Aion Y Plus

Ensuing its first official teaser months ago, GAC Motor’s highly-anticipated 2024 all-electric release, the AION Y Plus, officially launched in Malaysia.

The MPV-esque electric vehicle (EV) is a contender in the B-segment SUV market (compact e-crossover), underpinning the AION Electric Platform 2.0 (AEP 2.0).

Fully-imported (CBU - China), Warisan Tan Chong Automotif (WTCA - GAC provider) is offering it in two variants (Elite - MYR 119,800, Premium - MYR 135,800).

Prices (OTR, w/o insurance) include an eight-year/160,000 KM vehicle warranty and an eight-year/200,000 KM EV battery/drive motor/electric control warranty.

Seven single-tone exterior colours (Lucky Gold, Pure White, Elegant Grey, Youthful Green, Quick Silver, Liberty Ash, Glamour Black). 

Three two-tone exterior colours (Black roof - Lucky Gold, Youthful Green, Pure White).

Five interior colours (Fairyland, Wonderland Forest, Pink Coast, Blue Ocean, Elegant Lavender).

The new AION Y Plus gets a modern, minimalist and horizontally-designed dashboard. Airy and tiered layout featuring premium quality materials.

Outfitted in hard-touch panels, it sees a dual-tone colour scheme (Black- Fairyland/Wonderland Forest/Pink Coast/Blue Ocean/Elegant Lavender).

Centre-staged is a frameless infotainment unit, and linked to the dash is a gear-deleted high-rising centre console with an armrest. 

Filling-in the layout are Silver trims, and accentuating the cabin is an ambient lighting system (32-colour, ambient music mode - Premium).

Overall, the cockpit is well-designed, non-cluttered with all the amenities being driver-centric and user-friendly.

Installed is a 10.25-Inch LCD instrument cluster.

Lively, the interior sees leatherette upholstery in five colour schemes (Fairyland, Wonderland Forest, Pink Coast, Blue Ocean, Elegant Lavender).

Variant Elite is fitted with electronic-powered (driver - six-way) and manual-adjusted (passenger - four-way) seats.

Variant Premium upgrades to electronic-powered (driver - six-way, passenger - four-way) seats with ventilation (driver).

Standard, the rear features a bench seat (60:40 split-flat-fold) with a centre armrest (fold-out). Included is a panoramic glass sunroof (electric sunshade). 

A five-seater e-crossover, the cabin offers sufficient head-, shoulder- and leg-room, thus front and rear occupants get ample mobility.

Mounted is a three-spoke and flat-bottomed steering wheel, wrapped in leather and detailed with silver trims.

Features are multi-switches (Bluetooth, Media, vehicle settings), column adjustments (tilt, telescopic) and an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system.

Numerous storage areas. E.g., side door/seat back pockets, glove box, and compartmentalised/caverned centre console storages.

Provided are four cup holders (two - front, two - rear). Also included are four bottle holders (side doors - front, rear).

Multiple power outlets available. E.g., a 12 V socket (front), USB ports (front, rear), and a wireless charger (Premium).

Also included (Premium) is a 3.3 KW Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function for powering of external devices.

Accessing its manual- (Elite) and powered-tailgate (hands-free/key fob - Premium), opens up to 405-Litres (rear seats up) and 1,200-Litres (rear seats folded) of load capacities.

Weighing in at 1,695 KG (Elite) and 1,750 KG (Premium), the new AION Y Plus stands at 4,535 MM long, 1,870 MM wide, 1,650 MM tall, and with a wheelbase spanning 2,750 MM.

Elegant and futuristic, it exudes a seamless exterior, parading a blocky design with smoothly-rounded and straight-lined contours.

The front-end sees a mildly-dipped bonnet and angular-cladded fenders, framing a grille-less bumper with a full-width lower air-intake.

Accentuating the outlook is the GAC emblem (Chrome), with other fitments finished in Black (lower air-intake) and Grey (fenders, side sills, roof rails).

Modern, clean and minimalistic, it complements the blocky design with seamless and horizontally-sculpted proportions.

The rear-end sees a mildly-dipped roof-line with a roof-edge spoiler, tapered rear-windows, angular-fenders, a mid-section-bulge tailgate and a cladded bumper.

Accentuating the outlook is the GAC emblem (Chrome), with other fitments finished in Black (window trims) and Grey (fenders, side sills, roof rails, bumper trim).

Uniquely-framed, the ‘Angel Wing’ headlamps are artistic- and angular-looking. Installed are full LED units.

Features are LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), automatic On/Off and Follow-Me-Home function.

The ‘Skyline’ tail lamps are housed in a full-width lightbar design, with a slim centre section and angularly-narrow wrapped-around edges. Fitted are full LED units.

Two-toned (Black-body-colour), the side mirrors are electronic-powered (auto-fold, adjust) with heating.

Fitted are ventilated (front) and solid (rear) disc brakes, accompanied by an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold system.

Sportily-designed, fitted are sets of 17-Inch (Elite) and 18-Inch (Premium) Black five-star-spoke aluminium alloy rims, 

The sets are rubbered-up in 215/55 R17 (front, rear - Elite) and 215/50 R18 (front, rear - Premium) Chao Yang SU318a H/T tyres.

The new AION Y Plus features the following suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). 

Standard systems (Elite, Premium) included are Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD), Vehicle dynamics control (VDC), Traction control system (TCS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Hill Hold Control (HHC) and panoramic view monitor (360-degree camera).

Variant Premium adds on Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC-S/G) with Stop/Go, Intelligent Cruise Assist (ICA), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keeping Assist (LKA). 

Passive safety comprises six airbags (driver-passenger, front side, front-rear curtain), seat belts (pretensioners, anchors, reminders), ISOFIX (outer rear seats), parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), parking sensors (three - rear), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold system, door ajar warning, emergency brake signals, Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and Cruise Control System (CCS) (Elite).

Featured are four drive modes (i-Pedal, Eco, Normal, Sport).

Installed is a frameless 14.6-Inch touchscreen unit, supporting Apple CarPlay (wireless), navigation, USB and Bluetooth.

Entertainment is piped through a six-speaker setup of the ‘Bongiovi’ audio system.

The new AION Y Plus underpins the AEP 2.0 electric architecture, nestling a single-front-mounted electric motor (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor - PMSM), generating 150 KW (201 HP) of max power and 225 NM of max torque.

Fused to the e-motor is a single-speed automatic transmission.

Power is transmitted to the front wheels, via a Front-Wheel Drive (FWD) setup. 

Acceleration from 0 to 100 KM is done in 8.5 seconds.

Juicing up the e-motor is a 63.2 KWH Magazine Battery 2.0 (Lithium Iron Phosphate - LFP), enabling 490 KM of driving range.

The batteries are compatible with AC charging (Type 2 - 6.6 KW) and DC charging (CCS2 - 80 KW).

Also included (Premium) is a 3.3 KW Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function for powering of external devices.

The new AION Y Plus comes with these conveniences.

E.g., keyless entry system (flush door handles), IBCM senseless start/IBCM easy entry and exit (key fob, phone Bluetooth - automatic start, lock/unlock, remote parking, cabin pre-settings), automatic headlamps (On/Off), rain sensing wipers (front), steering wheel (multi-function, column adjustments, EPS), wireless charger (Premium), 3.3 KW Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function, panoramic glass sunroof (electric sunshade), powered-tailgate (hands-free/key fob - Premium), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, single-zone automatic air-conditioning (rear air-vents, PM 2.5 air-filter), electronic-powered seats with ventilation (Premium), interior lighting (ambient, map, cabin, boot), parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), parking sensors (three-rear), and power windows (one-touch up/down).

Installed is a setup of single-zone automatic air-conditioning with rear air-vents (PM 2.5 air-filter).

Underpinned is the AION Electric Platform 2.0 (AEP 2.0), propping-up a setup of MacPherson strut (front) and torsion beam (rear) suspensions.

Comfortably spacious and safe, it is suitable for a daily driver. The ride quality is firm, agile and well-balanced with a smooth e-powertrain delivery.

Good sound insulation, accounting for all the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) aspects of the build. The cabin experience is refined and peaceful.

The new GAC AION Y Plus is a great all-electric crossover SUV. First, it offers a futuristically elegant exterior appeal, and a lively interior space.

Second, its shell envelopes a modern cockpit, featuring advanced connectivity, safety systems and creature comfort features.

Overall, its build quality is satisfactory inside and out, and the new AION Y Plus is surely an e-crossover for Malaysians to consider.