When talking about the dark horse models of 2024, the AION RT definitely counts as one. This car had extremely high popularity during the presale stage, to the point that at that time, buyers crashed the purchasing app. Its sales in that month also reached 11,811 units, and in the second month it sold 16,000 units. The reason this car could be so explosive is that it has four major selling points: "big-eye little Panamera, LiDAR high-level intelligent driving, long range and fast charging, and class-leading soft-touch large space." In addition, its starting price is only 119,800 yuan, and there are multiple discount benefits.

High appearance value

Speaking of the exterior, the AION RT has a particularly friendly nickname - "big-eye little Panamera." Its front face design is quite unique. Instead of following the trend of adopting a "squinting-eye" style, it is equipped with round and three-dimensional "Swift Dragon Eye" headlights, with smooth lines and a certain charm reminiscent of "phoenix eyes." Viewed from a 45-degree side angle, the body lines are smooth and elegant, almost like a smaller Porsche Panamera. The 3.48-meter-long Y0 line on the roof is even more of a highlight, with no inflection points along the entire length. It not only ensures rear headroom but also achieves an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.208Cd. At the same time, it also makes the rear space stand out among models in the same class.

In terms of paint, the AION RT also put in a lot of effort. Colors such as Moonlight Beige, Corona Red, and Polar White all use natural mica pearlescent pigment and are sprayed with an additional layer, with a thickness three times the industry standard. This is the same treatment as the Panamera. Crystal Purple, Sea Glow Gray, and Night Shadow Black, meanwhile, add the same "silver dollar aluminum powder" as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, resulting in an even better reflective effect. These luxury configurations are all standard on the AION RT, and there is no price increase. It is truly full of sincerity.

Rich configuration

In terms of intelligent configuration, the AION RT is equipped with the advanced ADiGO 5.0 system, with a response time of only 0.28 seconds. It has extremely high emotional intelligence, and one sentence is enough to handle operations such as air conditioning and navigation. The voice control function is so powerful that it has no rival. Sunshades, seats, air conditioning, and more can all be easily controlled, and it can even execute ten commands in succession. In addition, it can check the weather, view traffic conditions, find travel guides, and even accompany children in learning. The central control screen also supports various mobile phone apps and 3A games. Combined with a 5.1-channel audio system composed of 11 high-fidelity speakers, the sound quality is simply amazing.

In terms of intelligent driving, the AION RT is equipped with 27 intelligent driving hardware components such as 3R11V1L, and is further empowered by a fourth-generation end-to-end large model and NVIDIA Orin-X high-computing-power chip. Whether it is urban NDA or highway NDA, it performs quite excellently. The automatic parking function is also very practical, able to park in a spot in one go in as fast as 22.3 seconds, with a success rate as high as 99%, and it can also achieve remote parking.

Large space

As a pure electric A+ class sedan, the AION RT's dimensional data is very luxurious. A body length of 4865mm plus a wheelbase of 2775mm may make people mistake it for a B-class car. The interior space also lives up to expectations. Both rear headroom and legroom exceed 940mm, which is better on paper than many B-class cars. The trunk is also large and practical, with a volume of 540L. Whether it is placing 6 20-inch and 2 24-inch suitcases, or 4 24-inch and 1 20-inch suitcase, there is more than enough room. Outdoor equipment such as camping carts and folding bicycles can also be easily loaded. With such a large interior space, it can still maintain an ultra-low body drag coefficient, demonstrating AION's strong body design capability.

The seats use double-layer high-density foam filling, making them both comfortable and supportive when sitting on them. The instrument panel on the passenger side is also designed in a layered style, making it convenient for girls to place cosmetics. The rear center armrest is wide and comfortable, and there are also two pop-out cup holders, making it easy to place milk tea and coffee of various sizes.

Real range

Range is the issue people care about most when it comes to electric cars. The AION RT's range performance is truly "solid." Many media outlets have tested it, and the range achievement rate is as high as over 98%, with some even exceeding 100%. This benefits from the silicon carbide chip and efficient electronic control system it is equipped with. The electronic control efficiency is as high as 99.85%, and the energy consumption per 100 kilometers is only 11.7 kWh. Moreover, the ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.208Cd also greatly improves range. The range even reaches 650km, leading its class.

The AION RT also adopts a pure electric body architecture and is equipped with Magazine Battery 2.0 technology, which will not catch fire even when shot. According to statistics, 800,000 vehicles have been equipped with this battery technology, and with cumulative driving of over 48 billion kilometers, there have been no spontaneous combustion incidents. In addition, there is a sturdy body structure as protection, among which the proportion of high-strength steel and aluminum alloy reaches 74%, and the proportion of hot-formed steel is 27%, providing safety protection for occupants and the battery electronic control system. For me, when driving out on my own, bumps and scrapes are unavoidable. From battery technology to body structure, the AION RT gives me great peace of mind, and I do not have to worry about it catching fire at the slightest impact.

Through test drives of the vehicle in urban areas, national roads, and highways, the AION RT's range made me feel incredulous. When we test drive other models in winter, the displayed range drops much faster than the actual driving mileage, but the AION RT's range is very stable, almost achieving consistency between the displayed range and the drivable range. For city driving, charging once a week is enough, and on weekends you can still drive it around the surrounding areas. Moreover, the 3C fast charging equipped on the vehicle is also very impressive, taking only 18 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%.

Car purchase policy

Buying the AION RT now is quite a bargain. First, there is a limited-time 3,000 yuan insurance subsidy, and this event ends on February 28. Second, there is the fallback guarantee policy for "trade-in." If you buy a car in January, but by April 30 your location has not yet introduced a trade-in subsidy policy, AION will subsidize you according to the 2024 standard, up to 15,000 yuan! This policy ends on January 31. Counting various subsidy policies, you can get the "big-eye little Panamera" for 100,000, and get the LiDAR version for 130,000. At this price, it is simply a treasure find!

After a detailed understanding of the vehicle, we believe that buying an A+ class pure electric sedan with high appearance, high-level intelligent driving, and comfortable large space for just over 100,000 is still very cost-effective. Moreover, the AION RT's performance in range is indeed stunning, far exceeding the range capability of other models at the same price. Coupled with its real range, the AION RT can quickly distance itself from competing models. After all, the extra range is the difference between circling the suburbs and taking impromptu long trips.