NIO ET5 review: price-performance ratio better than Tesla?

We were able to drive the NIO ET5 for you in everyday life. Must the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3 beware of the ET5? Can the ET5 impress despite teething problems? We'll explain this and more to you in this everyday test of NIO's smallest vehicle to date.

tl; dr: A lot of what the OIL ET7, the premium sedan from NIO, did right, so does the ET5. Of course, you have to do without features like an air suspension or massage seats in the back row, but you still get a lot of functionality and performance for your money.

The technical data at a glance:

• 4 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h (360 kW | 489 HP | all-wheel drive)
• 19 inch multi-spoke light alloy wheels
• Digital waterfall ambient lighting
• 7.1.4 Immersive Dolby Atmos Sound System
• 75 kWh or 100 kWh battery
• Range (depending on driving style) of 300 to 500 km
• 200 km / h top speed
• Heated seats, heated steering wheel, ventilation and massage
• 386 l trunk volume (folding rear seat)

The ET5 is currently available to purchase online directly from NIO 47.500 Euros (including 19% VAT). Not too expensive for what is offered compared to the competition. But you should not forget that this pure “vehicle purchase price” does not include the battery (which you absolutely need to drive). This beats monthly for 169 Euros (including 19% VAT).

Actually pretty fair. In our opinion, the price for the battery subscription or BAAS/Battery as a Service (as NIO calls it) is justified because you rely on the swapping technology and can then use it to its full extent. If you take the battery (75 kWh) and buy the car directly, which is of course also possible, then you end up with a final price (with all options) of 63.450 Euros (incl. 19% VAT.). Compared to the competition, I think it's still a great deal for what's on offer.

What makes NIO so special?

I'm sure many of you haven't heard of this new young brand. So before we worry about consumption, driving behavior and software, we wanted to briefly explain to you what makes NIO so special from all the other “newcomers” on the European market.

NIO relies heavily on their community. This is also noticeable in Europe and Germany within the “NIO app”, which can also be used for vehicle functions. There is a community tab here where you can exchange ideas with everyone who has registered, whether with NIO or not. You can also take part in events that NIO organizes from time to time.

Feedback via app

What you can also do is submit feedback via the app. This is now being sent directly to the developers in Berlin. NIO's new innovation center for software and UX as well as AI in Europe is located there.

An attempt will then be made to incorporate this into the next over-the-air update relatively quickly. So you listen to customers and people who just use the vehicles prodrive on it or just test it. You want to develop the vehicles together with the community. This is a good approach that I am happy to support.

That's why there is also the NIO UAB, which stands for User Advisory Board, where the most active NIO users are. They meet up every now and then to discuss new things or pass on direct feedback to developers and members of NIO.

What's in the configurator?

We usually leave out the configurator as there are a number of options available from most manufacturers. It's also easier to click through yourself. Fortunately, at NIO this is limited.

You can now actually remove a few functions from the ET5 when purchasing it. It's still a world away from the entire packages and individual options like European manufacturers, but this is probably what more and more users have wanted with the ET5.

Among other things, the Comfort package costs extra. This includes seat heating for the rear, steering wheel heating, front seat ventilation, front seat massage, 14-way electrically adjustable seats (the normal ones are only 12-way electrically adjustable) and a fragrance ionizer system. This package costs 1.500 euros (including 19% VAT). In our opinion, you should take it with you, as the seat ventilation is particularly useful in summer when temperatures are 30 degrees and more.

Then you can remove NOMI, the lovely assistance ball from the dashboard, and use simple, Alexa-like voice control as standard. Functionally, this is of course the same. Only the NOMI (500 euros) as an extra option gives the vehicle more character.

A fully electric trailer hitch with 1,4 tonnes (braked) trailer load is also available for 1.500 euros (including 19% VAT).

Interior: Tidy and not too sterile

Unlike Tesla's Model 3, for example, the interior of NIO's vehicles has always been (almost) the same. This means you get three AMOLED displays with high resolution, OLED-specific black levels and brilliant colors. One of them sits in the middle behind the steering wheel. If you order NOMI, there is also a round one at the top of the dashboard.

In our opinion, this looks more pleasing than the very clean and puristic interior of a Tesla Model 3. Unfortunately, there is no head-up display due to the design of the windshield and hood. With the ET5, NIO wanted you to have a good view of the entire hood in city traffic. This works very well and thanks to the Driver Info Display you don't necessarily need a HUD.

The general workmanship quality is really great. Definitely a step above Tesla, although it is no longer as bad as it once was.

Ambient lighting that is second to none

The waterfall ambient lighting, as NIO calls it, can either be set in all colors of the RGB spectrum or you can choose between prefabricated “themes” in the infotainment.

Picture: TechnikNews

When it comes to ambient lighting, there has been a further improvement compared to the ET7. The new ambient lighting uses a lot of diffuse light distribution, especially in the door panels. We particularly like this at night.

Sure, the ambient lighting in a current EQ model from Mercedes, such as the EQE or EQS, is of course something else. In our opinion, NIO is still doing an extremely good job here.

Sound system: Good, but still room for improvement

The sound system in ET7 and EL7, both of which we have already tested, were really damn good. The ET5 should actually have a similar sound system installed. Unfortunately, at least in our car, the subwoofer was “blaring” a lot. Accordingly, the subwoofer in the trunk emits strange vibrations when listening to bass-heavy music. This is definitely not normal and NIO is already working on solving this Proit's a problem. At least that's what they assured us.

Software: Improvements are noticeable

Compared to the version we had in the ET7, the system in the NIO ET5 runs much more stable and smoothly. There is enough hardware power available in all cases.

In general, the ET5 appears a little more “finished” in the complete package than the ET7 did. We also received an update to the current Banyan 1.3.5 version during the test period.

This should further improve sign recognition and prevent phantom braking in autopilot mode. Something definitely happened with the sign recognition. This now works in 99 on German roads Propercent of cases without Proproblems and not much is happening anymore with vehicles from VAG (Volkswagen AG), for example. NIO shows how sensible OTAs work. The update took around 45 minutes and was 3,5 gigabytes in size. These are good values ​​for an over-the-air update. The files are even downloaded via your own LTE network, without a WiFi connection.

Driving behavior: Sporty driving pleasure guaranteed

The chassis on the NIO ET5 is not an air suspension like on the other NIO models. Nevertheless, it left a really good impression in the cornering test as well as in everyday traffic with bumps, tracks and similar bumps. It's not too hard and not too soft either. Thanks to the center of gravity in the underbody, it really sits firmly on the road. The ET5 also cuts corners easily without slipping.

You can tell that NIO has focused on the maneuverability and sportiness of the ET5. I would rate the chassis as better than that of a Model 3 Performance, which isn't bad either. But NIO shows how it can be done better.

Charging: Faster soon?

Currently you can only charge NIO vehicles with up to 130 kW DC. Of course, considering the competition, this isn't that great and can be a bit annoying on long journeys. NIO wants to offer a remedy soon. They want to bring a new battery free of charge to all NIO subscription & leasing users, which will then charge up to 180 kW. That would be very good news. But we're waiting for official reports from the manufacturer, because these are currently just rumors. But you've probably already seen a new NIO ET5 Touring (i.e. the station wagon), which is said to still have 65 kW of charge at 177%.

The loading flap of course opens electrically, like all other NIO models currently. (Picture: TechnikNews)

Currently, a full charge with the 100 kWh battery would take about an hour. If you only charge up to 90%, then it's still 50 minutes of charging time. That's just too long for the premium sector that NIO wants to address. Swapping or not, something has to be done here. But NIO wants that too, this has already been confirmed. It is currently not known what the situation is with “buyers” of the car and the battery.

Can we currently recommend NIO?

Yes, we can do anything new and fresh to anyoneproIf you want to drink beer, I highly recommend the ET5. Thanks to its very good equipment and good driving characteristics, the ET5 is almost perfect, even if there are still problems here and there. All we can say is that NIO already knows about these errors and wants to fix them as quickly as possible. Only the seating position might be a bit tight for people who are 1,90 meters tall, as you sit relatively high here.

Until then, the NIO ET5 is still a very good overall package. The charging power will also be higher in the future than the current 130 kW. The software is being diligently developed and soon there will even be Netflix, YouTube and Co. in the NIO vehicles. What more does one want? You don't even have to do without ultrasonic sensors.

thanks to NIO Germany, who were kind enough to provide us with an ET5 with a charging card (coverage of electricity costs). Of course, as always, this does not influence our opinion.

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