Gac Aion Ut vs Mercedes-Benz GLA35

What's the difference?

The Aion UT is a cleverly-specified little hatchback and a great entry-point into electric motoring. The software needs a bit of work from a usability perspective, plus the spongy ride and cutesy styling might not be for everyone. 

However, with strong points including driving range, cabin space and value, there’s even a pitch for it in some cases to be an only car compared to most of its price rivals, which are more likely to be thought of as a second car runabout in a two-car garage.

The pick of the range is definitely the entry-level Premium. It comes in at a headline-grabbing price with specs to blow rivals out of the water, while only missing out on a few luxuries.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Fast and small SUVs from Germany have arrived thick and fast over the last couple of years and of course Mercedes has to show off by having two, the GLA 45 will be along shortly.

A new addition to the GLA range, the GLA 35 is a welcome one, a step down from the brink of madness that will undoubtedly be the GLA 45 while putting itself into combat with the X2 M35i.

It's fast, fun and for a family, it's reasonably roomy, a sensible upgrade to an A 35. It's not cheap, but that doesn't ever seem to have stopped Mercedes buyers. I'm pretty sure the GLA 35 will be no exception.

GAC tells us the UT hatch was designed in Milan, Italy, but it also isn’t ashamed of the Chinese influence on its overall appearance, like the ultra-short bonnet and Chinese city-car style face.

Along the side it has a modern, aerodynamic profile, and the ultra-short overhangs and long wheelbase maximise the amount of room for batteries under the floor and interior space.

The rear feels a lot like a modern Mini, with its bulbous tailgate and protruding light clusters, spiced up with a sporty spoiler piece jutting out.

It’s not a bad looking thing and it’s available in an array of fun colours.

On the inside it seems to follow the established rule-book of Chinese automakers, with plush trims, big screens with minimal physical buttons as well as a contemporary two-spoke steering wheel.

There’s a trendy floating console which hosts the cupholders and wireless charger on the Luxury grade, and an array of interesting patterns and textures through the doors and dash which you wouldn’t have once seen on a car at this price-point.

However, it is worth noting that while the seats are quite nice, and the steering wheel is a stand-out touchpoint, the trims on the doors and across the dash-top are hard plastics, more so than some of this car’s rivals.

The new GLA's styling is much more obviously an SUV. One could say Mercedes was a bit timid first time around, but just about every car maker's first small SUV attempt was having a bet each way. Mercedes, however, really phoned it in, but got lucky because it worked. Put that down to the power of the three-pointed star. 

By the same token, it's not a wild departure from the theme set by the A-Class, but with thematic influences from the GLC. The AMG version now pick up the Panamericana grille and a more aero-aggressive front bumper, skirts and rear bumper, but does keep the tough unpainted wheel arch extensions. The AMG Night Package - which every other brand seems to call a black pack - adds a bit of menace.

Inside is almost indistinguishable from an A, which is a very good thing. The GLA ups the ante with the excellent, squared-off AMG steering wheel and a few extra buttons to choose the chassis and engine settings. The seats have lairy red inserts that might be a bait and switch to get the performance seats but that's the only mis-step in what is an otherwise excellent cabin.

In terms of interior space, the Aion UT stands out with its spacious cabin. At 182cm tall, I am easily able to find a comfortable seating position, and visibility out the front sides and rear, while not as good as some small SUVs, isn’t bad.

There’s lots of headroom, and while I mentioned the hard plastic door cards before, there’s enough padding everywhere your elbows are going to touch to make it feel a bit nicer than perhaps it is.

The main drawback of this car for me is the lack of tactile buttons and the frustrating software.

The main screen isn’t particularly well utilised, being taken up by either a background or the navigation map, with an array of typically small shortcuts across the bottom for important features like the climate control or settings menus.

You can pre-set a few information panels which sit above the shortcut bar as in many rival cars and there’s also a shortcut tray which can be hosted on the driver’s side and configured with a variety of shortcuts and settings.

It’s just a bit clumsy to use, and the array of poorly-labelled settings menus for things like active safety equipment feel needlessly complicated.

I’d love to see this car with physical controls for climate and multimedia to make it easier to live with.

Up front the storage is decent. There are big pockets in the doors and a large storage tray between the driver and front passenger thanks to a flat floor. There’s also a slightly weird storage box under the touchscreen which has a net inside, good for more delicate objects you don’t want flying around the cabin.

On the floating console there are two cupholders which are a bit too shallow for my liking, and the wireless charger feels almost pointless because its made of a hard plastic, so your phone just slides right off in the corners. The cabled outlets are hidden beneath which allows for tidy cable management and the centre armrest console box is a healthy size.

The rear seat is comparatively basic, although touches on the key points. Its main advantage is how generous the space is. My frame was able to fit behind my own driving position with heaps of room for my knees, and just enough room for my head despite the dip in the roof for the sunroof shade in the Luxury-grade car we tested. There may be even more headroom in the base car.

The flat floor makes the space useful even for three across in a pinch and there’s a drop-down armrest with (again, shallow) cupholders. There are pockets on the back of both front seats and smallish pockets in each door. The array of soft trims continues, too, and the back of the centre console features a partially adjustable air vent. Luxury spec cars get a single USB rear power outlet.

As with many Chinese cars in this segment, the generous rear seat space comes at a cost to the boot. It measures just 321 litres, which is slightly smaller than its main opponents in this category, although larger than some hatchbacks like the Toyota Corolla, for example.

It has its advantages, though. The floor is two-tiered, and can offer a flat load area with the rear seats folded down, or a deeper boot in its lower position. Underneath there’s a cutaway good for charging equipment and the tyre repair kit (sorry, no spare wheel in here).

Unlike some EVs, the Aion UT doesn’t get a frunk (front boot) for additional storage.

There are two key stats worth knowing, particularly if you're a current GLA owner wondering what the point of an upgrade might be. The MFA2 platform on which it rides has a longer wheelbase and wider track to liberate more room for people and stuff.

The rear seats are roomier than the old car and make for a more pleasant journey for taller folk, who also have more headroom than in the old car. While we're back here, you get bottle holders in the door but, crushingly, there is no armrest and no cupholders.

Things improve in the front with a pair of cupholders and a wireless charging pad that fits larger phones and a long, shallow bin under the armrest.

The boot holds an okay 435 litres (the Audi Q3, by comparison, has a massive 530 litres) seats up and 1430 litres seats down and has a nice flat loading lip to floor relationship, to go with the powered tailgate.

One of the reasons there is a 35 version of both the A and the GLA is that the 45 versions are so much more expensive than the 250 models that there was a gap you could drive...well, another spec level through.

That's not not to say the GLA 35 is cheap - starting at $82,935, you're still paying a hefty premium of $15,000 over the GLA 250 4Matic. Here in Australia, that buys you 20-inch alloys, a nine-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, electric front seats with heating, sat nav, auto LED headlights, leather seats and steering wheel, auto parking, power tailgate, auto wipers, panoramic sunroof and wireless phone charging.

The MBUX entertainment system is superb. While it does have wireless charging, you do have to connect via USB to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto up on the second of the crisp 10.25-inch screens. The media screen works as both a touchscreen and you can run it from the pad on the centre console. And a number of the many buttons on the steering wheel.

You can get the signature AMG shell seats for $3290 (good if you're not, er, generously proportioned) as well as 21-inch wheels for $1990 which I think look far too big in the arches and quite possibly ruin what's left of the ride. You can also go all boy-racer with the Aerodynamics Package for $2990. Tick a few boxes and you can easily get the GLA 35 to the mid-$90k mark.

My car had the Communications Package which has three more speakers for a total of 12 and rather usefully, a head-up display, all for a stiff $2490.

Five of the GLA's colours cost $1490 (Cosmos Black, Denim Blue, Mountain Grey, Iridium Silver and Digital White), one is $1990 (Patagonia Red), not even white is free but at least it's only $500 while Night Black is the sole freebie.

The Aion UT has a front-mounted electric motor producing 150kW/210Nm. That’s plenty punchy for any hatchback at this price, and I like the way the brand hasn’t messed around with a sub-100kW motor in the base variant to push prospects towards the top-spec car.

It’s more powerful than all of its closest rivals and at the time of writing you’ll have to spend four to six thousand dollars more to get into something equivalent from BYD, Chery, Jaecoo, Leapmotor or MG.

It even has a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time as low as 7.3 seconds.

Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo with 225kW at 5800rom and 400Nm between 3000 and 4000rpm. Merc engine-spotters will spot that it's not a hand-built  engine with Fritz or Heinz's signature on a little plate like the "proper" AMG engines do.

Called M260, it's the GLA250's basic setup with more cooling, a water to air chargecooler, its own air intake and a twin-scroll hotside turbo that spins up nice quickly given its proximity to the exhaust header.

There is also an AMG exhaust with a flap you can open at startup by pulling one of the gearshift paddles for what Mercedes calls an Emotive startup - one imagines this will inspire some emotive language from your neighbours if you fire up at 6am. The paddles operate an eight-speed twin-clutch transmission driving an AMG-calibrated all-wheel drive system that can send 100 per cent of power to the front wheels and a maximum fifty per cent to the rear. An off-road mode locks the torque split to 50:50 if you're keen to take this thing into the loose stuff on shiny 20-inch wheels and sporty road tyres.

Mercedes claims you'll crack the run to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds. Yikes.

The Aion UT has a 60kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, which grants it a WLTP-certified 430km of driving range.

That’s more than its closest rivals, like the entry-level Ora Standard Range (310km), BYD Dolphin Essential (410km) or BYD Atto 2 (345km).

Claimed efficiency is 16.4kWh/100km and the car I tested returned a consumption of 14.0kWh/100km over a 130km route of mixed conditions, which isn’t bad at all.

Charging speeds are less impressive, but realistically appropriate for the relatively small battery. The peak DC charging capacity of 87kW means a charge time which the brand quotes at 24 minutes, but this is from 30-80 per cent. Expect closer to 40 minutes for a 10-80 per cent charge.

AC charging is decent, at 11kW. This should have you charging from 10-80 per cent between four and five hours.

The GLA carries an official combined cycle figure of 8.0L/100km. Over a reasonably wet weekend and a motorway-heavy run down the coast from Sydney along with some suburban running, I got an indicated 11.3L/100km. I thought that was alright given I liked hearing the exhaust pop on the upshift and I wasn't messing about in the corners. I'd go so far as to say you could get quite close to the official figure if you were paying attention.

The drive experience can be where a lot of Chinese cars fall down but I walked away less frustrated by the Aion UT.

That’s not to say it will behave as you might expect a low-slung hatchback to. The suspension, for example, is extremely soft as it maintains its original Chinese-market state-of-tune.

This makes the car waft over imperfections on city roads. And in that sense it offers supreme ride comfort in the scenarios it was designed for. However, at the extremes, like some speed bumps, or particularly deep pot holes there can be a surprisingly violent re-bound sending a thud through the cabin.

The other trade-off for soft suspension is less body control. I was surprised to find that the Aion UT holds it together mostly well on a flat country B-road, but when undulations and big dips introduce themselves, the soft suspension can be too slow to react, making the car lose confidence in higher-speed open road scenarios we’re more used to in Australia.

The steering, like many electric cars in this category, is relatively heavily electrically assisted. This makes it light and easy to adjust at low speeds for easy park and maneuverability in the confines of a city. It loses a little bit of road-feel at higher speeds but the Aion UT’s steering is far from the least connected I’ve experienced recently.

One thing it can’t be criticised for is a lack of power. With 150kW instantaneously available the Aion UT has some serious poke and while the ChaoYang tyre package is tuned more for efficiency than grip, it’s again not one of the worst I’ve driven with.

One thing which helps the whole experience along is this car’s hatchback layout. With the weight of the battery low and squat and the wheels all the way out to the edges of the frame, the Aion UT inherently handles decently compared to an electric crossover or small SUV.

Like all Chinese cars, the UT has a host of occasionally frustrating driver aids, which you can read about in the Safety section below. While I was inclined to turn some of the features off after testing them, the alerts are relatively quiet and non-invasive.

Is the UT any good to drive? It’s not bad for the segment, I was largely pleased with how it handled and the power on offer, and while it still has its annoyances, they’re not big deal-breakers. 

The MG4 rear-drive is a better allrounder, while the GWM Ora isn’t as good. I’d say it’s on par with the BYD Dolphin, but they excel in different areas. The Dolphin's a bit sharper in terms of handling but the Aion UT is more comfortable.

Unusually for an AMG, the engine does not completely dominate the GLA 35 experience. That's clearly by design - this car is meant for the everyday. While it is hugely powerful for this kind of car, it's a friendly engine that's ready to punch you in the kidneys when you want it, but bumbles around happily when you're in Comfort mode. Which is a pretty good mode.

Moving to Sport amps up the engine but not the suspension, at least not too much. It's at this point you suspect that the 20-inch wheels may not be the right choice for the GLA 35 as the suspension starts to fidget on anything but the smoothest of surfaces. Moving on to Sport+ and unless you're really getting stuck in, it's fidgety and thumpy. One neat trick is that you can avoid all that with the I (individual) setting. Like the C 63, there's a dial for the drive select. But to make life easier for you, you can set up the I setting to your liking, meaning you can keep the suspension in Comfort or Sport mode while turning everything else up to Sport+.

The big sticky Continental tyres are terrific but they're surprisingly noisy. That's kind of the price of entry for a sporty German car, but you do have to raise your voice over the rumble on most surfaces over about 60km/h. The flipside is that you've got a ton of grip, wet or dry in the GLA 35. The throttle reacts quickly to your inputs with the power coming on quickly, the gearbox shifting smoothly (or firmly, if you ask it to). The paddles are very useful and when you're braking into a corner, you can hold the paddle and it will find the lowest practical gear. Nifty.

The brakes are four-piston calipers up front gripping huge 350mm brakes, the rears are single piston but still big discs at 320mm.

Steering is typically AMG, with a strong turn-in to corners and with enough feel to let you know what's happening under the tyres. It's never too chatty, so it's not a tiring car.

On the highway it does settle somewhat and the tyre noise calms down. The suspension keeps you comfortable in comfort mode and the engine is barely noticeable.

The GLA 35 comes loaded up with eight airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, blind spot monitoring, forward AEB (low and high speed), forward collision warning, reversing camera, auto high beam, lane keep assist, road sign recognition and reverse cross-traffic alert.

You can add front cross traffic alert and active cruise with the $1990 Driving Assistance Package.

You also get two ISOFIX and three top-tether points across the back seat for child and baby seats.

The current GLA has not yet been EuroNCAP or ANCAP tested but I would be staggered if it didn't breeze through with a five star rating.

GAC covers this electric hatch with an eight-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, while the brand’s “magazine battery 2.0” is covered by a separate eight-year and 200,000km warranty. Five years of roadside assistance is included.

The Aion UT needs to be serviced once a year or 15,000km. The service price schedule extends all the way out to 240,000km with yearly visits costing between $199 and $640 but for the life of the warranty the average yearly cost comes in at $352.

There are currently 19 GAC dealers in Australia, confined mainly to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with a single store in Perth and an outlier in Cairns. No representation yet in Tassie, Canberra, the Northern Territory or SA.

Mercedes has upped the ante on its German rivals by offering a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Service intervals are an impressive 12 months/25,000km. Under the capped-price servicing regime that runs for three years, you'll pay $2650 or an average of $883 per service. The third service is the killer, at $1250.

If you pre-pay your servicing, you can save $500 with a three-year plan for $2150. A five year plan is $3500.