- Mid-size SUV with 317-mile range
- Eight-year care package includes warranty and servicing
- Single model line-up priced from £36,450
Aion’s V arrives in the UK as a well-judged, value-led mid-size electric SUV that shows clear European influence in its refinement, tech and driving manners, backed by an unusually comprehensive eight-year ownership package. While it isn’t class-leading in efficiency or outright practicality, it makes a strong first impression as a mainstream challenger with genuine retail ambition.
Overview
Chinese challenger Aion is preparing its UK market entry with a strategy designed to avoid the pitfalls that have hindered some rival brands. Established through a joint venture between GAC Group and importer Jameel Motors, the marque is positioning itself as a long-term player with a strong focus on aftersales and residual value protection.
Leading the operation is former Volvo Car UK managing director Jon Wakefield, who has assembled an experienced management team drawn from across the automotive sector. A nationwide dealer network is currently being established, with an initial target of 15 sites by the end of June.
Central to Aion’s proposition is its ‘Great Eight’ ownership package, which combines warranty cover, servicing, roadside assistance and MOT tests for eight years. The brand believes the package will not only enhance customer confidence but also support stronger residual values by creating a more attractive proposition across second and third ownership cycles.
Aion has also worked closely with Thatcham Research to improve repairability and keep insurance costs competitive – two areas that have proved challenging for several new Chinese entrants to the UK market.
While a broader product offensive is planned, including the forthcoming UT hatchback and an as-yet unnamed plug-in hybrid model, the Aion V will spearhead the brand’s launch in Britain.
The all-electric V enters the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment, taking on rivals such as the MG S5 EV, Renault Scenic E-Tech and Skoda Enyaq.
Although engineered and built in China, the V’s styling was refined at GAC’s Milan design studio, with European market preferences influencing both calibration and technology development. Thanks to the close relationship between manufacturer GAC and importer Jameel Motors, the UK operation claims to have had greater input into the vehicle’s localisation than is typical for many Chinese brands entering Europe.
Visually, the Aion V adopts a deliberately conservative design approach. The SUV features pronounced wheel arches and subtle rugged styling cues, while avoiding the more overt crossover cladding treatments seen elsewhere in the segment. Aside from a distinctive C-pillar design, the V’s appearance prioritises broad market appeal over standout styling.
Pricing and Spec
The Aion V is offered in a single trim and powertrain configuration, priced at £36,450. Buyers can opt for a £1,495 Premium Pack, which adds leather upholstery, a folding rear tray table and a temperature-controlled centre storage compartment.
The standard spec list is vast and includes features like LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats with electric adjustment, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel.
There’s also a keyless entry system, dual zone climate control with a heat pump, wireless phone charging and a nine-speaker audio system.
Technology
Inside, the Aion V follows the now-familiar minimalist EV formula, centred around a 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen that acts as the primary interface for most vehicle functions.
The system includes integrated navigation, DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity and a voice assistant, although, as with many rival systems, usability is likely to depend heavily on customers defaulting to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto for navigation and media streaming.
Importantly, Aion has retained permanent on-screen climate control shortcuts, making temperature adjustments relatively straightforward while on the move – a decision many retailers will welcome given ongoing customer frustrations with overly digitised cabin controls.
Less successful is the decision to bury functions such as door mirror adjustment and rear heated seat controls within touchscreen menus. However, compared with some competitors, the overall user experience remains intuitive, with responsive graphics and clearly laid out shortcut menus.
Aion says further software enhancements are already planned and can be rolled out remotely via over-the-air updates, allowing the brand to refine functionality and customer experience post-sale without requiring retailer intervention.
Safety
The Aion V arrives with a comprehensive suite of ADAS features, including adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring and a surround-view camera system – all increasingly essential in the competitive family SUV segment.
Crucially, Aion says significant effort has gone into calibrating the systems for European driving conditions, reducing the intrusive false warnings and over-sensitive interventions that have drawn criticism for some rival Chinese models. During our testing, the systems proved relatively well judged, with alerts largely reserved for legitimate scenarios.
The V has also secured a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, which Aion believes will strengthen both retail and fleet appeal. The brand is also keen to stress that extensive work has been carried out behind the scenes to improve repairability and control insurance costs – areas that are becoming increasingly important for retailers and fleet operators assessing the viability of new EV entrants.
Driving experience
Aion is keeping the V range deliberately simple at launch, with a single front-wheel-drive powertrain pairing a 204PS electric motor and 240Nm of torque with a 75.3kWh battery pack.
Official WLTP range stands at 317 miles, while real-world efficiency during testing averaged around 3.5mi/kWh, suggesting a practical driving range of approximately 250-260 miles. That places the V slightly behind class benchmarks such as the Skoda Enyaq, which can achieve closer to 4.0mi/kWh in comparable conditions, but still comfortably within the expectations of mainstream EV buyers.
Performance is strong enough to satisfy family SUV customers, with linear throttle calibration and reassuring mid-range acceleration helping the V feel more polished than some newer EV entrants. The 0-62mph sprint takes 7.9 seconds, while a progressive throttle calibration avoids the torque steer and traction issues that can affect more aggressively tuned rivals.
Rapid charging capability peaks at 180kW, allowing a 10-80% recharge in a claimed 24 minutes. Aion is also keen to highlight the durability benefits of its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry, which it says allows customers to regularly charge to 100% without the same long-term degradation concerns associated with some alternative battery technologies.
On the road, the V demonstrates clear European influence in its chassis set-up. Steering weighting, ride quality and body control feel more mature than some competing Chinese models, suggesting significant localisation work has taken place during development.
The suspension is tuned firmly towards comfort, delivering a generally compliant ride, although there is some vertical movement and low-speed fidget over poorer road surfaces. Nevertheless, the overall balance is well suited to UK driving conditions.
Practicality
Although Aion stops short of positioning itself as a premium marque, the V clearly targets the upper end of the mainstream SUV market, with a cabin designed to create strong showroom appeal.
Interior quality is impressive for the price point, combining soft-touch materials, modern surfacing and a minimalist dashboard layout heavily influenced by the Tesla Model Y playbook. Like many new Chinese entrants, the V relies heavily on a large central touchscreen, while physical switchgear is kept to a minimum.
The cabin architecture is clean and contemporary, with a substantial centre console incorporating cupholders and twin wireless smartphone charging pads.
Packaging is one of the V’s strongest attributes. Its relatively tall seating position and generous dimensions place it towards the larger end of the mid-size SUV segment, resulting in particularly strong rear passenger accommodation.
Opting for the Premium Pack adds a folding rear tray table mounted to the front passenger seat, alongside Aion’s ‘HotCool Box’ – a temperature-controlled storage compartment capable of cooling contents to -15°C or heating them to 50°C.
Boot space, at 427 litres, trails key competitors including the Renault Scenic E-Tech, Skoda Enyaq and Tesla Model Y, and there are signs that certain elements of the UK-market adaptation have been implemented late in the process. The luggage cover, for example, appears less integrated than those offered by more established European rivals.
There are also some ergonomic compromises. Most notably, the V does without a conventional glovebox, instead relying on alternative cabin storage solutions and bag hooks mounted ahead of the passenger seat. While unlikely to be a dealbreaker, it is another reminder that Aion’s focus has been placed more heavily on perceived technology and lounge-like comfort than outright practicality.