Gac Aion V vs Kia Ev4

What's the difference?

Candidly, I questioned the logic behind GAC entering the Australian market, especially now given the seemingly non-stop influx of other brands. How could it really hope to stand a chance against so many similarly priced and similarly equipped rivals?

Well, the answer is by providing a better product. The Aion V is simply a better package than many of its rivals, Chinese and otherwise, at least based on our initial impressions.

It combines value and practicality but also adds a level of driving comfort and manners its Chinese rivals can’t match.

Is that enough to guarantee success? Not at all, but it’s a strong foundation to start with and at least gives GAC a fighting chance to not get lost in the crowd.

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

An electric sedan is really shrinking the buyer pool, which is why Kia has such gentle expectations for the EV4 in Australia. But it's a lovely driving EV with plenty of perks, and the design alone will brighten up Australia's roadways. For my money, I'd either be going for the cheapest one that's sharp value with plenty of kit, or the flagship GT-Line that gets the big battery and the works in terms of equipment. The Earth for me sits in no-man's land.

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

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

One of the most notable elements of the Aion V design is the absence of a ‘GAC’ badge on the front. That’s because, while all GAC models in Australia will be sold under the one name, in its native China there are several different sub-brands. GAC Aion is the ‘new energy vehicles’ brand, focused on electric vehicles (EVs), while the smaller Emzoom SUV is part of the more mainstream Trumpchi brand that offers internal combustion engine models.

It means the three cars sold initially, and even as the brand moves forward with its expansion plans, there will likely be stark visual differences between models because they are effectively different brands. In the same way Holden ended up with a mixture of Opel, Chevrolet and GMC products in its final years.

Having said all that, the Aion V itself is an inoffensive design. It’s not as generic as some of its rivals, with some design character around the headlights and silhouette, so overall it cuts a likeable figure without being particularly memorable.

Like so many modern cars, the Aion V has a very simplistic layout inside, with more screens and less physical buttons and switches to reduce cost and complexity. There’s an 8.8-inch digital instrument display and a 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen in the centre on the dashboard.

The slippery-looking unit that adorns this page is the EV4 sedan. There’s also a hatch, but it comes out of Europe, while this one comes out of Korea, and that would likely make the hatch far more expensive than this bad boy. It's under study, apparently, but yet to be confirmed.

Anyway, to steal a hackneyed football analogy, for mine this is a game of two halves. I actually really like the front end. It looks sleek and slippery and there’s a real presence from the swollen arches.

I am, however, a little less sold on this rear end, which looks sharp and blocky and almost like it has been bolted on. Also annoying is the fact that it looks like it should be a liftback, with the boot hinged up above the rear windscreen. But nope, it's hinged below it, so you still get a dinky little opening to squeeze your stuff through.

Kia's international designers are pushing the boat out at the moment, and they deserve credit for making things different. Whether it sinks or swims with the general public, though, will be the real test.

Inside, it's all pretty traditional Kia, with all three models sharing the twin 12.3-inch digital displays, along with the little climate panel in the middle. Kudos to Kia for keeping some physical buttons, too. I'm less sold on the use of some cheap, hard plastics, even in the top-spec cars.

In terms of practicality there’s a handy space for a wireless smartphone charging pad, and that previously mentioned heated or cooled centre console box. Oddly, though, there is no traditional glove box. Instead there are just a pair of bag hooks ahead of the front seat passenger.

Space is good for a mid-size SUV, with a roomy front and respectable space in the second row. It would comfortably accommodate four adults, so would be a good option for families with older children.

As for the boot, it’s a generous 427 litres and has multiple adjustable floor heights available. Disappointingly, even though it has space for a spare, potentially even a full-size one, it only has a tyre repair kit. That might be fine in some markets around the world, but in the vastness of Australia, that is not the best option. Even a space-saver spare would be a better bet.

At 4730mm long, 1860mm wide and 1480mm tall, the EV4 sits between the Model 3 and the Seal in terms of its outright dimensions. Kia says the EV4's wheelbase and interior packaging has been designed to maximise backseat space, which I must admit, there is plenty of.

Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had miles and miles of leg room, and enough head room, though there is some kind of optical illusion that occurs in the backseat of the EV4 – even though you definitely have enough space, the dark materials of the GT-Line still leaving me feeling a little claustrophobic somehow.

Something else not to be sneezed at is the inclusion of the household-style power plug in the back. My laptop died while I was taking notes on my test, and I plugged it straight in and powered it up. Super handy.

At the back, there is 490 litres of boot space, which is about middle ground. The Seal is more like 400 litres, but the Model 3 offers more.

Sadly the EV4 is yet another EV that does not have a spare wheel of any kind. Instead you have to make do with a tyre repair kit.

In modern Kia EV style, the EV4 arrives in three trim levels — the Air, Earth and GT-Line — and then in Standard Range or Long Range battery sizes.

The range opens with the Air, which is a pretty sharp-feeling $49,990 before all of your on-road costs. Kia says drive-away pricing is coming, but how much it will be is still to be figured out.

That money buys you the Standard Range battery, which we will come back to in a moment, along with 17-inch alloys, flush-finishing door handles, LED lighting, rain-sensing wipers and heated wing mirrors.

Inside, there are two-tone cloth seats, an artificial-leather steering wheel and dual-zone climate with rear vents, while tech is handled by Kia’s loveable dual 12.3-inch screens (one for your entertainment, and another for your diving info), with a smaller 5.0-inch screen between them that handles climate settings. There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo and four USB-C connections, too.

All EV4 model grades get two vehicle-to-load (V2L) connections (so you can plug things in with a normal household plug), with one in the backseat and the other as part of the exterior charger – though the latter is an accessory on the Air. All also get access to the Kia Connect app and over-the-air updates, too.

Stepping up to the Earth ups the spend to $59,190, which is a gigantic financial leap, but you’re mostly paying for the bigger battery and longer driving range, as well as 19-inch alloys, cloth-and-synthetic-leather seats, a powered seat for the driver, and Kia’s very cool and comfortable mesh headrests.

Finally, the GT-Line tops the range, and is yours for $64,690. It gets a more polished look, courtesy of the exterior plastics being swapped out for gloss-black detailing, and it rides on its own 19-inch alloy design. It also gets a sunroof, a powered boot, dynamic welcome lights and projection headlights.

Inside, there’s a heated steering wheel, full synthetic-leather seats, relaxation seats to get comfy when charging, and ambient interior lighting. You also get ventilated front seats, a better eight-speaker Harman Kardon stereo and wireless device charging.

That is a big, broad pricing spectrum, and something tells me Kia has worked very, very hard to get that entry-level model below $50k, where it can compete with the likes of the BYD Seal ($46,990) and Tesla Model 3 ($54,900).

Both the Aion V Premium and Luxury are powered by a 150kW/210Nm electric motor, which drives the front wheels. 

Aion doesn’t claim a 0-100km/h time, but it wouldn’t be quick, at least not in EV terms. If you’re looking for a ludicrously powerful electric car - this ain’t it. It’s a perfectly fine powertrain for the job at hand, but it won’t blow your socks off with its performance and will take more than eight seconds to run 0-100km/h.

All EV4 models are front-wheel drive, with a single front-mounted motor producing 150kW and 283Nm, fed through a single-speed gearbox. That’s enough, Kia says, to knock off the sprint to 100km/h in around 7.5 seconds. The Air is the fastest, at 7.4s, while the heavier Earth and GT-Line claim 7.8s. Top speed is a claimed 170km/h.

The battery is 75.2kWh lithium-phosphate type, which provides a claimed range of 510km. Importantly, that figure is on the WLTP cycle, not the more lenient Chinese (CLTC) test protocol, so you could reasonably expect close to that target in the real world.

GAC claims it can accept up to 180kW charging speeds, which will get the battery from 10-80 per cent in just 24 minutes. 

It also has vehicle-to-load functionality, so you can draw power from the battery for tools or appliances if you need it.

Let’s talk about range for a moment, because it's bloody impressive. Not quite the best out there, but the furthest any electric Kia has ever travelled between charges.

There are two battery options, a 58.3kWh NCM battery in the Standard Range, and a 81.4kWh unit in Long Range models. The Standard will deliver 456kms in driving range, but the Long Range ups that to 612kms, both on the WLTP cycle. 

The EV4’s 400-volt architecture does slow down charging a little, though, with DC fast charging capped at 128kW. That means going from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 mins when using the fastest chargers. If you’re using a 50kW charger, it’s up to almost an hour and 20 minutes for the bigger battery, which is a long coffee stop.

Plugged in at home, provided you have an 11kW wallbox, it’ll take just under five and a half hours, or just over seven hours, to go from 10 per cent to fully charged, so an overnight charge no matter the battery size.

This is perhaps the area where the Aion V surprised the most. One of the most consistent qualities of these new Chinese-developed models is their incompatibility with Australia’s unique road conditions. They have a tendency to lack comfortable, controlled suspension and well-weighted and consistent steering.

That’s not the case with the Aion V, with GAC clearly taking the benefits from the partnerships it has with Toyota and Honda to learn what international markets prefer. Is this a clear standout, class-leading SUV dynamically? No. But it is above-average in the way it rides and handles.

The suspension is well resolved and feels comfortable to live with, while the steering is nice and direct, which will make navigating the cities, suburbs and open roads more easy and enjoyable. 

There is still some fine-tuning that could make it better, but overall the Aion V leaves a positive first impression. 

I learned something new and exciting (well, to me, at least. You might be very bored) from Kia's ride and handling guru on this launch. And that is that the tuning frequency for common city road imperfections, like bridge expanders, is actually the same as for the bigger, bouncier undulations you get on country roads. And so you can tune to prioritise one or the other, not both.

In real terms, it means a car that feels custom-built for the city, gliding over urban roads with mega comfort (which is exactly what the EV4 does), feels slightly less at home out of town, where there is more obvious movement in the cabin.

Bored yet? Ok, the point is that, while never uncomfortable, the EV4 feels right at home in the city, which is where it's expected to spend most of its time, but weirdly firmer on longer adventures. 

This really is easy, city EV motoring, done well. There's no alienating floatiness to the ride, no lifeless lightness to the steering, it's comfortable, quiet and – despite no headline-grabbing power figures – more than potent enough to get you up and moving.

There's nice weight to the steering, and though the front tyres gave up their grip a couple of times when pushed with some steering lock on, there isn't much in the way of aggressive body roll, and it all feels pretty confidence inspiring. 

The power is most effective from around 10km/h to 80km/h, before the urgency starts to fall away – it's slower to respond at freeway speeds – but that too just leans into its city credentials.

There's really not much to complain about here. It feels well sorted, and quite fun to drive. There is nothing that really stands out as spectacular about the drive experience, but nor is there anything to complain about. It's just really solid motoring, which isn't always guaranteed these days.

There’s no ANCAP rating on the EV4 yet, but the brand says it's confident it will adopt the five-star scores issued in Europe. All models get seven airbags, like active cruise control, AEB autonomous emergency braking (meaning it will anchor up if it senses an accident), front and rear parking sensors, an active blind spot monitor that will take evasive action if it senses a collision, and lots, lots more.

Only the GT-Line switches up the standard safety kit offered on the other two grades, adding a surround-view monitor, a camera that shows what’s happening in your blind spot, powered child locks and a reverse parking aid that will brake for you if it thinks you're going to hit something.

The Aion V is covered by an eight-year, unlimited kilometre warranty which is well ahead of the mainstream pack, typically sitting at five years, unlimited km. The drive battery is also covered for eight years, 200,000km and roadside assist is included for five years. Recommended service interval and costs are still to be confirmed.

But one of the biggest challenges for all these new car brands is finding space in the Australian market - literally. If you want to sell a lot of new cars you need a lot of new car showrooms and if you want to keep customers happy, you’ll need enough service centres to keep cars on the road as much as possible.

GAC has plans to have as many as 100 dealerships in the next five years, but right now it has reportedly less than a dozen. That will make servicing problematic if you do not live in close proximity to a service centre. This isn’t the work of a moment either, with so many new brands fighting for dealership real estate and staff there are only so many places GAC can set up shop.

Kia ownership proposition is simple, and pretty strong. You get a seven-year warranty no matter how far you travel, an eight-year warranty for the high-voltage systems, again no matter how far you travel, and capped-price servicing. Pre-paying your service costs will set you back $688 for three years, just over $1300 for five years, or just under $2000 for seven years.