Nio's Electric Twins Are So Good, It Almost Hurts They're Not Sold In The US
Image Credit: Nio.
Let's talk about a car company that's doing some genuinely interesting things with electric sparkle-boxes, even if they insist on selling them primarily in places I need a very long extension cord to reach. The company I'm talking about is Nio, and they've just given their ET5 sedan and, more importantly, its devastatingly handsome ET5 Touring wagon sibling a bit of a refresh. And when I say "a bit," Nio claims over 500 enhancements. That's not an update; that's practically a witness protection program for the old model.
As you probably know, I have a soft spot for a good wagon – a "Touring" if you're feeling fancy. They're the thinking person's SUV, offering space without the tippy-toe stance. And the Nio ET5 Touring? Phwoar. It was already arguably the best-looking wagon on the planet, electric or otherwise, and now they've apparently made it even better. In my book, this beats finding out George Clooney now also bakes world-class sourdough. Fair? Probably not. Do I want one? Desperately. Especially since these aren't just pretty faces; they're quicker than a hiccup from a startled badger.
Image Credit: Nio.
What's new with these Chinese EVs that we Americans can only gaze at from afar with a tear in our eye and a hopeful sigh? Visually, both the ET5 sedan and the glorious Touring get a bit of a nip and tuck at the front. They get the new intelligent multi-beam headlights – because regular dumb-beam headlights are so last Tuesday – and restyled "double-dash" LED daytime running lights. The hood also looks a tad more sculpted. Like it's been doing electric Pilates. The sedan gets a new "sunset purple" paint option, while the ET5 Touring snags an exclusive "moonlight silver." Subtle, classy. I approve.
To make sure everyone knows you've bought the new one, Nio has slapped glossy black trim on the bumpers, side skirts, and rear diffuser. The freshly designed 20-inch five-spoke wheels get special inserts that help them cheat the wind. Clever. Dimensionally, the sedan is about 15.7 feet long, a whisker over 6.4 feet wide, and stands just under 5 feet tall. The wheelbase is a generous 9.47 feet, which usually means decent legroom unless you're trying to transport a family of giraffes. The Touring shares these vital statistics, just with more junk in the trunk, so to speak.
Image Credit: Nio.
Step inside, and it's like walking into a minimalist Apple Store that happens to do 0-60 mph in about four seconds. The dashboard is dominated by a massive 15.6-inch AMOLED screen, now thankfully oriented horizontally – who actually wanted a giant iPad glued vertically to their dash in the first place? This is paired with a 10.2-inch digital display for the driver, so you're never short of flickering information. And there's a colossal 50-inch augmented reality heads-up display that plasters info onto the road ahead. Even the rearview mirror has gone digital. It's a festival of screens!
Nio's offering three new interior color schemes – purple, pearl, and gray – for when plain old black or beige just won't cut it. The seats sound like they've been designed by a mattress company, featuring an 11-layer system with new cushions and foam. Your backside will thank you on long journeys. Rear passengers even get an extra 2.95 inches of seat support. To keep things hushed and prevent you from slowly cooking, there's infrared-resistant laminated glass on the side windows and a dual-silver-coated panoramic roof that Nio says blocks up to 99% of infrared rays. Fancy. Standard kit includes 14-way power-adjustable seats with heating, ventilation, and massage. Plus, a 23-speaker immersive audio system, two 50W wireless phone chargers (because one is never enough), and for the Touring, an intelligent dimmable panoramic roof. Swanky.
Image Credit: Nio.
Powering all this tech wizardry is Nio's own NX9031 chip. They claim this single piece of silicon has the computing grunt of four leading chips used by other car companies. A bold claim, and one that makes you wonder if it can also mine Bitcoin while navigating you to the shops. This super-chip wrangles a suite of 29 sensors, including a LiDAR unit and something called a 4D imaging radar. It's practically a reconnaissance drone on wheels.
Right, the oily bits… or rather, the electron-y bits. Nio is sticking with its proven dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. This setup delivers 490 horsepower – that's a 150 kW motor at the front and a 210 kW motor at the rear – and a substantial 516 pound-feet of torque. Those figures translate to a 0-60 mph time of about 4.0 seconds flat. That's brisk. Very brisk indeed. Enough to rearrange your internal organs and surprise that Audi in the next lane.
Image Credit: Nio.
Battery-wise, the standard 75 kWh pack offers a CLTC range (that's the Chinese testing cycle, a bit optimistic like my New Year's resolutions) of up to 363 miles for the sedan and 342 miles for the Touring. A bigger 100 kWh pack is also on the menu. But for those truly epic road trips, or if you just really, really hate plugging things in, Nio offers a 150 kWh battery pack through a short-term rental system. With this behemoth, they claim a CLTC range of up to an astonishing 655 miles! You could practically drive from breakfast to dinner across several states, assuming you could buy it here. Which you can't. The ET5 Touring also gets a nod for practicality with a towing capacity of up to 3,086 pounds – enough for a small caravan or a very large jet ski.
Now, the price. Nio positions these as premium chariots, and the numbers reflect that. In China, the ET5 or ET5 Touring with the 75 kWh battery starts at around $41,100. However, Nio also has this clever (or complicated, depending on your view) battery rental option. You can buy the car for about $31,500 and then lease the battery, with monthly fees starting around $100. It's an interesting way to lower the upfront cost, and it ties into their battery-swapping station network, which is a whole other kettle of electric fish. Again, fascinating, but as relevant to us in the US as a chocolate teapot… for now.
Image Credit: Nio.
What really warms my wagon-loving heart is the sales figures from China. In April, they sold 2,015 ET5 sedans but a whopping 6,015 ET5 Touring wagons. The wagon is outselling the sedan by three to one! It proves what I've been saying for years: people want wagons! Especially ones that look this good and go like startled cats.
The refreshed Nio ET5 and ET5 Touring get sharper looks, more tech than a spy movie, seats your chiropractor would approve of, and enough range (with the big battery) to make you forget where you put your charging cable. They are, by all accounts, brilliant electric cars. It's just a crying shame they're playing hard to get on this side of the pond. One can only hope Nio eventually decides to brave the American market. Until then, I'll just be here, wistfully staring at the pictures and dreaming of silent, super-fast, stylish wagon-ing.
