adjusting the volume of different contents, vehicle driving mode, and turning on the assisted driving function, which is very convenient. However, the transition animation of these two operations is very rigid, and the visual experience of the operation is not very good.
It comes with music sources such as Kuwo Music, Kugou Music, Lizhi Podcast, and Himalaya. However, it is still hoped that Guangzhou Automobile can add two major music sources QQ Music and NetEase Cloud Music to cover more users.
The biggest problem with the entire system is that no matter which interface you return to the main interface from, the map of the main interface will always be reloaded, which greatly affects the user experience. I hope it can be fixed as soon as possible.
Abundant space meets family needsSpace has always been a traditional strength of Aion. In terms of size, the length of AION V Plus, 4650 millimeters, is not advantageous compared to other models in the same price range, lagging behind models such as the ORA C11 and the Song Plus EV. However, its width of 1920 millimeters and height of 1720 millimeters are ahead of most of its competitors, and a wider and higher body can bring a more spacious riding space.
Even under the comfortable driving position in the front row, AION V Plus still has more than two fists of knee space in the back row, and there is also sufficient head space. Even if you are a tall guy who is 1.8 meters tall, you will not feel depressed.
The length of the rear seat cushion can fully support the thighs of rear passengers, without any suspension.
The flat floor did not sacrifice the height of the seat cushion, avoiding the feeling of a “small stool” in the back row of some electric cars.
The rear air outlet is also wrapped in leather, highlighting the texture. There is a USB charging port below, taking care of the riding experience of rear passengers as much as possible.
AION V Plus did not sacrifice the luggage compartment capacity due to accommodating the back row space. The depth of 1.7 meters is not particularly outstanding, but it is not lagging behind either. It is not a problem to put two large suitcases and a few backpacks.
The designer also thoughtfully used the irregular corners of the luggage compartment to make storage spaces. At the same time, opening the cover board can also reveal a separate layer of storage space. However, the price is that the opening of the luggage compartment is relatively high, and it may be a bit difficult to take or place heavy luggage.
Upgraded power and endurance, practicality still comes first.
AION V Plus is equipped with a front single permanent magnet synchronous motor. The two versions of the motor have power of 165 kW and 200 kW respectively, corresponding to maximum torque of 320 Nm and 350 Nm, respectively. The 0-50 km/h acceleration time given by the official is 2.9 seconds.
The battery capacities are 71.8 kWh, 80 kWh, and 95.8 kWh, respectively. The 71.8 kWh version uses lithium iron phosphate battery, while the remaining versions use ternary lithium battery. The Guangqi TANK battery technology is adopted. Thanks to the fifth-generation battery management system with full-time control, the corresponding NEDC ranges are 500 km, 600 km, and 702 km, respectively. Compared with the current models, there is a certain upgrade, and it is ahead of models of the same price range, such as XPeng G3 and Song PLUS EV, but not as good as the Leapmotor C11 of the same price range.
Since the experience this time is only static, it is regrettable that we did not experience the actual range and chassis performance of the AION V Plus.
The AION V Plus that was launched this time has six different versions, named according to the battery size. The main differences between different models with the same battery mainly lie in the comfort configuration and the assisted driving configuration. The Intelligent Enjoyment Technology version adds features such as seat heating and ventilation, electrically adjustable co-pilot seat, car air conditioner, mobile phone wireless charging, and L2 level assisted driving based on the Intelligent Leadership Technology version.
The Navigation and Intelligent Driving version adds higher-level assisted driving functions such as vehicle summons, remote vehicle movement, and intelligent parking.
On November 1st, GAC Aion announced that the AION series of electric vehicles had more than 20,000 orders for the first time in October, with a total of 23,000 orders. Terminal sales in October were 13,189 units, a year-on-year increase of 112%. With the leading interior workmanship and seating space, the updated AION V Plus is aimed at the family SUV market of around 200,000 yuan, optimizing appearance and dynamic range, and switching to a more popular dual-screen design. Even the lowest configuration model has sufficient competitiveness. I am full of expectations for its future sales.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.