Translation

2021 NIO Day, Li Bin made a statement that went viral on the internet:

I just don’t understand why everyone is still buying gasoline cars nowadays.

However, for those who buy electric cars, the range is still a pain point that cannot be ignored. Many cars are great in every aspect except for the range, so many manufacturers are making efforts to solve this problem by building battery swapping stations and connecting fast charging networks on highways, which are good solutions. At this point, some users may raise doubts, “won’t there be long lines during holidays?”

The general view of pure electric cars is to start with the range, and many electric car owners have undoubtedly experienced being asked “how many kilometers can your car run?” Therefore, the range is still a commonplace topic, and long-range can bring peace of mind and reduce charging frequency, which can indeed enhance people’s trust in electric cars.

As we all know, the larger the battery, the longer the range. In response to this issue, GAC AION has come up with a robust solution. They have directly released a car with a battery capacity of 144.4 kWh, and the CLTC range can even reach 1,008 kilometers. When the colleagues in the garage saw this news from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, all of them exclaimed.

To be honest, everyone is focusing on lightweight and aerodynamics for cars, and we haven’t seen such a large battery before. So when we got this interesting car, we also carried out some very interesting tests.

Drain the Big Battery

Can it run 1,000?

Originally, we planned to conduct a city range test followed by a highway range test as usual. However, because the Aion LX Plus we received this time was a trial plate, we could not conduct tests in the Shanghai city area. So we came up with an idea: we will not test the city range this time, but rather see if this car can run for 1,000 kilometers straight.

Our testing route followed the G1503 Shanghai Ring Expressway, and we drove within the economic range between 60 km/h and 80 km/h throughout the route. After almost continuous 24-hour testing, we achieved an amazing result: x,xxx kilometers.

The Long-range Endurance Test is Not as Simple as You Think!
After the extreme long-range test, we decided to carry out another extreme test – driving at a speed of 120 km/h to see how long the 144.4 kWh battery could last under the national legal maximum speed.

High-speed Endurance

Due to the large capacity of the 144.4 kWh battery, the cost of charging it to full is much more expensive than other pure electric vehicles. Therefore, after mooching a “box of electricity” from the EA Neng Super Charging Center located in Hongqiao Airport, we set off, driving along G60 all the way to Jinhua before turning back.

During the test, we drove at a speed of 120 km/h throughout the journey. Due to the fact that the car is still in the trial production stage, both the assisted driving system and cruise control were unavailable. To prevent fatigue driving, one of my “impatient colleagues” and I took turns driving. The outside temperature on the day of the test was 12°C, and the air conditioning was turned on for the whole journey, with the temperature set at 24°C and the wind speed at 2.

After 5 hours and 16 minutes of continuous driving, we drove the car’s battery from 97% down to 2% and entered a service area. The total mileage was 518 km, with an average speed of 99.86 km/h and a displayed energy consumption of 24.8 kWh/100 km.

Honestly, I feel both happy and a bit disappointed with this result. I am happy because I can finally finish work and go home, but I’m disappointed, as I believe you are, that the high-speed cruising range of this car is not as high as we imagined.

After analyzing calmly, there are several factors that contributed to this result. First, the temperature was relatively low on the day of testing, and both people in the car had a relatively high demand for heating and air conditioning. In addition, driving at a constant speed of 120 km/h consumes much more energy than driving at a constant speed in the economic zone, even when the battery is already depleted. It is worth mentioning that the Aion LX Plus uses the CLTC standard in the testing, so the actual cruising range will be greatly discounted. Here, I would also like to remind everyone to pay more attention to the actual cruising range of vehicles with CLTC cruising range standards.

Looking back, the pure high-speed cruising range of 518 km on a single charge is already relatively sufficient for our daily life. If you are not a professional driver, after driving continuously for 500 km, the driver should need more rest and replenishment than the car.

Does the big battery take a long time to charge?

After draining this large battery, you must be curious about the charging time. After all, such a large battery may take a long time to fully charge. We tested that it takes 94 minutes for the Aion LX Plus to charge from 5% to 95%, of which the time from 5% to 80% is 73 minutes and the time from 80% to 95% is 21 minutes.

Compared with other models, the Aion LX Plus is not considered fast in terms of recharging time, after all, the 144.4 kWh large battery is already one or even several times larger than some models. However, in terms of recharging efficiency, this car is not bad. Using a 120 kW DC charger, the maximum power can reach about 95 kW.

In daily use, using a 120 kW or higher power level charging station, half an hour can increase the displayed cruising range of this car by 300 km. Similarly, one hour can increase the displayed cruising range by about 600 km. As luck would have it, it takes about an hour for the Aion LX Plus to charge from 20% to 80%, which is our commonly used charging range. Such a replenishment result is actually not bad.

For this type of large capacity battery, if it can be equipped with an 800V voltage platform in the future, the energy recovery efficiency will be greatly improved. As for now, under our daily life scenario, like charging the car when we go to the mall on weekends, we can save some parking fees while also meeting the needs of commuting for the next few weeks. It can still reduce the hassle of frequent charging.

Mid-size Crossover SUV

To be honest, I only cared about the endurance of this car since I got it. I haven’t paid much attention to the appearance of the Aion LX Plus. Taking advantage of the time while charging, I decided to get off and take a walk. After walking around the car, I found that the appearance of this car is quite interesting.

The Aion LX Plus made subtle changes to the appearance of the original Aion LX, mainly in the front design. Aion LX Plus abandoned the originally closed chrome grille design and replaced it with a fully enclosed electric car-like one-piece front face, with only an air intake grille retained under the bumper.

The “fangs” design on both sides of the millimeter wave and the teardrop-shaped headlights also adopt the latest family-style design, with Aion Y and Aion S Plus to create a family-style front face design for Aiways. From afar, you can easily recognize the Aion LX Plus as a Guangqi Aion.

There is not much difference in the appearance of the Aion LX Plus body side and rear compared to the Aion LX. Perhaps in terms of details, the tail light chamber has been smoked to look more sporty. The word “Plus” is added below the tail mark of Aion LX to show its identity.

The overall appearance of Aion LX Plus leans towards a younger generation, with details such as a floating roof, hidden door handles, a sleek design, carbon fiber style decorations, and a unique tail wing, making it more appealing to young drivers. Aion LX Plus’s car paint color also stands out in the vast sea of cars.

The sporty and youthful exterior design inevitably links to high performance and driving experience. However, after traveling hundreds of kilometers, Aion LX Plus’s driving experience is not primarily focused on sporty driving.

Speaking of driving, Aion LX Plus impressed me most during long-distance driving by its stability and quietness, alleviating driver fatigue subconsciously.

Indeed, this car’s strength is cruising, it performs unexpectedly well at a speed of 120 km/h, and the car body remains stable regardless of small bumps on the road or transitions between different road surfaces. Aion LX Plus is just a comfortable large car that let you enjoy the journey from point A to point B. Besides, except for the suspension system itself, the weight of the 2.3-ton car also contributes to the stable ride experience during driving.

Although the front McPherson and rear multi-link suspension system, and floating type calipers for the front wheels are not visible highlights on the configuration, they effectively stabilize the car during actual driving, and provide decent shock absorption, reflecting the car’s positioning. During daily driving, it is difficult to notice any slight vibration transmitted to the driver’s seat. However, the heavy battery cannot be ignored, and combined with the high spring stiffness, the car’s performance on bumpy roads is not as refined as on regular roads with less potholes.

Nevertheless, the car’s suspension and shock absorption performance are still more delicate than many new-generation cars. In the wave of new car manufacturing, traditional car companies have demonstrated their rich tuning experience.Overall, the handling of noise reduction in the Aion LX Plus car is quite good. Equipped with Michelin Harmony 4 tires, it is quite good in controlling road noise, and there is no significant wind noise, so you don’t need to raise your voice when driving at high speeds. Even the volume of the music with increasing speed is a bit loud and needs to be turned down a bit.

The steering feel of the Aion LX Plus is also comfortable, and the required torque is not large. When maneuvering in place, the steering is relatively easy, and the neutral zone’s steering gain and damping are also suitable, providing comfortable and secure handling for long-term driving, making it easy to maintain the vehicle in the lane without excessive frequent steering operations. In the future, combined with NDA navigation-assisted driving and DMS behind the steering wheel, placing your hands under this dual-spoke steering wheel, you will feel that this car is more suitable for cruising.

If we talk about driving performance objectively, the acceleration of this car is not particularly quick, and the absolute braking force is not particularly strong. According to previous data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Aion LX Plus has a maximum power of 180 kW and a maximum torque of 350 N·m. When driving this 2.3-ton behemoth with front-wheel drive, it is indeed not as good as other lighter electric cars in terms of push-back feeling. It is more like a naturally aspirated engine without a roar matched with a well-tuned CVT gearbox, steadily increasing the vehicle’s speed. However, Aion LX Plus will have a power version with a 0-100 km/h speed of 2.9 seconds in the future. We can look forward to this monster-level power.

Both the front and rear rows are well taken care of. In fact, during this trip, my body was in the driver’s seat, and my heart was in the boss seat behind the front passenger seat, which is the position I most wanted to sit in for the entire car.

Under the seat, there are three boss buttons, and the two buttons below control the front and back position and the backrest angle of the front passenger seat. The top button can adjust the angle of the electric leg rest. When adjusted to the maximum angle, it can perfectly support the legs.Currently, many pure electric models have their interior space occupied by the batteries under the body, resulting in insufficient seat height. Therefore, the adjustable inclination of the rear seat back of the Aion LX Plus allows rear passengers to have a more comfortable sitting posture. When the backrest is adjusted to the maximum angle, it is almost a semi-reclined sitting posture, coupled with this large leg rest, and the comfort of the rear seat has been proven to be very high. We also look forward to seeing more of this type of design in future models, as the cost of this solution seems to be low.

Back to the driving position, Aion LX Plus also takes care of the front passengers very well. The front seats are equipped with heating and ventilation functions, and the quality of the LCD instrument panel and the central control screen is also high. The theme style is still the consistent style of Aion, and the instrument panel has three styles that can be adjusted. The vehicle network can also enrich the entertainment function of this large screen.

There is also an electronic air outlet for the driver that can adjust the angle of the wind through the screen.

In addition, electrically adjustable steering wheel also appears on this car. In terms of configuration, there are no flaws in the Aion LX Plus. It takes care of every passenger very well, but after driving this car continuously for several hours, I did find a new problem, which was that my waist was easily sore. Although there is a waist support adjustment on the main driver’s seat, even when adjusted to the most prominent position, the effect is still not obvious.

Range is the first step in parity

After experiencing the Aion LX Plus, I was really shocked by its range.

Before starting the test, I even made an extended version of the test table specifically for this car, and it was the first time I had driven to the redundant end point set for each test. And my colleagues were even crazy enough to charge this car once and drove it for x,xxx kilometers in two days and a night.

Yes, the Aion LX Plus has achieved a good range, but people always pursue perfection.We want more than just a long-range pure electric car, but a more comprehensive one that prioritizes travel needs. As the energy replenishment systems gradually improve, people have higher requirements for energy replenishment efficiency. Not everyone has a home charger, and it is not easy for everyone to charge on the go.

At the same time, the intelligent and spatial requirements are gradually reflected as the electric car develops. The car can do more and more things. Aion LX Plus has addressed the pain points of pure electric cars in terms of range, space, configuration, and power balance.

In the future, Aion LX Plus will have three onboard LiDARs and a power level of 2.9 seconds. This shows that Aion LX Plus does not have any obvious shortcomings and is a relatively balanced presence in the current pure electric market.

Price is always a concern. Aion LX Plus has not been officially released, and it is certain that the price will be higher than that of Aion LX, which ranges from 229,600 to 349,600 yuan. Whether it can offer a satisfactory price remains to be seen.

When electric cars enter the era of 1,000 km, the convenience of range has greatly improved. In addition, the advantages of electric cars also include inexpensive maintenance and larger space, where you can rest, sleep, and even experience something that traditional fuel cars cannot offer. For users with a home charger, energy replenishment can be done at any time at home.

However, even with the improvement of battery range and experience, there are still some people who are hesitant to consider pure electric cars. This is because there is still much to be done for electric vehicles. Range is only the first step. With the improvement of future energy replenishment systems and charging speed, electric cars will enter our lives at a faster pace.

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.