Gac Aion Ut vs Skoda Kamiq

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.

The Skoda Kamiq continues to be an overlooked gem. It’s cleverly designed and well equipped, even in base form, and what sets it apart from many other dull options in this segment is how fun it can be to drive.

Despite all of this and keen ownership terms it continues to account for a tiny number of sales in the segment, and I don’t think it’s destined to change as, value or not, its positioning remains the same in a small SUV space where it’s increasingly hard to stand out.

Still, for those who dare to choose something different, there’s a great little car to be found.

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

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 Kamiq's design is distinctly European for better or worse, but it stands out from its crossover rivals by looking (and feeling) more hatchback than SUV.

If you’re wondering what’s changed for this update, I don’t blame you, the changes are very subtle. Looking closely will reveal a tweaked front bumper and a new rear diffuser, as well as progressive LED indicators.

The style of the two variants has also been subtly altered with new wheel choices and the increase in the use of gloss black on the Monte Carlo, but there are more distinct changes on the inside.

Each grade gets its own theme for the highlight trim across the dash reflected in the seats, and honestly I don’t miss the leather, cloth seats are back in in a big way, and in both grades here they’re pretty rad.

Other new features include a tweaked set of multimedia screens, with the base car maintaining a set of dials, and the larger unit re-working its touch-based shortcut buttons.

As usual, the digital dash treatment (courtesy of Volkswagen Group) is well above par in terms of customisation and information.

Ultimately then, it’s not too different from how it looked and felt before, but there’s certainly an argument to be made that it didn’t need to change. The Kamiq has always been a distinctive and well-appointed choice in this segment.

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.

Practicality is one of Skoda’s big selling points. The deal is this. Skoda models sit between entries in the Volkswagen range to provide strategic alternatives to its parent company's hero brand.

The Kamiq, for example, sits size-wise between the T-Cross and T-Roc, although once you’re in the cabin it feels bigger than both.

A nice low seating position makes the roof feel distant, while massive windows grant excellent visibility. It's easy for me (at 182cm) to find a nice seating position thanks to plenty of adjustability, although some might find it feels a bit more hatch-like than other SUVs in this class which have taller seating positions.

The overall spacious feeling in the front is boosted by ample storage, including pockets and bottle holders in the doors, a triple cupholder in the centre console, a large storage bay under the climate unit and a small armrest console box.

Unlike rivals in this space which are quick to offer synthetic leathers as you work your way up the range, even the top-spec Monte Carlo has seats clad in cloth trims.

While this might not be great if you have kids prone to spilling liquids, I think design-wise the car is better for it and certainly no less comfortable.

Also notable is the commitment to dials for the climate unit, and a change for this model year is the introduction of fan speed buttons so this function no longer needs to be controlled through the touchscreen.

Interestingly, dials only appear on the smaller of the two touchscreens available on the base Select, while the Monte Carlo’s larger screen only has touch-based volume controls.

The back seat is enormous, offering me leagues of knee room behind my own driving position and the roof remains almost as distant as it is in the front seats.

It also feels wide enough and has decent amenities, like dual USB-C sockets, adjustable rear air vents and dual-tiered pockets on the backs of the front seats. 

You also get a decent-sized bottle holder in the door and a drop-down centre armrest and the soft trims continue into the rear unlike some segment rivals which switch to hard plastic door cards.

The biggest downside for back seat passengers is the raised floor in the centre position (a platform restriction) which unfortunately makes it a bit squeezy for adults. Best leave this centre position for kids.

At 400 litres the boot punches well above its weight for this crossover segment, expanding to 1395L with the second row folded.

There’s a space-saver spare wheel under the floor and the Kamiq is also rated to tow, albeit at a limited 610kg or 630kg for an unbraked trailer and 1200kg or 1250kg (braked) for the Select and Monte Carlo, respectively.

In a quest to make its range more straightforward for buyers Skoda has simplified the Kamiq range down to two variants for 2025. 

The bad news is it’s no cheaper. Actually, it continues its march up the price-scale, now starting from $32,890, before on-road costs, or $33,990 drive-away for the new entry-point Select.

The good news is, for the money Skoda has packed in even more standard equipment.

The Select is only available with the smaller 1.0-litre 85TSI engine and offers a pretty comprehensive list of stuff, including LED headlights, 17-inch alloys, an 8.0-inch digital dash with an 8.25-inch multimedia touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, dual-zone climate and keyless entry with push-button start.

There's also a leatherbound steering wheel with cloth seat trim and manual adjust front seats, four USB-C outlets, heated and power folding wing mirrors with an auto-dimming rear view mirror. It also scores some upgraded kit for the active safety suite, as well as drive modes and paddle shifters.

You can also option this grade with the 'Signature Pack', which adds adaptive cruise control and ‘Park Assist’, an electric tailgate, 18-inch alloy wheels, the larger 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen, tinted windows, carpet floor mats, interior ambient lighting, chrome exterior highlights, an alternate interior trim with suede highlights, and rear privacy glass.

At the top of the range is the new Monte Carlo which starts from $42,690, before on-roads, or $44,990 drive-away.

It scores a larger 1.5-litre four-cylinder 110TSI engine, and adds adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist with lane guidance and park assist to the safety suite.

Standard equipment also includes 18-inch alloys, upgraded ‘Matrix’ LED headlights, ‘Sport Chassis Control’ suspension, the larger 10.25-inch digital dash and 9.2-inch multimedia touchscreen, a panoramic sunroof, 10-speaker premium audio, heated front seats with a heated steering wheel, sports front seats with power adjust for the driver, as well as black highlights on the exterior trim and soft-touch carbon-look highlight trims on the inside.

Both grades get some of Skoda’s ‘simply clever’ features like an umbrella integrated into the driver’s door, a ticket holder on the windscreen, a washer funnel integrated into the reservoir and phone pockets on the backs of the front seats.

According to Skoda, the slightly higher prices for both grades this time around are offset by several thousand dollars of increased value in equipment.

On the flip side, though, some gear has been removed from the Kamiq range entirely, including leather seats, wireless phone charging, heated rear seats, and voice control for the multimedia system.

Does it represent value compared to its rivals? It’s relative. Yes, even the base version is more affordable than any Subaru Crosstrek, but you can’t get all-wheel drive, while a Mazda CX-3 can be had for just $26,950, before on-roads, but doesn’t offer the same level of base equipment.

The HR-V is more expensive and offers less gear for the money. It seems ever-increasing prices are a segment-wide problem.

The biggest challenge is new Chinese rivals. Haval’s Jolion is physically bigger and can be had in hybrid form for less money ($32,990 drive-away), while the Chery Omoda 5 ($27,990) and MG ZST (from $26,490) are cheaper and a size-up. It’s easy to see the temptation for mainstream buyers.

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.

Two grades, two engine choices, doesn’t really get simpler.

The base Select is offered only with the smaller 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged 85TSI engine (85kW/200Nm) paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, driving the front wheels.

Meanwhile, the top-spec Monte Carlo is only offered with the larger 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged 110TSI engine (110kW/250Nm). It is also paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto and also only drives the front wheels.

These engine options are notable in the segment as they are both lean turbo units in a sea of older naturally-aspirated engines, and while some will rightfully have reservations around dual-clutch automatics, they’re certainly snappier and more efficient than torque converters or dull CVTs.

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.

You’ll note Skoda doesn’t offer a hybrid option in its range, although one of the benefits of its more complicated engine and transmission is a fuel consumption which falls between what a plug-less hybrid or naturally aspirated rival might score.

The official/combined consumption of the 85TSI engine is just 5.5L/100km and for the 110TSI engine it is 5.6L/100km.

On our lengthy drive program at the launch both variants seemed to be landing a little over 6.0L/100km, which is more impressive than many rivals, which score in excess of 7.5L/100km in our testing.

Perhaps to even things out a little, the Kamiq’s turbocharged engines require mid-shelf 95 RON unleaded.

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.

What immediately sets the Kamiq apart the moment you hop in the driver’s seat is how hatch-like it feels. While a lot of small SUVs and crossovers in this price-bracket grant a really high seating position to make them feel bigger than they are, the Kamiq lets you sit closer to the floor.

This has the effect of making it feel even smaller than it is, but also lends it a sporty feel from behind the wheel. This is reinforced as soon as you start driving by its lightweight, agile feel.

Keen steering in both grades is backed by firm suspension, making the Kamiq responsive and agile, and because both engines are turbocharged they offer something quite different in this space normally dominated by dull naturally-aspirated 2.0L engines.

First, the catch. The dual clutch transmission can be a bit fiddly, particularly in the 85TSI which comes with a fair dollop of turbo-lag.

This means you’ll have to factor in a moment of delay before acceleration arrives at T-junctions or green lights. It can be frustrating at times, but the trade-off is the small capacity turbo engine pairs with efficient ratios to make for lean fuel consumption.

The fun factor is also boosted. Once you overcome the initial laggy moment, the little turbo engines surge to life with an agreeable gruff tone, and the dual-clutch transforms from fiddly to snappy once you’re at speed.

This means when you’ve got a nice road to carve up, the Skoda is a hell of a lot more entertaining to drive than almost any rival in this space.

It doesn’t have the clumsy handling of Chinese rivals, nor does it have the lifeless drone of a bigger, less efficient engine paired to a continuously variable automatic. It’s a rare slice of excitement in a small SUV category dominated by average drive experiences.

The cabin manages to feel upmarket in most ways, and is relatively easy-to-use on the go thanks to a commitment to the dials and switchgear. It is a comfortable companion on a long journey.

While the suspension is keen and keeps the car agile though, keep in mind the ride can be quite hard. This Skoda doesn’t quite have the poise or breadth of ability of its VW relations. Large wheels in both grades don't help this equation.

There is also a notable amount of tyre roar entering the cabin, particularly on coarse chip or at freeway speeds which, to be fair, is a common trait in this part of the market.

To summarise, the Kamiq is a uniquely European drive experience in an otherwise dull segment, and despite some drawbacks, it’s a real stand-out as a result.

Safety equipment is mostly impressive, although there is a small catch.

While active safety gear on both grades includes auto emergency braking (to freeway speeds, with rear manoeuvre braking), lane keep assist, and blind-spot monitoring, only the top-spec Monte Carlo gets adaptive cruise control, the more proactive adaptive lane guidance and park assist features.

Both cars get front and rear parking sensors, however, and a rear view camera but there’s no 360-degree parking suite.

I was also impressed to find none of the active safety items were invasive to the drive experience, which certainly can’t be said for every small SUV.

The standard array of six airbags is present, and there are dual ISOFIX points and three top tether mounts across the rear seats.

The Kamiq range was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2020.

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.

Skoda is going to great lengths to try and challenge the idea that a European car can’t be as easy to own as a Japanese or Korean rival.

As a result, it is the first European brand to offer a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is backed by a seven-year prepaid service pack.

This pack is reasonable. At $2650 it works out to $379 a year, which is not quite as affordable as Toyota or some Chinese rivals, but it’s also not expensive when you consider the service pricing of brands like Subaru or Kia.

It also offers a guaranteed future value program and the brand’s keen finance terms, on paper at least, make a Kamiq cheaper to own over five years than many of its competitors.