Review NIO ET7

The NIO ET7 comes in only one electric motor configuration, with the battery being the only thing that can be customized (initially 75kWh/100kWh and a 150kWh battery to be released in mid-2023).

It is NIO’s first model to use the second-generation high-efficiency electric drive platform. This dual-motor electric system consists of a 180 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor at the front and a 300 kW asynchronous induction motor at the rear, giving a peak power output of 480 kW and 850 Nm of torque. This gives the ET7 an amazing 0-100 km/h time of just 3.9 seconds, comparable to an Aston-Martin DB11 V12 Twin Turbo. In the EV world, however, it is not as fast as the Model 3 Performance (3.3 seconds) or the Model S Plaid, which is closer to its size, but there are not many EVs that can match the S Plaid in terms of acceleration.

Prices for the NIO ET7 start at €84,900 for the base model with a 75kWh battery, the Premier Edition model starts at €93,900 and comes standard with a 100kWh battery.

NIO also offers BaaS (Battery as a Service), where you can buy the car without the battery and reduce the price of the car by a significant amount, it then starts for the 75kWh battery at € 72,900 as well as the same price for the 100kWh battery. Car owners then rent a battery for a monthly amount; 75kWh – € 169.00 and the 100kWh – € 289.00.

NIO’s Battery SWAP Station 3.0 can store up to 21 battery packs and speed up battery swapping to less than five minutes and reduce service costs per swap.

Tesla’s Supercharger allows EV users to charge vehicles in 15 minutes to a range of 322 km.

Battery swapping allows drivers to quickly replace dead batteries with fully charged ones, rather than connecting the vehicle to a supercharger. Battery swapping could help relieve pressure on the power grid during peak hours, but industry analysts and executives expect it to become feasible only if batteries become more standardized.

NIO is one of the few EV manufacturers betting on battery swapping as a major energy option for electric cars. Rival Tesla has dismissed battery swapping. Competitor Tesla has dismissed battery swapping as “fraught with problems and not suitable for large-scale use.”

NIO, which aims to have 2,300 battery switching stations worldwide by the end of the year, had 1,323 in operation on March 23. It plans to have 900 of the newest stations operational this year.

Nearly 60% of the power charged for NIO cars in February was through battery swaps, while another 23% came from home chargers.

Less than 10% of NIO users used public chargers.

The Nio ET7 is 5,101 mm long, 1,987 mm wide and 1,509 mm high with a wheelbase of 3,060 mm – it is larger and roomier than the Tesla Model S and only 126 mm shorter than the Mercedes EQS.

The ET7 has its own unique design and certainly looks impressive. Up front, you have the dual-beam LED headlights with what NIO calls “Double-Dash” daytime running lights. This design is also used at the rear with full-width “3D heartbeat” taillights. Although we couldn’t really see the “3D” part, the lights look good on the car.

The silhouette of the ET7 is very streamlined and aerodynamic, and NIO has worked hard to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.208, which is very low and surprising considering that above the windshield is what the automaker calls the “Watchtower.” There in the middle sits the high-resolution LiDAR with 8MP cameras on either side, all of which stick out quite a bit.

The ET7 has soft-close doors with frameless double-glazed windows that give it a sophisticated yet sporty look. The invisible door handles pop up when you approach the car, and when you rest your hands on them, the door automatically pops open a little thanks to touch sensors in the back of the handle. When you are seated, the door closes with a gentle pull, and when you want to exit the car, simply press the button on the side of the door and it opens for you.

NIO pitched a story about a “second living room” in your car. We felt it had almost achieved its goal of creating something that can be as comfortable as your own living room. The interior of the ET7 is spacious, refined and modern, with the floating displays, two-tone steering wheel and invisible vents giving the car a futuristic feel.

The dimensions make the ET7 very spacious and with a wheelbase of 3,060 mm, the rear seats are certainly comfortable, with plenty of legroom. The width of this car also ensures that the back seat can accommodate 3 adults without problems, we found that the seats had great depth and supported our upper legs well.

The leather-trimmed seats were soft yet firm, and it didn’t feel like we were sinking into them. A great bonus is that all front and rear seats come standard with heating, air cooling and massage functions! Something you pay blue for when you buy a car from another brand.

The luggage compartment is large and can accommodate everything a family needs, but the opening is not that large and the rear seat cannot be folded down, preventing the transport of large items.