The ET7 is the first luxury sedan from NIO, and it comes right from China. It's not only sitting at the table with the big boys, but it's also trying to eat their lunch in front of them.
Nio's engineers have taken all of their learnings and knowledge from the past few years and put all into this machinery. The NIO ET7 makes luxury connoisseurs like Mercedes, Audi or BMW shake in their boots by attacking them in their own home market. But first, let's take a look at the brief history of NIO.
We need to show our respect to them because the manufacturer was on the brink of bankruptcy only two years ago, and now they are one of the best-selling EV brands in China with huge overseas growth ambitions. The ET7 will be one of the brand's first car launched in Europe and is ready to take on the luxury legends in Germany.
The model has up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of range with an interchangeable 150 kWh battery. It's not only luxurious or economical but very sporty too. The time for the 0-100 kph (62mph) acceleration is about 3.8 seconds when you put it in the sport plus mode. You need some powerful brakes when you have this good of acceleration, and the NIO ET7 can stop from 100 kph in just 33.5 meters (110 ft).
Sticking with the technical part, the model has a very slippery body, with a drag coefficient (which measures the effectiveness of a streamlined aerodynamic body shape in reducing the air resistance to the forward motion of a vehicle) equal to 0.208.
Photo: Nio
To understand better how good it is, a BMW 7 Series has Cd of 0.24. It has an all-wheel-drive system, helping the car be more stable during cornering and have better traction. An excellent feature of this car is represented by the sensors situated near the front wheels. Basically, just like on some German luxury sedans, the car senses the road ahead and modifies the suspension so that you won't feel any bumps.
From an active safety standpoint, the Chinese car is full of technology with eight megapixels cameras, three megapixels light-sensitive surrounding view cameras, an advanced driver monitoring system, millimeter-wave radars, and ultrasonic sensors. All these sensors work together to hel the ET7s semi-autonomous driving systemcalled Aquila work better.
In the interior, you will find a massive 12 inch (304mm) AMOLED screen on the center console, in charge of the car's infotainment system. You will discover NOMI too, which is kind of a distant cousin for Alexa that you see only on Christmas.
A super cool feature is the so-called vault that is placed under the front armrest, which won't unlock unless it senses the owner's face. As a whole, the interior is quite simplistic. It's just a steering wheel, a big screen, some friendly sustainable materials, and that's pretty much it.
Photo: Nio
The trunk space is a big downsize for the ET7. For a car that is over five meters long (196 inches), the luggage compartment is too small, with only 364 liters (12.9 cu-ft) of space. However, the space for the passengers in the back is massive, so it's more understandable. The seats in the rear are also heated, ventilated, and have massage options.
I am not sure how this car can be super luxurious, economical, but at the same time extremely sporty without some significant compromises. It's expected to be a lot cheaper than almost any car in the same segment, especially when compared with the overpriced and overcomplicated German luxury cars.
We don't know anything about the car's reliability ahead of its official launch. Still, the European market will be taken by storm when the ET7 goes on sale, and many people might turn to the NIO brand once the carmaker establishes a stronger foothold in Europe.
Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second. Full profile
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