Yesterday (January 6), two major events happened in the automotive world. One was Neta's servers being down for several hours, which sparked widespread discussion, and the other was GAC Aion launching another hit, with the Aion UT starting pre-sales at 89,800 yuan, lower than expected.

These two seemingly unrelated events are frightening when pondered carefully, revealing the cruel truth of competition in today's automotive industry.

In particular, the sub-100,000 yuan car market that the Aion UT is entering is surrounded by formidable rivals—the Dolphin, the Xingyuan, the Volkswagen ID.3, the iCAR V23, and more—each incredibly strong, with competition so fierce that every step feels like dancing in a "shura arena."

So, how can the "hexagonal warrior" Aion UT secure its status as a hit and forcefully break through the "battle of the gods"? Let's break down this most dazzling "attention magnet" at the start of 2025.

This time, the Aion UT comes in 3 versions. Apart from the entry-level 420 Smart Enjoy Edition priced at 89,800 yuan for pre-sales, the most expensive 420 Smart Premium Edition is only 109,800 yuan for pre-sales. At last night's launch event, which was packed with influencers and featured Guo Qilin promoting the car, this new vehicle flexed its muscles wildly, winning countless fans and pushing the battle among top automakers to a fever pitch.

Today, Da L will compare it with two of the hottest实力 contenders on the market right now, the Xingyuan and the Dolphin, to take everyone through just how many tricks it has up its sleeve.

Stunning Looks: Milan Haute Couture

Let's start with looks. The overall design of the Aion UT was born in GAC's Milan studio, personally overseen by Stephen, a Milan forward-design master known as the "hand of god sketches."

Its overall styling is elegant and dynamic, with smooth and rounded lines. The front face's cute big-eye headlights are especially eye-catching. On the side, the contrasting floating roof pairs perfectly with clean lines, and the rear design is harmonious and highly recognizable. The rear is my personal favorite part—the compact spoiler paired with dual C-shaped taillights instantly makes it the brightest star on the street at night.

The interior style is quite refreshing, with soft materials and exquisite details fully showing a premium texture, and the functional areas are laid out reasonably and practically. An almost obsessive car-making philosophy integrates the concept of haute couture into every detail of the body, powerfully interpreting the beauty of trends.

Size and Space: Advantages Maxed Out

Da L compared the dimensions of the Aion UT with the Dolphin and Xingyuan, and it's obvious that the Aion UT has a full advantage in wheelbase.

The Aion UT has a benchmark A-segment wheelbase—2,750 mm. With this advantage, it creates 905 mm of rear legroom. Such wheelbase and space performance would normally only be seen in mainstream models priced between 150,000 and 200,000 yuan, but the Aion UT has pushed directly into the sub-100,000 yuan range.

Its rear lateral space reaches 1,385 mm, which means three adults sitting side by side in the back won't have to worry about bumping legs—every seat is the center seat. Whether for daily commuting or outings, travel feels fully dignified.

While ensuring ample passenger space, its storage space is not neglected either. The trunk volume is 440L, the largest in its class, and it is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers, making it more flexible to place items—it can even fit five 20-inch suitcases at once. There's also the trunk sill, with a ground clearance of only 685 mm, more than 100 mm lower than competitors in the same class. This is very thoughtful for mothers, making it easy to load and unload a stroller with one hand. Not only that, the interior also has as many as 30 storage spaces, so bags, cosmetics, pet snacks, and more can all find suitable places. It truly integrates care for every passenger into this "art of storage."

Rich Configurations: Above-Class Experience

In terms of range, the three cars are roughly comparable. The Aion UT has a CLTC pure electric range of 420 kilometers across the lineup, matched with a 44 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack, and can charge from 30% to 80% in 24 minutes.

BYD Dolphin offers two range versions, 420 km and 520 km respectively, with relatively larger battery capacity, satisfying consumers with higher range requirements. Geely Xingyuan offers two range choices, 310 km and 410 km.

However, the Aion UT is superior in configurations. It standardly features a combination of a 14.6-inch central control screen and an 8.8-inch instrument panel, supports the three mainstream systems CarPlay, Carlink, and HiCar, and is also equipped with an AI voice assistant usually found only in the 200,000 yuan class, enabling "see and say" and continuous dialogue functions.

It has the only V-shaped side curtain airbag in its class, extending from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. At the same time, the Aion UT is also among the first batch of models nationwide with rollover protection, and the entire lineup standardly includes a reverse AEB automatic emergency braking system.

By comparison, the BYD Dolphin's interior uses a floating instrument panel and a 12.8-inch touchscreen paired with the DiLink 3.0 system, supporting voice commands, phone connectivity, remote control, and other functions. The Geely Xingyuan is equipped with a combination of an 8.8-inch instrument panel and a 14.6-inch central control screen, carries an intelligent cockpit system, has features such as car-machine connectivity and 540-degree panoramic imaging, and is equipped with six airbags.

Final Thoughts

After this comparison, the Aion UT indeed has very strong competitive strength. No wonder it disrupts the market right out of the gate.

With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, the sub-100,000 yuan pure electric market has become a must-fight battleground for major automakers. The addition of the Aion UT makes the already fiercely competitive market even more filled with gunpowder smoke. BYD Dolphin attracts young people with its "Ocean Aesthetics" concept and rich market presence; Geely Xingyuan wins fans with its young and lively style and good cost-effectiveness. With its above-class configurations, outstanding space, and fashionable design, the Aion UT has also demonstrated powerful strength.