NIO ES6

"Those who haven't tried it might trash - talk, but those who have will sing its praises." This quote couldn't be more fitting when describing the NIO ES6. As the second model of the NIO brand, the ES6 has a higher level of completion compared to the pre - facelift ES8. Minor flaws in aspects such as appearance, dynamic performance, and human - machine design have all been optimized. There are several points worthy of attention about this ES6.

First of all, this car is extremely comfortable, and the chassis offers excellent isolation. Especially in terms of NVH performance, the excellent sound insulation combined with a quiet electric motor means that when the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 80 km/h, the perceived speed by passengers inside the car is only 50 - 60 km/h.

Secondly, this car has a very "sensitive" throttle response. On the race track, I even achieved a 0 - 100 km/h acceleration time of 4.1 seconds. Unfortunately, such power isn't paired with a sufficiently heavy throttle pedal. In daily driving, you often have to press the throttle with your toes hooked, otherwise the car will lurch forward and it's easy to exceed the speed limit.

In addition, although the ES6 has a relatively high body and a large curb weight, thanks to its low center of gravity and excellent chassis tuning, it still has excellent handling. There's no sense of swaying on the race track. However, this is still an SUV weighing over two tons, so understeer occurs relatively early, but it's still controllable near the limit.

Finally, let's talk about the performance inside the cabin. The overall space performance is mediocre. A person who is 1.9 meters tall won't find the rear seat very spacious. Considering the car's 4.85 - meter length, the space utilization rate is average. And the minimalist interior design style presents a relatively high learning curve for non - tech - savvy consumers.

Since their launch, the two standard SUV models under NIO have remained popular. Among them, the ES6, which lowers the entry threshold for NIO, stands out mainly for its performance and energy consumption. The ES6, with an official range of 430 kilometers according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, consumes about 19.0 kWh per 100 kilometers during low - speed driving (¡Ü35 km/h) in actual tests. With the help of kinetic energy recovery, its urban range can reach 427 kilometers, only 3 kilometers short of the official data. However, its performance is less impressive during inter - city high - speed driving (¡Ý90 km/h), as its 280 - kilometer range can hardly meet the need for a round - trip between cross - region cities. Nevertheless, the ES6 excels in straight - line acceleration, reaching 0 - 100 km/h in about 4.4 seconds, even 0.3 seconds faster than the official data. High - performance pure - electric vehicles don't have engine noise like fuel - powered cars, but in actual tests, the ES6's NVH control is still inferior to that of mainstream luxury models such as the GLC - class, especially at a high speed of 120 km/h, where the noise level is significantly higher than its competitors. In terms of cabin space, the vehicle's height of 1731 mm gives a burly driver (183 cm tall) more than one and a half fists of headroom in the front row. However, affected by the electric drive assembly, the headroom and legroom in the back row are only about four fingers and one fist plus one finger respectively, which is not outstanding among medium - sized SUVs and is not very friendly for long - distance rides. Fortunately, the suspension with double wishbones and multi - link setup is well - tuned. Although electric SUVs can't handle extremely complex road surfaces like fuel - powered cars, the ES6 performs very smoothly whether it's filtering minor bumps or going over speed bumps, which is undoubtedly one of its important advantages in the luxury market competition.

What I'm most satisfied with is the power. The acceleration of electric vehicles is a complete game-changer compared to traditional fuel-powered cars. When driving in the city, you can do whatever you want. Even though it's just the sport version, the power is already very ample. Needless to say, the performance version has even better acceleration. The driving experience is not much different from that of traditional fuel-powered cars. When switched to the comfort mode, there isn't much of the dizziness commonly associated with electric vehicles. The vehicle's interior space is also satisfactory. The humps for the transmission and exhaust pipes in fuel-powered cars are gone in the rear, so there's no problem fitting three people in the back. And let's not even talk about the trunk space. It's comparable to that of my previous station wagon.

An electric vehicle can be considered a large-scale intelligent electronic product. Choosing an electric vehicle means choosing a lifestyle, and saying goodbye to gas stations. With four free battery swaps per month and a free home charger, there's basically no range anxiety. You can take your wife and kids for a spin around the city without worrying about the cost of gas. It's both environmentally friendly and economical.

Now, let me talk about the things I'm not satisfied with. The Nomi voice wake-up isn't very sensitive, especially when kids try to wake it up. It often doesn't respond. The standard Baidu navigation also doesn't provide a very intelligent experience. However, according to the staff at NIO, the navigation issue isn't entirely the fault of the app. The in-car navigation is limited by the chip's performance and can never reach the level of the phone app.
The seat design is also something that many car owners complain about. Due to the height of the battery, sitting in the back feels a bit like sitting on a small stool.
In terms of assisted driving, I chose the NP package. Maybe it's because my previous car didn't have an automatic parking function, so I find it quite novel. But there have been some embarrassing situations where it says "This is too difficult. I'll leave it to you" in the middle of parking. I really hope that NIO's programmers can keep working hard to improve it.
Before buying the car, I was hesitating between the Model Y and the ES6. I test-drove both cars, and finally my wife made the decision. First of all, I couldn't get used to the fact that Tesla's regenerative braking can't be turned off. Also, in terms of appearance and interior design, I personally think NIO's design is more imposing. NIO's community is also well-managed. They organize all kinds of activities. After visiting the NIO House, I found that it's really suitable for families like ours who sometimes don't know where to take their kids. It's truly the "Haidilao" in the automotive world. Although the service is something beyond the car itself, it's also one of the reasons why I chose this car.