Anyone interested in a battery-electric midsize sedan will inevitably come across the Nio ET5. We have tested the premium competitor from China.
Nio ET5
Patrick Schäfer | Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH
The Nio ET5 is 4,790 mm long, with folded mirrors 1,960 mm wide and 1,499 mm high. The electric sedan from the Chinese start-up offers a sporty silhouette and short overhangs at the front and rear. The smooth design is futuristic and elegant, with a cd value of 0.24. The narrow daytime running lights are located at the top of the low and wide front end, with the main headlights integrated below. The lidar and cameras on the roof are striking, and cameras are also placed on the sides. The premium version stands on 20" Gladiator alloy wheels, behind which orange brake calipers shine. The ET5 is equipped with a light strip on the hatchback.
Access to the vehicle can be granted via the key, the charging card or the app. The wheelbase of 2,888 mm promises plenty of space inside. The door handles extend electrically, and an electric motor also assists in opening the doors and offers a soft-close function. The cockpit is open and cool in design. The first thing you notice is the somewhat high seating position, which is probably due to the battery. The sports steering wheel is two-tone and not too thick, but the buttons are only partially illuminated. The 14-way electrically adjustable seats at the front are very comfortable and offer good lateral support despite the slightly slippery artificial leather. Seat heating and ventilation as well as massage are included in the Comfort package. The same applies to the front passenger seat. Surprisingly, there is no glove compartment, but there are large storage compartments in the doors, under the center console and a lockable storage compartment. The rear offers plenty of space in all directions as well as seat heating.
The minimalist ambience manages almost entirely without buttons and switches, but is less luxurious than expected. The rubber-like door panel, for example, is very chic when illuminated at night with the ambient lighting, but doesn't look particularly high-quality during the day. In addition, the center console lid is a bit rickety; it creaks when you rest your elbow on it. The body reacts to bad roads with crackling noises. Nevertheless, it is very quiet in the electric car, apart from the wind noise that comes from the frameless doors. Overall, however, you feel a little disconnected in the cool interior of the ET5.
To start, you just have to move the rocker switch on the center console. The large panoramic roof lets plenty of light into the interior, but there is no blind. The luggage compartment under the electric tailgate is not particularly easy to load due to the small opening, and at 386 liters, it is not particularly large either. In addition, all the cables are located there, because there is no luggage compartment at the front. If you fold down the rear seat, up to 1,142 liters can be accommodated. The maximum payload is 530 kg.
Electronics + Connectivity
The ET5's cockpit features a clear 10.2" driver display and a 12.8" touchscreen mounted upright on the center console. It is sensitive, but the dots are quite small and some of the menus are a bit confusing. As with all touchscreens, it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to operate while driving. At least two or three taps are always needed, and this distracts from the task of driving. Address entry for the navigation should be done before starting the journey. It is also essential to log in to the vehicle. Without the stored individual user profile, the seat, steering wheel and mirror settings will no longer be correct. And these can only be adjusted when the car is stationary and only with the steering wheel buttons in conjunction with the display. It is not possible to make any corrections while driving.
The voice assistant offers a solution for at least most of the entries: Nomi Mate (600 euros) is very polite and welcomes the occupants as they enter the vehicle with information about the weather, for example. She understands almost everything and can do so from any seat. With her help, for example, the central display can also be switched off; the corresponding field could not be found in the menus. On the positive side, the display remains off until the next input. The app can be used to open the windows and doors, turn on the lights, and, above all, control the pre-climate control for the interior and battery. A heat pump is standard in the ET5.
Driver Assistance Systems
There is little to complain about in the area of ADAS, and the same applies to the unobtrusive design of the warning and information tones. The more than 20 safety systems work smoothly for the most part and can be individually adjusted. The adaptive cruise control with lane departure warning works very well on the highway and automatically starts in traffic jams. In the city, however, it sometimes seems overwhelmed, as it often brakes sharply for no apparent reason. The turn assistant displays a camera image on the display. The automatic high-beam headlight switches off too late and has been deactivated for this reason. The warning when exceeding the speed limit comes very early, but can be quickly switched off with Nomi's help – however, this has to be done again for each journey. When parking the very wide ET5, which has a poor view, the 360° degree view helps. Despite the hatchback, the Nio only offers a viewing slit at the rear.
Engine + Powertrain
The premium version of the ET5 tested offers all-wheel drive and two engines: The induction electric motor at the front delivers 150 kW (204 hp), while the permanently excited synchronous motor on the rear axle delivers 210 kW (286 hp). Depending on the selected driving mode, the system output is up to 360 kW (490 hp). There is a special button on the center console for selecting between Eco, Comfort, Sport or Sport+. The maximum torque is up to 700 Nm. The light and direct steering is sufficiently firm in the Sport modes. Despite its high weight of almost 2.2 tons, the electric car can be steered safely into fast corners. The all-wheel drive and 50:50 weight distribution help here. The suspension with five-link axles at the front and rear is sporty and taut, and too heavily damped on bad roads. However, due to the aforementioned seating position, the Nio ET5 does not necessarily encourage you to push the driving dynamics to the limit, despite its rapid acceleration of less than 4 seconds from 0–100 km/h. It also has good brakes, although they are almost no longer needed in "one-pedal mode". The recuperation can be adjusted via the display or the selected driving mode, and the achieved values are shown on the driver's display.
The 400-V architecture in the test car is equipped with the long-range battery. The 100 kWh NCM battery with a usable battery capacity of 90 kWh consists of 96 cells. The lithium-ion battery can be replaced in minutes at a Nio power swapping station (PSS). Nio now operates 18 of these battery swapping stations in Germany. Nio also seems to have improved the maximum charging capacity to up to 185 kWh, as with the ET5 combi model. Charging stops in between also remain relatively short. But: Here, too, operation via the central display is somewhat cumbersome to open the electrically operated charging flap. Sometimes it closes before you have attached the charging station plug. In addition, the vehicle sometimes detects the charging process too late and tries to close the flap with the charging cable plugged in. According to the data sheet, the WLTP range is between 540 and 590 km. In the test, a little over 500 km were displayed when the battery was full.
Conclusion Nio ET5
The Nio ET5 is a mix of comfort and sport. The sedan offers an appealing design, very good equipment and good driving characteristics. The charging performance is also acceptable. There are some drawbacks, especially in terms of operation. Furthermore, the Nio ET5 is not a bargain: Without the battery, it costs 47,500 euros. The purchase price includes 12,000 euros for the 75-kWh battery and 21,000 euros for the large battery. If you want to use Battery-as-a-Service to drive to the PSS, you logically have to rent the battery. This costs 169 or 289 euros per month. For comparison: Other mid-range sedans with battery-electric drive are the Tesla Model 3, which is offered starting at just under 59,000 euros, the BYD Seal Excellence AWD for about 51,000 euros, or the BMW i4, which, however, costs over 70,000 euros in the most powerful configuration.
Pros and Cons of the Nio ET5 Premium
Pros
+ Well equipped, sovereign driving
+ "Long Range" with a large range
+ BaaS and battery swap possible
Cons
- Price
- Operation often cumbersome
- Workmanship
- Seat position too high
This is a partly automated translation of this German article.
