Aion UT review: this £28,950 EV offers a lot for the money
The Aion UT combines a sub-£30,000 price with 268 miles of range, a spacious cabin and an unusually generous ownership package. It isn’t flawless, but there’s a lot here to like
It's easy to get a bit bogged down, confused even, by the rapid encroachment of new Chinese cars on the UK market. But here's another one to send your bewilderment to a new level.
It's called the Aion UT, and it's a second stab at winning over Brit buyers from a company that brought us the Aion V SUV earlier this year. This time it's entering an equally fierce market, rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Renault 5, MG4, and VW ID.3.
You might think, then, it doesn't stand a chance. But as with many of these Oriental offerings, it does have an ace up its sleeve. The price.
Entry versions of this all-electric family hatch cost £28,950 and, as always, the entry versions come loaded with kit.
And then there's the baked-in value from the ownership proposition itself. You get eight years of warranty, eight years of servicing, and even eight years of AA breakdown cover.
It has a competitive range of 268 miles, it's brimming with safety tech, and if you really want the top model, it's only £30,150.
So should you instantly drop the Renault 5 order? Or abandon your MG and make an immediate switch? Not quite.
Let's get the really annoying bit out of the way first, the safety systems. I know you're probably tired of motoring journalists moaning about over-zealous speed warnings, or lane-departure warnings, but they really are quite dapsy on the UT. And they're too difficult to turn off in the quite convoluted central display.
The lane keeping system is fighty, to the point where I once nearly collided with a parked car because it failed to recognise I was pulling out to avoid it.
And then there's the little alarm to tell you you're going too fast. I get why we need these, and it's quite subtle on the Aion UT, but it mutes your audio to constantly remind you you're a dangerous lunatic travelling at 42mph in a 40 zone. And if you're listening to a thought-provoking podcast through the excellent audio system, that wears thin very quickly.
Turning these silly annoyances off is allowed of course, if only for your current journey, but the infotainment screen is just a bit of a faff, and not easy to operate while you're driving. And if you do dare to glance at it to adjust something, you'll be barked at by the driver attention warning. It's all just a bit silly.
What the Aion UT is very good at, however, is comfort. The ride is set up to be soft, but the suspension and damping is very well judged, and the seats are absolutely lovely.
There's acres of space in the back, a sizeable 440-litre boot, and it's a genuinely nice car to take on a long trip. And on that long trip you'll notice it's very efficient, too. I found it was easy to cover big journeys between charges, and its 60kWh LFP battery rewarded my relatively sedate driving with excellent miles per kWh.
Sedate driving is what the UT is best at, by the way, because although it has 201bhp, nothing about the driving experience is geared towards excitement. That doesn't seem to bother people these days, more's the pity.
And likewise, nobody seems to mind buying Chinese, either. Sales of some of these breakthrough brands have been strong, so the UT could be on to a good thing.
Its ownership prospect, with all that free upkeep, is going to be a big draw, and cut out the hassle of living with a new car for quite a long time.
If only the hassle of driving the thing without being constantly pestered could be figured out, the UT might be the perfect recipe.
It might not be pretty, it might be a fairly anonymous brand, and it might have a few annoying traits, but if you manage to ignore those it's a doddle to live with and a pleasure to pootle around in. The fact it's such a simple thing to own just adds to the appeal.