We like
Bigger, better-equipped and rangier than similarly priced rivals, decent real-world efficiency, Luxury’s genuine leather seating and cabin fridge, optional space-saver spare, GAC’s quality reputation in China

Room for improvement
Underdamped rear suspension, bland dynamics, no AWD or high-torque powertrain, hectoring driver attention monitor, arguably missing an outright X-factor, lack of reputation in Australia

Overview

 

Unlike many Chinese car manufacturers, Guangzhou Automobile Group Company (abbreviated as GAC) can point to a substantial history in its home market, tracing a direct car-making lineage to the Tongsheng Machining Plant that was established in 1948—making GAC older than many familiar Western badges.

 

Established it may be, GAC remains a relative bit player in China’s high-volume car market, trailing BYD, Chery, Geely and SAIC—MG’s owner. Still, GAC’s domestic volumes have grown, and it is ramping up exports, concentrating first on the Middle East, now Australia, and soon, the UK.

 

While Australian buyers are rightfully cautious about brands new to our shores, GAC is one of just two Chinese manufacturers to operate a joint venture in that market with Toyota, and GAC executives tell GoAuto many build quality lessons have been gleaned from that relationship.

 

Akin to other Chinese groups, GAC has a sub-brand strategy. Its ‘home brand’, renamed from Trumpchi to simply GAC for export, will focus on combustion and hybrid vehicles, with semi-premium Aion and soon-to-arrive, luxury brand Hyptec leaning into full electrification.

 

With a plan to establish 30 to 35 dealers across Australia by the end of 2026 and to broaden its model range to 10 models—including a plug-in hybrid dual-cab ute—by the end of 2027, GAC plans to pinch market share from key rivals and legacy brands alike.

 

That starts with the first model: the battery electric (BEV) GAC Aion V, a 4605mm-long midsize SUV priced from $42,590 (plus on-road costs) that essentially packs in more car, more battery, more range and more spec’ than the shorter BYD Atto 3 (from $39,990 + ORCs) and MGS5 EV (from $40,490 driveaway).

 

Two variants share a common single front motor (150kW/210Nm) and 75.2kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack offering 180kW DC/11kW AC charging peak speeds and claimed efficiency of 14.7kWh/100km for 510km range (WLTP).

 

Entry-level Premium lays on equipment, with 19-inch alloys, auto LED headlights, a glass roof with sunshade, heated/cooled power-adjustable memory front seats, heated rear seats, power tailgate, 14.6-inch screen, wireless charging, nine-speaker stereo and app functionality all included.

 

A mere $2000 jump into Luxury adds worthwhile extras like leather upholstery in tan or beige, massaging front chairs, a 6.6-litre ‘fridge and rear tray table, while in a rare offering for any BEV in Australia, a space saver spare wheel and tyre is optional for both variants.

 

Cost-options are limited to seven metallic paints ($600), while a typical new-brand early bird offer seeks to tempt Aussies into fronting the cash for an Aion V before the end of 2025 with $1000 ‘cashback’ plus $500 in charging credit.

 

Scheduled maintenance, occurring at (frequent-for-BEV) 12 month/15,000km intervals, is not yet priced. Two eight-year warranties apply for the Aion V: unlimited mileage for the vehicle but with a 200,000km mileage cap for the battery coverage.

 

Driving impressions

 

Our first extended sampling of the Aion V took place on representative Australian roads, driving from outer Sydney, on to the Coal Coast and uphill to the Southern Highlands over varying terrain and road types: suburban, motorway, broken-up B-roads, but no gravel.

 

It’s clear that—matching the innocuous styling and acknowledged mid-market aspirations of GAC in Australia—the Aion V’s engineers have targeted similarly inoffensive and approachable driving dynamics, and in most situations, this SUV feels relaxed and laidback.

 

Those qualities are certainly true of the single electric motor on the front axle. It’s about as powerful as you’d expect but with just 210Nm of torque on tap, there’s a less muscular wind-up than the rivalling BYD Atto 3 (310Nm). By comparison the GAC builds up to speed gradually.

 

The remainder of the control surfaces are in sync with that kind of graceful progress, with light (but mute) electric power steering allowing the easy manoeuvrability and a ride quality that is quite absorbent even on the relatively large-diameter 19-inch alloy wheels.

 

This isn’t an SUV that likes to be driven beyond six- or seven-tenths, which won’t matter to many of its buyers. Grip levels from the 225/45 R19 Maxxis Victra tyres are middling and, unlike in the well-sorted (and European-developed) MGS5 EV, there’s little reward in pushing on.

 

There would be merit in GAC’s engineers returning to Australia to do further work on the damping of the (relatively light) 1880kg Aion V. While an export tune was settled on, the underdamped rear suspension tends to bottom out after striking large imperfections and surface changes.

 

A little more road noise than we’d like enters the cabin on coarse chip, but otherwise, the Aion V stands out in the $40K SUV pack with some more pleasant finishes, including the Luxury’s use of leather for seating where nearly all rivals use cheaper and nastier PVC.

 

Black, beige and tan (really, orange) interior colour schemes are available, with the latter two lifting perceived expense. Comfort is generally acceptable, though the driver’s seat misses base tilt adjustment which will irk the longer legged among us.

 

The technology suite looks like it was selected from the same supplier as many other new brands, but the software on the 14.6-inch central touchscreen and 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster can be learnt reasonably quickly. Most will use wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

 

Most impressive is the heated back seat, owing to the Aion V’s 2775mm wheelbase, which has unlocked voluminous legroom. Headroom beneath the fixed glass roof (with power sunshade) is no issue; rear air vents are standard, and Luxury picks up a solid-feeling nearside tray table.

 

Boot space is nothing special at 427 litres (expanding to 978L with the second row folded) though country buyers particularly will not want to miss the no-cost optional spare wheel.

 

As well as tidying up the damping, the Aion V could go from ‘acceptable’ to ‘good’ with a bit more attention to the tuning of its adaptive safety technologies—an area of vehicle interaction now under ANCAP’s microscope.

 

While the Aion V’s cruise control and lane-keep functions worked as expected, the default audible speed monitor is distracting. Speaking of distractions, the attention monitoring is hyperactive, pestering drivers for doing legally required head checks of the side mirrors.

 

Across our test, we managed a respectable 15.2kWh/100km across a mix of roads and speeds, working out to a theoretical range of 494km. With 24 minutes on a DC charger, you’d be able to replenish 345km.

 

As we say, the Aion V is a value for money story: it’s a bigger, more useful car than key BYD and MG rivals at similar money, while also being at least $10,000 cheaper than European models like the Volkswagen ID4.

 

But on Australian roads, this GAC is still a few fine-tuning steps away from being easy to recommend.