ACT stands for Aitlan Compact Transport. With a wheelbase of 2.8 meters, the ACT was quite compact! Despite it’s small wheelbase, the ACT-Series minivans had seven full size seats. You had double wishbone suspension in the front, and solid axle in the back. This setup maximized the cargo capacity and comfort. The unibody construction allowed for safer, and more car-like driving experience.
Only 4-speed shiftable automatic transmission was offered, as the vehicle was aimed towards families, who want to enjoy life. Obviously, if you have a manual you can’t enjoy life. Sorry, I don’t make the rules! Just like the A-Series, the ACT-Series was also rather unreliable vehicle. Yet it still somehow managed to have a production run of 16 years.
The Aitlan ACT-Series was also the first vehicle to have a hyphen in its name! So screw you, Kia Cee’d!
The joyrney starts with the 1995 ACT-1’1
Lovely off-white color. With the ACT-1’1 you don’t have to worry about door dings or scracthes since half of the car is just black plastic anyway! However, you did have power steering and ABS brakes as standard.
The ACT-1’1 came with the same 1.95L 16-valve DOHC engine, like the AS1.3. The engine was re-tuned for 1995, and this time the engineers at Aitlan managed to push out a whopping 120 horsepower. However, obviously the minivan weights more than a compact sedan, meaning the 0-62mph time was not that good. It takes the minivan whole 14.2 seconds to reach highway speeds.
The ACT-1’1 cost $9,900 (adjusted to inflation).
But since your family’s comfort was important to us (no it wasn’t), there was also the ACT-1’2!
Now, let’s face it, the ACT-1’1 buyers were poor fucks. And you don’t want to be associated with those! That’s why the ACT-1’2 comes with super cool two-tone paintjob, where the bottom half is white. You also got funky colors like purple, red and blue! No manufacturer has ever offered those colors previously.
The ACT-1’2 also used the same 1.95L 16-valve DOHC engine as the ACT-1’1. However, the ACT-1’2 came with better CD player, and dual front airbags. That meant, it weighted quite a lot more. And the added weight obviously meant even slower 0-62 time. This time taking whopping 15 seconds! Needless to say, the ACT-1’2 was criticized for its sluggish acceleration.
However, the ACT-1’2 had a sturdier feel to it. The sturdy feeling comes with a price, and in this case the price was $10,600.
However, if you really felt like burning money, you had the ACT-1’3.
The ACT-1’3 came with the Aitlan New Age V6, specifically developed for this vehicle. You had DOHC with 24 valves. This maximized the fuel economy, whilst still producing nearly 180 horsepower.
Not only that, but you also got leather seats, traction control and most importantly, faster acceleration. Thanks to the V6, the 0-62mph time was only 10.5 seconds. And due to the modern engine, the V6 minivan still managed to average over 25 miles to the gallon.
However all this technology wasn’t free. The ACT-1’03 cost over $13,300.
The First Facelift
The styling may have been modern in 1995, but by the 2000s it was already getting outdated. This left Aitlan with no choice, but to give the minivan a facelift.
And here we have it, the 2001 Aitlan ACT-Series. Truly one of the cars of all time.
This time the ACT-Series had an actual grille! The ACT-1’1 was replaced by the ACT-1’01, this time equipped with a 2.2L inline 4 engine, pushing out 162 horsepower. Modern VVT system was added for better fuel economy, the inline 4 was also much more reliable than the V6 engines.
More airbags were added, and traction control was now a standard feature. When it comes to features, the base model ACT-1’01 now has most of the features the older ACT-1’3 had.
The price slightly increased, the base model ACT-Series minivan now cost $14,000 (still adjusted to inflation).
But if the base model is already perfect, is there even any need for higher trims? Yes there is! We like money.
The ACT-1’02, equipped with a 2.9L Aitlan New Age V6. The larger engine obviously provided the car with larger amount of horsepower, 211 horses to be exact. This lowered the 0-62 mph time to 9.4 seconds, but also increased the fuel consumption. Not only that, the V6 was still rather unreliable.
So! You paid more and got a shittier car overall. What a steal! But hey, you’re paying for that sweet V6 roar! The ACT-1’02 could be yours for $15,500.
You know, these higher trim models are really those kind of cars that you own for three or five years and then trade them in a for a newer model. And the ACT-1’03 did follow that trend. With just as unreliable engine and even more fancy tech.
You could even get it in gray to show everyone how boring person you are.
With 221hp, the ACT-1’03 was starting to get fast. 0-62 miles in just 9.1 seconds, it was starting to be a bit of a sleeper. But just a little bit, not too much. The top-of-the-line model obviously came with the top-of-the-line satellite navigation system.
Despite the larger engine, the fuel consumption wasn’t atrocious. Only 24 miles to the gallon. The ACT-1’03 was priced at $18,800.
The Second Facelift
It’s now 2006, the ACT-Series minivans have ran for a good while. The reliability issues on the V6 engines are a wide known problem now. And with the V6 sales decreasing each year, the guys at Aitlan figured it was time for another facelift.
For its seconds facelift, the minivan saw some major changes. The car was given a meaner look, as well as front fog lights. The two-tone paintjob was abolished, as it was deemed outdated by 2006 standards.
The name was also updated, once again, the base model now being called ACT-1’11. The 2.2L 16 valve DOHC inline 4 was kept in the base model. The updated ACT-Series minivans have curtain, seat and knee airbags as standard. Satellite navigation has been made a standard feature as well.
The 2006 ACT-1’11 only cost $16,000.
But if you wanted something more, there was the ACT-1’12.
The ACT-1’12 also came with the same 2.2L inline 4 engine, but this time they slapped a turbo on it! Thanks to the turbo, the engine now manages to push out over 212 horsepower. Obviously, the turbo engine wasn’t as reliable as the N/A engine, but it was still miles better than the V6 engines.
The ACT-1’12 came with some cool voice activated stuff as well as a fancy touchscreen. After all it’s 2006, we have technology now!
And that’s pretty much all there is! The ACT-1’12 was around $21,000.
No third trim was ever introduced, as the demand for minivans experienced a decline while the preference for compact SUVs surged. The introduction of the Aitlan Peressal in 2008 further influenced consumer choices, leading to the ACT-Series finally being discontinued in early 2011.
