GAC Aion UT Luxury 2026 Review

There are two models in the 2026 GAC Aion UT line-up, the $31,990 Premium and the $35,990 Luxury we are testing here. Both prices are plus on-road costs.

But until April 9, the Premium is on special for $30,990 drive-away and the Luxury is $35,990 drive-away.

Either way, the Aion UT is well-priced. The BYD Atto 1 is Australia’s cheapest EV from $23,990 plus ORCs, while the BYD Dolphin starts at $29,990 plus ORCs, the BYD Atto 2 is $31,990 plus ORCs and the GWM Ora chimes in at $35,990 drive-away (after being $33,990 drive-away through to the end of March).

The two Aion UTs share the same 150kW/210Nm FWD powertrain and 60kWh LFP battery and 430km claimed WLTP range. That means they are separated by specification.

These models share features such as, 17-inch alloy wheels, a six-way powered driver’s seat with heating and ventilation, a four-way powered front passenger seat with heating, heat pump climate control, digital screens for infotainment and instruments, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, satnav and six-speaker audio. There is no AM radio band, only FM and digital.

Luxury exclusives include a powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof with powered blind, an automatic anti-glare rear view mirror, wireless phone charging and a rear-seat USB port.

A long list of standard features includes seven airbags, ISOFIX child seat fixtures, three child seat top tethers and a full suite of driver assists including front and rear autonomous emergency braking (AEB), various forms of cruise control, lane policing, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic braking, traffic sign recognition and a 360 camera and driver monitoring. ANCAP has yet to announce a rating, but GAC is confidently forecasting five stars.

Neither car gets a spare wheel, while neither the vehicle-2-load (V2L) or emergency e-call functions listed as standard for both cars are operational yet. A smartphone app is up and running and offers remote access to the car.

There are seven single and two two-tone exterior colour choices and three interior colours to choose from.

White and beige are standard exteriors, the other five single colours cost $600 and the two-tone $1000.

Ther Aion UT comes with an eight-year/unlimited km warranty, an eight-year/200,000km battery warranty, five-years roadside assist.

There is no capped price servicing program yet. Service intervals are 12 months/15,000km and there are recommended prices for dealers to charge, but in reality, that’s a guide only.

What’s good about the GAC Aion UT Luxury? 

Obviously, the pricing of the 2026 GAC Aion UT line-up is one of its big selling points, so let’s take that as a given and move on. 

And I know styling is subjective, but the Aion UT is pretty easy on the eye as well, especially in that typically rounded Chinese EV way (although GAC says it was designed in Milan, Italy). 

Definitely not subjective is the amount of interior space you get for the money. 

Like it’s bigger brother the Aion V, the five-door five-seat Aion UT is based on a GAC-developed platform called AEP 3.0 that is specific to EVs. 

And you can see how via the long 2750mm wheelbase (the same as the 345mm longer Kia EV5 EV) and tiny motor compartment much effort has been put into exploiting the packaging advantages EVs deliver.

It’s primarily expressed in rear seat space, which is accessed by wide-opening doors comfortably accommodate my 180cm frame in terms of headroom and kneeroom with the driver’s seat also set up for me.

There is no shortage of comfort features back here either, with a fold-down armrest with dual cupholders, aforementioned USB port, AC vents, map pockets, door bins, overhead grabs and outboard lights all included.

Up-front there’s a clean and simple presentation that shifts the gear selector to the steering column to maximise storage space between the seats.

Nice touches include a generous amount of storage including spring-loaded cupholders jutting out of the end of the jetty-style centre console and a ‘cupboard’ at the bottom of the centre stack that has an awkwardly positioned knob to open it.

Soft touch points for elbows are also noticeable, while the front seats are generous in size and supportive. They are trimmed in artificial PVC leather-like substance.

Once moving and the Aion UT turns out to be a better drive than many of its Chinese brethren. It’s already on sale in Europe and we get the European suspension tune.

That translates to a well damped ride, reliable handling and lightly weighted and accurate steering.

The powertrain offers nothing special when it comes to the output numbers, but the actual on-road performance benefits from the ability of e-motors to provide smart acceleration from tip-in throttle. The 0-100km/h claim is 7.3 seconds.

The amount of response you get varies depending on the mode you’re in, but it’s more than good enough to waste any wheezy small-bore ICE city car it might be lined up against at the lights.

And in those tight city spaces the various cameras of the Aion UT are really handy with excellent clarity.

What’s not so good about the GAC Aion UT Luxury?

It’s a bit of a shock to jump in the 2026 GAC Aion UT and discover the steering only adjusts for rake and not reach. A bit 1990s dual cab ute type at that.

The UT is very screen-centric when it comes to controls. Audio, air-conditioning, even wing mirrors are adjusted via the 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen and rollers on the two-spoke the steering wheel. Voice control also helps and thankfully it’s intuitive.

Also, in the Chinese tradition, the 8.8-inch digital instrument panel is crowded with stuff, some of it unreadable.

And just to complete the package, the tuning of driver assistants including the adaptive cruise control are intrusive and talkative.

Unlike an increasing number of rivals there is no shortcut one-touch button to cancel all the bing-bongs, chat and wheel grabbing.

So, it’s a laborious process that must be repeated each time the car is started (which you achieve by having the key on your person, sitting in the driver’s seat and pushing on the brake pedal).

Of course, GAC could just tune all these assistants with sympathy and subtlety, and we wouldn’t want to switch them off. Which is surely the better solution.

Speaking of drilling into the screen, there are a lot of vehicle adjustments for things like regen braking (no paddles), powertrain and steering effort. You even have a setting to help combat motion sickness.

That impressive cabin packaging comes at the expense of boot space, with just 321 litres on offer, expanding to 689 litres with the rear seats folded.

There is underfloor storage, but that’s where a spare tyre should be. A rear parcel shelf/security cover is provided but there is no frunk.

The Aion UT comes standard with a Chinese brand called Chaoyang. GAC makes a big deal about how good these tyres are for rolling resistance.

If you can’t find them, come replacement time, GAC claims Michelin e-Primacy tyres will be the best fit.

Finally, let’s talk about powertrain efficiency. The 16.4kWh/100km is nothing too special for a small car, but at least it appears to be relatively accurate based on our driving.

So 400km between recharges should be achievable.

However, the peak 87kW DC fast-charging rate isn’t anything special. AC charging maxes out at 11kW.

The 2026 GAC Aion UT is more than just a cheap price. It has excellent interior space, drives pretty well and has a powertrain that delivers enough performance and range to get by.

It shapes as a decent commuter car, which is really where EVs are at their best.

The Aion UT has got its foibles and issues, as we’ve detailed. But we’re probably more concerned about durability and aftersales support, because although GAC has big ambitions at this stage we just don’t know how good either are going to be.

So, a cautious tick of approval with provisos noted.

2026 GAC Aion UT Luxury at a glance:
Price: $35,990 (plus on-road costs) – drive-away until April 9 2026 
Available: Now 
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor, FWD 
Output: 150kW/210Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 60kWh LFP
Range: 430km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.4kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: N/A

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